I beat the Elite Four in my Pokemon Emerald save file just a few days ago. One of the very first things I did was going to the lottery in Lilycove City. The NPC just said, "Please come back tomorrow." Then, I checked Shoal Cave to check if the tide has changed. However, the tide was the exact same as when I first entered the cave. And then, I went to check my Pomeg & Oran Berries that I have been growing for well over a week. And Finally, I checked the clock at my house, and the game time has not changed since I started the game over a month ago. Does sombody know what to do about this? And no, I am Playing EMERALD, not Ruby or Sapphire. And on the GBA. Not on an Emulator.
KRLW890 is right. If you had the game for a month its battery should be dead if it was already used. That about sums it up.
Emerald cartridges that have broken time-based events might be fake. You can identify fake cartridges by watching this video.