Gaming Want to start playing Pokémon!

[YingYang]

I'm planning on starting playing Pokémon and need your help. I've tried searching for information on the internet and in this forum, but I got confused... I want to start with the earlier GBA games and try to collect as much as possible Pokémon without cheating.

I currently have : CycloDS, EZ 3-in-1, M3DSReal with GBA expansion and the M3 Lite.

What combination is the best (easiest, most reliable and fastest solution)? Also what about the RTC? Is it used in every Pokémon GBA game? What does it do and is it supported on all hardware I mentioned? And last but not least I need to be able to transfer Pokémon. Is GBA-linkage for transfer between 2 GBA games or between a GBA game and a NDS game?

What game do you recommend I should start with? What do I have to play afterwards and how do I transfer the Pokémon?

 

[thedicemaster]

let's see.
for ruby/sapphire/emerald(GBA) i recommend using the m3real/m3expansion combo.
i believe it had RTC support.
for firered/leafgreen it doesn't matter, they don't use the clock.

GBA linkage is used for GBA>NDS but you'll have to find a patch for D/P in order to have it read saves from a slot-2 flashcart.
also for GBA linkage i recommend using the 3in1 with any slot-1 because of the nor memory(no need to load the gba game all the time)

i think the best order to play is:
firered or leafgreen
emerald
diamond or pearl
platinum(no flashcart support patch available for GBA>NDS linkage, so you'll have to trade them through diamond/pearl)

afterwards to complete your pokedex you can play the following games:
firered/leafgreen*, ruby, sapphire, diamond/pearl*, ranger^.

*=play the version you didn't choose in the 1st set.
^=by completing this game, and doing a bonus mission(unlocked through a password code) you can obtain 1 pokemon that can only be obtained from that mission, or from trading.

 

[YingYang]

Thanks for the fast and thorough reply. I will probably start by playing FireRed later this weekend then. Will I need to patch the game in order to play it on the M3DS Real expansion? Will it work with Sakura or is it maybe safer to just play it on the M3 Lite? So far most GBA games I've played are on the M3 Lite but this may be slower than on other carts and I don't know much about compatibility between the carts.

So transfering is only possible between a NDS Pokémon game and a GBA Pokémon game. If I play the different games on different carts will the saves be compatible with each other for the linking? Is there some place where I can find more about how to transfer Pokémon and how to use the linkage feature?