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| Titles | Pokémon Ruby Version ポケットモンスター ルビー Pokémon Sapphire Version ポケットモンスター サファイア |
| Platform | Game Boy Advance |
| Developer | Game Freak |
| Publisher | Nintendo (The Pokémon Company in Japan) |
| Director | Junichi Masuda |
| Producers | Hiroyuki Jinnai, Takehiro Izushi, Hiroaki Tsuru |
| Composers | Go Ichinose, Junichi Masuda, Morikazu Aoki |
| Art director | Ken Sugimori |
| Players | 1–4 (Game Link Cable; no Wireless Adapter support) |
| Generation | Generation III – the first games of the generation |
| New Pokémon | 135 (386 in the National Pokédex; 202 in the Hoenn Pokédex) |
| New Abilities | 76 |
| New moves | 103 |
| Predecessor | Pokémon Crystal |
| Successors | FireRed & LeafGreen · Pokémon Emerald |
| Released (Japan) | 21 November 2002 |
| Released (North America) | 19 March 2003 |
| Released (Australia) | 3 April 2003 |
| Released (Europe) | 25 July 2003 |
| Rating | ESRB E (Everyone) · PEGI 3+ · G8+ (Australia) |
| Cartridge | GBA cartridge with a real-time clock run by a CR1616 battery; early copies carry the berry glitch |
| Sales | 16.22 million combined – the best-selling games on the Game Boy Advance |
Overview
Pokémon Ruby & Sapphire are the main core-series titles for Generation III and had been released globally by 25 July 2003 for the Game Boy Advance. They are represented by the Legendary mascots Groudon, for Ruby, and Kyogre, for Sapphire.
After the success of the previous generation’s Gold, Silver and Crystal, and harnessing the power of the newly released Game Boy Advance, Nintendo and Game Freak stepped up to produce a new game with amazing Pokémon. Ruby and Sapphire introduce lots of new features, moves, abilities and Pokémon whilst also fixing some things which had been issues in previous titles in the series.
Aside from a whole new world and story, we see a bunch of features that make the game more fun to play but, at the same time, challenging! The games were really well received by fans – so much so that twelve years after their release they were remade and modernised in the form of Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire for the Nintendo 3DS/2DS.
Immerse yourself in the beautiful region of Hoenn, a place of masterful heroes and mysterious teams, of friendship and battles. As the new kid in town, you set off your journey as a Pokémon Trainer. Who knows what wonders and dangers await you? Now it’s time to grab your gear and head out on your own…
- Over 200 Pokémon appear with over 100 newly discovered species—you’ll have to link up and trade with a friend who has Sapphire/Ruby Version to catch them all!
- 2-on-2 battles—use two of your Pokémon in battle at the same time!
- Engage in intense multi battles with up to four friends!
- Pokémon Contests let you groom your Pokémon to be the Best of Show!
- Stunning Game Boy Advance graphics display the world of Pokémon with more detail than ever!
— Official description, North American packaging
Quick Answers
The questions people ask about Ruby & Sapphire, answered first and explained further down the page.
What is the difference between Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, and which should I buy?
The map, Gyms and story beats match, but Ruby has Team Magma and Groudon, while Sapphire has Team Aqua and Kyogre. Ruby alone has the Seedot line, Mawile, Zangoose and Solrock; Sapphire has the Lotad line, Sableye, Seviper and Lunatone. Latios roams Ruby and Latias roams Sapphire. Pick the mascot you prefer. More →
How do you catch Rayquaza in Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire?
Enter the Hall of Fame first; until then, rocks seal off the Sky Pillar on the northern edge of Route 131. Bring the Mach Bike, because the second and fourth floors have cracked tiles you must ride across. Rayquaza waits at the top at Lv. 70 with Fly, Rest, ExtremeSpeed and Outrage. Save before you approach it. More →
Where are Groudon and Kyogre in Ruby and Sapphire, and what level are they?
Both are one-off story encounters at Lv. 45 on the bottom floor of the Cave of Origin in Sootopolis City: Groudon in Ruby, Kyogre in Sapphire. You meet it after the villain leader wakes it in the Seafloor Cavern under Route 128. Save beforehand. Catching or defeating it ends the drought or the endless rain. More →
How do you get Latias and Latios in Ruby and Sapphire?
