Playing through Soul Silver for the first time, anything I should

Depends on your starter.
>Chikorita
Hard mode, also the patrician's choice. Anyone who rolls with Chikorita knows what they're doing and shouldn't be fucked with. Steamrolled Whitney.
>Totadile
Normal mode. Decent tastes, had an okay time with Whitney
>Cyndaquil
Easy mode. Used Ember on everything and probably only leveled their starter. Got stomped by Whitney because she's casual filter.

Anyway OP, if you're having leveling problems, just go to Route 47. Have fun and headbutt trees to get rare Pokemon.

>>26775326
Totadile is the easiest starter for HGSS because of the physical split, and if you have trouble with Whitney you're probably retarded since you could just trade for the Machamp or catch a Nidoran right next to the gym

I've been trying to get a working rom of HGSS for years now, with no luck. I even tried the gameshark codes for desmume, still not working.

>>26775701
I was having the same problem for a while, but Drayano's hacks (Sacred Gold/Storm Silver) seem to work fine if you don't mind the minor changes/difficulty increase.

>>26775293
Get Sacred Gold or Storm Silver (depending on your preference in storyline, Lugia vs Ho-Oh first). If you have a flashcart you can put the game onto that and play it on your 3DS/ DSi/ DS, depending on what type of cart you have. Flashcarts are 100% worth it. Definitely a must buy. I would recommend the R4i Gold 3DS, as it works on all DS models, including 3DS.