shadowofdarkness

I don't know all those for sure but everyone I do know is just a name choice of the same thing srm is the same as raw, bin, dat, and sav just rename the file. The only difference is the possibility that some emulator pads the file with zeroes to a larger size and that may need cut off.

Just to confirm, after making a save on the cartridge you did at least turn the game on again and load the save to make sure it is right on the cartridge and the save chip is not bad?

For GBA saves I like using a Raspberry Pi connected using the GPIO pins to a link cable. Basically a old Xboo cable but using the GPIO instead of a now obsolete parallel port. https://github.com/akkera102/gba_01_multiboot Just compile SendSave.c in place of multiboot.c from the instructions.

The transfer also cuts the XP down to the start of the current level. So it can still look untouched but be a different nature. I've done that by taking a Pokemon and adjusting the nature using steps in the daycare. Then after the transfer I had the desired nature and the XP gain was lost and it still looked untouched.

This site has tech details of the timestamp but is based on Ruby and Sapphire. It mentions that Emerald uses the same format but you may (I'm not sure) have to find a Emerald map to find the right offset. https://web.archive.org/web/20160418015118/http://furlocks-forest.net/wiki/?page=Ruby%2FSapphire_Save_Data_Map Just changing the RTC to a high value would work also as long as it is higher then whatever you used as the highest before. Depending on what you changed it to. I find most people just change the RTC to real time to make it easy to remember in the future after any battery changes.

Yes you can, the only thing you have to do to trigger the event unlock on the VC is to beat the E4 champion on the VC version, that is when the flag gets set. You can beat the e4 except the champion on RA then save but you do have to battle the champion on the VC version. I assume a re-battle of the league would also trigger it but I'm only 97% sure on that if you already beat the league the first time.

Are you putting them into a VC save, because cartridge events are illegal in the VC version.

If you are interested in doing the full event including picking up the GS Ball from the Pokemon Center. Here is a link that tells you the right flag to set and it's location. Then after setting it you just have to try leaving the Goldenrod Pokemon Centre and a NPC will stop you. https://tcrf.net/Pokémon_Crystal#GS_Ball_Event

When you transferred the save to VBA it took saved the time your computer was set to as the newest time you played the game in the save game. Then you transferred the save back to the original cartridge that had the RTC still showing a older date, effectively time travelling into the past. The game is just waiting until the RTC catches up and passes the date and time you played it on the computer. You can easily fix this by running the homebrew RTC changer to set the cartridge to the current real date. Then after that you can transfer the save back and forth all you want with no problems. Here is the homebrew, two versions one a GBA multiboot file and one a NDS homebrew for use with a NDS flashcart in a 2 slot system https://github.com/megaboyexe/GBA_RTCRead

I have heard before (along time ago) that emulation can be too slow at times and end up generating the wrong Pokemon. I forget the specifics so someone else more knowledgeable would have to fill that in. But my guess is that it happened here and due to emulation errors it got a Pokemon using the wrong method. Because what you got was a method 2 generated Pokemon. Which you can check in Pokefinder.

Here it is two versions one is a multiboot rom for actual GBA systems that can be sent from something like a Raspberry Pi or hacked Wii and one is a NDS flashcart version that works with slot-2 systems. https://github.com/megaboyexe/GBA_RTCRead

As a bonus, as long as the RTC matches the current time you can swap back and forth between carts and emulators without future problems.

I assume the time in the save was updated to the current time from your computer. You could probably use the GBA RTC changer homebrew to make the time on your cartridge the same as real time. Or adjusted enough that the time in game still looks right. If I remember right the way time works in those games is that the RTC in carts starts at a set date and time then when you put in the time of day in game it just offsets from that. So that is why it might need to be offset a little to get night and day to line up.

Catch Eternatus to unlock it. That use the only way and it is a soft lock prevention to prevent you from having a full PC when you get to the forced capture part of the story.

I did successfully replace the ROM by just replacing the file but when testing I could play the game but it wouldn't save. So I gave up.