Games
Ruby and Sapphire: Hoenn, 135 new species, abilities and natures
Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire are the Game Boy Advance games that opened Generation III, released in Japan on 21 November 2002, North America on 19 March 2003 and Europe on 25 July 2003, with the new Hoenn region, 135 new species, abilities, natures, double battles, Contests and Secret Bases. Ruby sends Team Magma after Groudon and Sapphire sends Team Aqua after Kyogre, and the Pokémon you can catch differ between them. Today they run only on original cartridges in Game Boy Advance hardware or a Nintendo DS with a GBA slot, with no Virtual Console or Switch release found on nintendo.com or pokemon.com as of 8 November 2026; Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire on 3DS, from November 2014, retell the story.
Editorial record, read 8 Nov 2026.
Ruby and Sapphire tell one Hoenn story from two sides
The adventure is set in Hoenn, a region rich in nature. The hero has just moved to Littleroot Town, Mishiro Town in Japanese, rescues Professor Birch from a wild Pokémon and receives a Pokémon and a Pokédex in thanks, according to the official Japanese page. The two versions tell the same story with the villains swapped, as in a mirror. In Ruby, Team Magma plans to expand the land and targets the legendary Groudon. In Sapphire, Team Aqua plans to expand the sea and targets Kyogre. pokemon.com sums up what changed around that story: double battles and Contests, which it calls now-permanent fixtures of the series, plus abilities and natures.
The versions differ in their Pokémon, and trades run over a cable
The official Japanese page says the Pokémon you can catch differ between Ruby and Sapphire, so a full Hoenn Pokédex needs a trade. Trades and battles use the Game Boy Advance Game Link Cable, and Nintendo's product page notes link play for up to four systems; with four players, the cable also runs Multi Battles, two against two. Ruby and Sapphire connect with FireRed and LeafGreen, as the official page for those games states, and with Pokémon Colosseum on GameCube. In the PokéAPI cache, Feebas evolves into Milotic by levelling up with a high Beauty condition in Ruby and Sapphire, where later games add a trade holding a Prism Scale. The table below lists the version exclusives.
Birch's rescue starts the run, and Rock types punish a Fire start
The opening is a rescue: Professor Birch is attacked by a wild Pokémon, and saving him earns you a Pokémon and the Pokédex. Nintendo's Japanese preview for Emerald, which shares this opening, names Treecko, Torchic and Mudkip as the choice, and the PokéAPI cache lists them as Grass, Fire and Water types. Type matchups decide the first hours. Rock types take double damage from Water, Grass, Fighting, Ground and Steel moves, and Fire moves deal them half damage, so a Torchic lead needs a second Pokémon of another type early. Mudkip and Treecko both hit Rock types hard. Catch a second species before the first Gym and the early route stays smooth.
Contests and Secret Bases sit beside the League
Beyond the Pokédex and the League, the official Japanese page points to two side systems. Pokémon Contests judge appeal in categories such as coolness and beauty, in two rounds: the first scores condition, the second the appeal moves. Strength in battle plays no part, so low-level Pokémon can enter, and a win earns a ribbon and entry to the next rank. Pokéblocks, made by mixing berries in a Berry Blender, raise condition. Secret Bases open once a boy on Route 111 gives you TM43 Secret Power; decorate a base with goods, and linking with a friend places each player's base in the other's world. A Battle Tower also appears in Ruby and Sapphire, as the Emerald page notes.
Abilities gave every species a passive effect
Abilities arrive in Ruby and Sapphire. The official Japanese page describes them as powers a Pokémon is born with, which act in battle without an order from the player. Its examples are Kecleon, whose Color Change turns it into the type of the move that hits it, and Sharpedo, whose Rough Skin damages a Pokémon that tackles it. The ability data in the PokéAPI cache shows the pair at the centre of the story: Kyogre has Drizzle and Groudon has Drought. Double battles add a second layer, with some moves aiding a partner or hitting both foes at once, as pokemon.com notes. Check a new catch's ability before deciding where it fits in a team.