After the Hall of Fame, one roams Hoenn at Lv. 40: Latios in Ruby, Latias in Sapphire. It tries to flee every turn, so use a trapping move. The other one waits at Lv. 50 on Southern Island, holding a Soul Dew. Only the Eon Ticket event item lets you sail there on the S.S. Tidal from Lilycove City. More →
How do you unlock Regirock, Regice and Registeel?
Dive into the Sealed Chamber on Route 134, use Dig at the first door, then read the inner wall with Relicanth first and Wailord last in your party. Then: Desert Ruins (Route 111), two steps right, two down, Strength; Island Cave (Route 105), stand still two minutes; Ancient Tomb (Route 120), Fly in the middle. Each Regi is Lv. 40. More →
Where is Feebas in Ruby and Sapphire, and how do you evolve it?
Feebas hides on just six randomly chosen water tiles along Route 119’s river, and they reshuffle whenever Dewford Town’s trend changes. Any rod works, and on a Feebas tile it bites half the time, so try each square a few times. To evolve it into Milotic, raise its Beauty with Pokéblocks, then level it up. More →
Can you play Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire on Nintendo Switch?
Not officially, as of October 2026. Ruby and Sapphire never had a Virtual Console release, and no Switch version has been announced. A sharp official clip in September 2026 and code inside the 2026 Switch release of FireRed and LeafGreen have fuelled rumours. Today you need an original cartridge or the 3DS remakes, Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. More →
How do you get Jirachi and Deoxys in Ruby and Sapphire?
Neither appears in Hoenn. Jirachi came from the Pokémon Colosseum Bonus Disc in North America, from Pokémon Channel in Europe and from Japanese events. Deoxys, which takes its Normal Forme in Ruby and Sapphire, arrived only through events or trades; Birth Island and the Aurora Ticket belong to FireRed, LeafGreen and Emerald. More →
Why have the Berries and the clock stopped working in my Ruby or Sapphire?
There are two separate faults. Early cartridges have the berry glitch, a date bug that freezes Berry growth and daily events 366 days after the clock starts. FireRed, LeafGreen, Emerald, Colosseum, XD or Pokémon Box can patch it over a link. Separately, the clock battery eventually dies and the game warns you; that needs a replacement battery. More →
How do you make a Secret Base and mix records in Ruby and Sapphire?
Teach a Pokémon Secret Power (TM43) and use it on a suitable tree, shrub or rock-wall hollow; Hoenn has 75 such spots. Furnish the base with up to 16 decorations. Mixing records with another Ruby, Sapphire or Emerald copies each other’s bases. After the Elite Four, you can battle each visiting owner once a day. More →
Plot / Story
The story begins with the player and their family moving to Littleroot Town in the Hoenn region, which is the base from which they’ll begin their Pokémon journey. The player and their family moved to Littleroot Town because their father, Norman, had just become the Gym Leader of the Petalburg Gym.
The little intro video at the start shows the player in a removals van. It pulls up outside a house in Littleroot Town, where the player’s mother then explains that this is to be their new home; the player and their mother enter the house whilst a couple of Machoke who represent the moving company bring in boxes.
The player’s mother then suggests that they go and say hello to Professor Birch, who is a friend of their father’s. So the player heads out and takes a walk to Professor Birch’s house. When they get there they are greeted by Birch’s wife, and when the player goes upstairs they meet either Brendan or May (if the player is male they meet May; if the player is female they meet Brendan), who is the son or daughter of Professor Birch and would later become one of the player’s rivals. The Professor isn’t home at this point and is out working in the field, so Brendan/May goes out to look for him.
The player also leaves Birch’s house and continues up Route 101, where they find the Professor being chased around in circles by a Poochyena. Whilst still being pursued by his tormentor, the Professor shouts to the player to pick a Poké Ball from his bag, which is on the ground nearby, and use the Pokémon to save him from his aggressor! At this point the player gets to choose between Treecko, Mudkip and Torchic – the Hoenn starter Pokémon. Immediately after the player chooses their starter they’ll be engaged in battle against the wild Poochyena, and once the player defeats Poochyena and saves Professor Birch he thanks the player and allows them to keep the Pokémon they used to save him. Professor Birch then says the player should meet up with Brendan/May on Route 103 for some tips on being a Pokémon Trainer.
On arrival at Route 103 the player finds Brendan/May and the two have their first battle. Once it’s over, both the player and Brendan/May return to Professor Birch’s lab and are given their first Poké Balls and a Pokédex.
Once the player leaves the lab they find their mother waiting outside, who then gives them the Running Shoes to help them on their journey. The player then heads over to Petalburg City, where their father is the Gym Leader of the Petalburg Gym. The player stops by to tell their father that they’ve decided to become a Pokémon Trainer just like he did before them, a fact that Norman is both happy and proud to learn. During the conversation with the player’s father, a boy from Petalburg named Wally enters the Gym and asks Norman for help in catching his first Pokémon. Norman gives Wally a Poké Ball and loans him a Zigzagoon, and then asks the player to go and help Wally with his first catch.
The player meets up with Wally on Route 102, where he is successful in catching his first ’mon: a Ralts. The pair then return to the Gym and Wally returns the loaned Zigzagoon and thanks Norman, just before his mother calls him home. It’s at this point that Norman encourages the player to start their own Pokémon journey, travelling the Hoenn region and taking on his fellow Gym Leaders: Roxanne, Brawly, Wattson, Flannery, Winona, Tate & Liza and Wallace – and eventually, although he doesn’t say it, this would lead to the player facing their own father too.
Shortly after the player departs the Petalburg Gym they travel through Route 104 and on to Petalburg Woods, where they make their first encounter with the villainous team of the Hoenn region: Team Magma if you are playing Ruby, Team Aqua if you are playing Sapphire. A battle ensues between the player and the Pokévillain, after which the grunt reveals that his team has some sort of scheme to go after something in Rustboro City.
The player arrives in Rustboro City, heads to the Rustboro Gym and takes on Roxanne, who yields the player’s very first Gym Badge to them: the Stone Badge. Not long after leaving the Rustboro Gym the player bumps into one of the researchers from the Devon Corporation, who is shaken and tells the player that he has been robbed by grunts from Team Aqua (Sapphire) or Team Magma (Ruby). The player ends up tasked with helping him get the Devon Goods back from the villains and heads in the direction that the robbers went.
As the player navigates Route 116 they run into Mr. Briney, who begs for the player’s help, as the same criminal team who stole the Devon Goods has also kidnapped his Wingull, Peeko, and is holding it hostage in the Rusturf Tunnel. The player enters the tunnel and confronts the grunt who, lo and behold, not only has Mr. Briney’s Wingull with him but also the Devon Goods! The player engages the grunt in battle and, after defeating him, rescues Peeko and takes back the Devon Goods.
After the player safely returns the Devon Goods to the researcher who had them stolen, he asks the player if they could deliver the package to Slateport City’s shipyard. First, though, he takes the player to meet Mr. Stone, the Devon Corporation’s president, in Rustboro. Mr. Stone has a favour to ask of the player, sending them to take a letter to his son, Steven, near Dewford Town – but not without first thanking the player for their earlier actions by giving them a PokéNav.
As the player leaves they meet May/Brendan, who tells the player about Mr. Briney and the fact he used to be a sailor. The player then travels back through the Petalburg Woods and visits Mr. Briney at his home. Mr. Briney thanks the player for their earlier actions by giving them passage to Route 105 and Dewford Town. The player heads just north of Dewford Town into Granite Cave, where Steven, the letter’s intended recipient, was exploring. At the cave entrance the player obtains HM05 (Flash) but is unable to use it outside of battle until they defeat the Dewford Gym. The player, unable to venture into the cave without the use of Flash, proceeds to take on Brawly, the Dewford Gym Leader, earning the Knuckle Badge and the ability to use Flash outside of battle. Now able to use Flash to navigate the cave, the player finally finds Steven in the depths of the cave and delivers the letter from his father. Steven thanks the player and gives them TM47 (Steel Wing); he also says he sees the potential in the player to become a great Pokémon League Champion some day.
The player leaves Dewford Town and meets back up with Mr. Briney, who takes the player across Routes 107, 108 and 109, ending up just south of Slateport City. As the player enters the city they notice a large crowd of Team Magma (Ruby)/Team Aqua (Sapphire) members blocking the entrance to the Oceanic Museum. The player finally makes it to Stern’s Shipyard, where they were due to deliver the package to Captain Stern, only to find that he isn’t there and is in fact in the Oceanic Museum (you know, the one with the load of grunts outside it!). The player arrives at the Oceanic Museum shortly after and finds Captain Stern inside. Two grunts from Magma/Aqua then confront the player and a battle ensues. The player, who is now becoming a very strong Trainer, makes quick work of the grunts and they flee, their team warning the player that they’d do well not to meddle with their objectives again.
With the objective of delivering the Devon Goods to Captain Stern now complete, the player leaves Slateport and hits Route 110. It’s here that they encounter their rival, Brendan/May, and take them on in battle before proceeding on their way to Mauville City to take on its Gym. The player arrives at the Mauville Gym and finds a familiar face waiting at the entrance – it’s Wally! The lad you helped catch his first Pokémon is outside with his uncle, who seems a bit sceptical as to whether Wally is ready to take on a Gym Leader yet. Wally challenges the player to a battle in an effort to prove himself to his uncle, but is unfortunately defeated. Wally’s uncle invites the player to come and visit him in Verdanturf Town one day. The player says their goodbyes to Wally and his uncle and enters the Gym, where they manage to defeat Wattson and his Electric ’mons and earn the Dynamo Badge. They also earn the ability to use Rock Smash, which they use to clear the blockage at the Rusturf Tunnel – an action for which the player gets awarded HM04 (Strength). The player then begins their journey to Fallarbor Town.
When the player reaches the Fallarbor Pokémon Center they meet Lanette, who invites them to visit her home on Route 114. As the player is travelling this route they reach Meteor Falls and find Team Magma (Ruby)/Team Aqua (Sapphire), who have just robbed Professor Cozmo of a valuable meteorite. As the player is about to confront the villainous team and attempt to retrieve the meteorite, a group from the opposing team turns up, causing the thieves to quickly fall back and disappear up Mt. Chimney. The opposing team gives chase, as does the player, who, when they eventually arrive at the peak of Mt. Chimney, finds Team Magma and Team Aqua engaged in battle. The player finds and faces the main admin of their game’s evil team (Magma’s admin Tabitha if Ruby, Aqua’s admin Matt if Sapphire). Once the player gets past the admin they see the leader of their game’s primary evil team using the meteorite in a machine; the player quickly engages and defeats the leader and retrieves the meteorite.
The player leaves the scene and is now able to take Mt. Chimney’s southern path, which was previously blocked by the fighting team members of Aqua/Magma. They head down Mt. Chimney and arrive at Lavaridge Town, enthusiastically heading onwards to face Flannery at the Lavaridge Gym despite everything that had happened on their journey just beforehand. The player, undeterred by all their battles with the game’s villains, makes quick work of Flannery and leaves with her Heat Badge. Shortly after, they meet Brendan/May again, who gives the player the Go-Goggles and suggests that maybe it’s time the player travelled to take on their father at the Petalburg Gym and show him what they’ve learned. Excited to do just that, the player makes tracks to the Petalburg Gym and battles their father, who is slightly taken aback but nonetheless very proud to award the player with the Balance Badge.
The rest of the journey, spoilers and all
With four badges, Norman finally accepts your challenge, and the Balance Badge brings Surf. On Route 119 the villains seize the Weather Institute; driving them out earns you Castform, and your rival hands over HM02 Fly. An invisible Kecleon blocks Fortree’s Gym until Steven gives you the Devon Scope on Route 120, and Winona’s Feather Badge follows. Beyond Lilycove, on Mt. Pyre, the team snatches one of two ancient orbs (the Blue Orb in Ruby, the Red Orb in Sapphire), and the old lady at the summit entrusts you with the other. You storm the team’s hideout in the Lilycove cove, but its leader escapes in a submarine stolen from Slateport.
Steven gives you Dive at his Mossdeep home, and Tate and Liza’s double battle earns the Mind Badge that lets you use it. Deep under Route 128, in the Seafloor Cavern, Maxie or Archie uses the stolen orb to wake Groudon or Kyogre. It refuses to obey and breaks free, scorching or drowning Hoenn. Steven leads you to Sootopolis, where Wallace guards the Cave of Origin. The legendary waits at the bottom at Lv. 45, and catching or beating it ends the crisis. Wallace’s Rain Badge completes the set. On Victory Road a recovered Wally battles you one last time. Then come Sidney, Phoebe, Glacia and Drake, and the Champion turns out to be Steven himself. After the Hall of Fame, Latios or Latias starts roaming, Rayquaza stirs atop the Sky Pillar, the Sealed Chamber leads to the three Regis, Steven leaves you a Beldum, and the Battle Tower waits out at sea.
Screenshots via Bulbapedia.
Your rival and Wally
Brendan or May battles you four times, always with the starter that beats yours:
- Route 103 (one Pokémon, Lv. 5): Torchic if you chose Treecko, Mudkip if you chose Torchic, Treecko if you chose Mudkip.
- Route 110 (three Pokémon): if you chose Treecko, Wailmer Lv. 18, Shroomish Lv. 18, Combusken Lv. 20; if you chose Torchic, Numel Lv. 18, Shroomish Lv. 18, Marshtomp Lv. 20; if you chose Mudkip, Numel Lv. 18, Wailmer Lv. 18, Grovyle Lv. 20.
- Route 119 (three Pokémon; the rival gives you HM02 Fly afterwards): if you chose Treecko, Wailmer Lv. 29, Shroomish Lv. 29, Combusken Lv. 31; if you chose Torchic, Numel Lv. 29, Shroomish Lv. 29, Marshtomp Lv. 31; if you chose Mudkip, Wailmer Lv. 29, Numel Lv. 29, Grovyle Lv. 31.
- Lilycove City (optional, four Pokémon): if you chose Treecko, Swellow Lv. 31, Wailmer Lv. 32, Shroomish Lv. 32, Combusken Lv. 34; if you chose Torchic, Swellow Lv. 31, Shroomish Lv. 32, Numel Lv. 32, Marshtomp Lv. 34; if you chose Mudkip, Swellow Lv. 31, Numel Lv. 32, Wailmer Lv. 32, Grovyle Lv. 34.
- The rival never evolves the starter to its final stage and cannot be battled again once you have entered the Hall of Fame.
Wally’s battles:
- Route 102 capture lesson (not a battle against you): Norman’s loaned Zigzagoon, Lv. 7, weakens a wild Ralts, Lv. 5, for Wally to catch.
- Mauville City, outside the Gym: Ralts Lv. 16, backed by two Super Potions. He loses, accepts his uncle’s verdict and vows to train harder.
- Victory Road, near the exit: Altaria Lv. 44, Delcatty Lv. 43, Roselia Lv. 44, Magneton Lv. 41, Gardevoir Lv. 45.
- Victory Road rematches after the Hall of Fame: the same five, rising each time until the fourth and later rematches field Altaria Lv. 56, Delcatty Lv. 55, Roselia Lv. 56, Magneton Lv. 53 and Gardevoir Lv. 57.
Team Magma, Team Aqua and the orbs
Ruby and Sapphire tell one story from opposite ends. Team Magma, led by Maxie, wants more land and targets Groudon. Team Aqua, under Archie, believes a world with more sea would suit people and Pokémon alike, and pursues Kyogre. Your version’s team does the dirty work while the other lurks in the background. Grunts menace you in Petalburg Woods and Rusturf Tunnel, then take over Slateport’s Oceanic Museum. On Mt. Chimney the team aims a stolen meteorite at the volcano: Magma to make it erupt, Aqua to quieten it so rain can fill the cooled crater. You beat an admin there (Tabitha in Ruby, Matt in Sapphire) and wreck the plan. Courtney or Shelly later holds the Weather Institute on Route 119. The team then steals an orb from Mt. Pyre and falls back to its hideout in the Lilycove cove. From there it takes a submarine pinched from Slateport down to the Seafloor Cavern beneath Route 128. The leader uses the orb to rouse the ancient Pokémon, but it shrugs off control and escapes to the Cave of Origin, bringing drought or deluge. Once you have dealt with it, the chastened leader returns the orb to Mt. Pyre.
Steven Stone
Steven is the son of Mr. Stone, president of the Devon Corporation. You first find him deep in Granite Cave, where his father’s letter earns you the Steel Wing TM. He crosses your path again on Route 118, gives you the Devon Scope on Route 120 and hands over HM08 Dive at his Mossdeep house. When Groudon or Kyogre wakes, he leads you to Sootopolis and the Cave of Origin. At the Pokémon League he is revealed as Hoenn’s Champion, with Skarmory Lv. 57, Claydol Lv. 55, Aggron Lv. 56, Cradily Lv. 56, Armaldo Lv. 56 and Metagross Lv. 58 (holding a Sitrus Berry), plus four Full Restores. After the credits he leaves a Beldum and a note at home.
In the anime and movies
Ruby & Sapphire gave the anime its Advanced Generation: May, Max, the Contests and a Hoenn tour that ran for four seasons.
In the anime
Anime seasons which loosely tie in with Ruby & Sapphire (in terms of locations, NPCs such as Gym Leaders and Pokémon):
Season 6: Advanced2002–2003Episodes AG001 to AG040 follow Ruby and Sapphire closely. Ash lands in Hoenn with only Pikachu and meets Professor Birch and May, who chooses Torchic. Max joins at the Petalburg Gym, where Norman is Gym Leader. Team Magma kidnaps a professor near Oldale Town in the second episode, and Steven Stone cameos in Granite Cave. The season runs from Littleroot through the Stone, Knuckle and Dynamo Badges, with May’s Contest career beginning in Rustboro.
Season 7: Advanced Challenge2003–2004Episodes AG041 to AG092 cover the middle of Hoenn: Fallarbor’s Contest, Lavaridge and Flannery’s Heat Badge, then the return to Petalburg, where Ash finally battles Norman for the Balance Badge. The journey then heads to Fortree for Winona’s Feather Badge.
Season 8: Advanced Battle2004–2005Episodes AG093 to AG145 bring the Hoenn story to a head with the Groudon and Kyogre two-parter, Tate and Liza’s Mind Badge and Juan’s Rain Badge. May reaches the Top 8 of the Grand Festival, and Ash loses to Tyson in the Ever Grande Conference quarter-finals. The season then returns to Kanto.
Season 9: Battle Frontier2005–2006Episodes AG146 to AG192 tie in with Emerald rather than Ruby and Sapphire: Ash takes on a Battle Frontier back in Kanto after meeting Scott, an Emerald character who never appears in Ruby and Sapphire.In the movies
Pokémon Heroes: Latios & Latias2002Released in Japan months before Ruby and Sapphire, it introduced the Eon duo who roam Hoenn, or wait on Southern Island, in the games.
Pokémon: Jirachi – Wish Maker2003This film stars Jirachi, the Mythical Pokémon that Ruby and Sapphire players could only receive through events or the Colosseum Bonus Disc.
Pokémon: Destiny Deoxys2004Deoxys, the other event-only Hoenn Pokémon, faces Rayquaza, the legend that rests atop the Sky Pillar in Ruby and Sapphire. Kids’ WB premiered the dub on 22 January 2005.The Hoenn badge episodes
The badge episodes, plus the Groudon and Kyogre two-parter:
- AG001Get the Show on the Road! – Ash arrives in Hoenn with only Pikachu, and May chooses Torchic from Professor Birch.
- AG016
The Winner by a Nosepass! – Ash beats Roxanne for the Stone Badge, and May decides to become a Coordinator. - AG031
Just One of the Geysers – The rematch with Brawly on his geyser field earns the Knuckle Badge. - AG040
Watt’s with Wattson? – An overcharged Pikachu sweeps Wattson’s three Pokémon for the Dynamo Badge. - AG056
Going, Going, Yawn – Ash takes the Heat Badge from Flannery. - AG070
Balance of Power – