Emma originally debuted in Pokémon XY. Originally, Emma was a sweet homeless orphan who lived on the streets.
Looker, a member of the international police, investigated her as part of his first case in his new Kalos branch due to reports kids were hanging out in alleyways. When Looker and the player find her, he finds out indeed these kids were just playing with and protecting Emma from harm, along with Emma's partner, Mimi the Espurr (もこお Moko).
Emma, worried about being a burden on Looker, takes a part time job to help him pay for his office space. This part time job was for basic experiments ran by
Xerosic, who did not tell her it was subjecting her to become Essentia (エスプリ Esprit), a shapeshifting robot-like creature that can be controlled remotely as she slept.
After Emma becomes aware of what she's done, and the player and Looker stop Xerosic, she gains control of the suit, vowing to use it to protect Lumiose City. When Looker is called on to another mission in another region, Emma takes over the Detective Agency, still running it as of Pokémon Legends: Z-A.