Natures and the PokéNav change how a run is built
pokemon.com names natures alongside abilities as the traits in Ruby and Sapphire that affect how a Pokémon performs in battle, so two members of the same species can play differently. Check each catch's details before training it. The official Japanese page adds the tools that support the run. The PokéNav, short for Pokémon Navigator, shows the Hoenn map, records the Trainers met on the way and checks the condition of Contest entries. Two bicycles cover different ground: the Mach Bike climbs steep slopes at speed, and the Acro Bike jumps across narrow rails and stepping stones. Pick the bicycle that suits the route ahead, and swap when the ground changes.
Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire remade Hoenn in 2014
Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire came out on Nintendo 3DS on 21 November 2014 in North America. pokemon.com describes the same Hoenn story with Team Magma and Team Aqua after Groudon and Kyogre, adds Primal Reversion for the two, and a new chapter, the Delta Episode, with a clash between Rayquaza and Deoxys and the history of Mega Evolution. On GameCube, Pokémon Box Ruby and Sapphire stores Pokémon from the original cartridges: the Japanese page, which dates it 30 May 2003, gives the capacity as 1,500 Pokémon against 420 in the game's own boxes, with search and sort tools. pokemon.com dates its North American release 11 July 2004.
In 2026 Ruby and Sapphire need GBA hardware and a long transfer chain
Ruby and Sapphire need Game Boy Advance hardware. Nintendo's support page says the Nintendo DS and DS Lite play Game Boy Advance games in single-player mode only, so trades and battles need a Game Boy Advance and a link cable. Moving a team to modern games takes a chain of official tools. Pal Park in Diamond and Pearl takes Pokémon from a cartridge in the DS's Game Boy Advance slot once the National Pokédex is complete. Poké Transfer in Black and White, or Black 2 and White 2, opens after the credits and needs two DS-family systems. Poké Transporter then moves them into Pokémon Bank, and Bank sends them on to Pokémon HOME before its service ends on 25 February 2027. Poké Transfer and Poké Transporter moves are one way.
| Species | Version |
|---|---|
| Seedot | Ruby |
| Nuzleaf | Ruby |
| Shiftry | Ruby |
| Mawile | Ruby |
| Zangoose | Ruby |
| Solrock | Ruby |
| Groudon | Ruby |
| Lotad | Sapphire |
| Lombre | Sapphire |
| Ludicolo | Sapphire |
| Sableye | Sapphire |
| Seviper | Sapphire |
| Lunatone | Sapphire |
| Kyogre | Sapphire |
Unverified. The Japanese page says catchable Pokémon differ between the versions but lists none; only Groudon for Ruby and Kyogre for Sapphire are tied to a version on an official page. The PokéAPI cache holds no encounter tables.
| Badge order | Leader | Badge | Type | City |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Roxanne | Stone Badge | Rock | Rustboro City |
| 2 | Brawly | Knuckle Badge | Fighting | Dewford Town |
| 3 | Wattson | Dynamo Badge | Electric | Mauville City |
| 4 | Flannery | Heat Badge | Fire | Lavaridge Town |
| 5 | Norman | Balance Badge | Normal | Petalburg City |
| 6 | Winona | Feather Badge | Flying | Fortree City |
| 7 | Tate and Liza | Mind Badge | Psychic | Mossdeep City |
| 8 | Wallace | Rain Badge | Water | Sootopolis City |
Unverified. Leaders, badges, types and cities rest on game knowledge. pokemon.com names Wallace as a Gym Leader in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, not in the 2002 games.
5 checks before you act
- Pick a starter knowing Rock types resist Fire and take double damage from Water and Grass.
- Plan a trade with the other version for the Pokémon yours lacks.
- Mix berries into Pokéblocks before entering Contests.
- Collect TM43 Secret Power on Route 111 to build a Secret Base.
- Complete the National Pokédex in Diamond or Pearl before planning a Pal Park transfer.
Read next
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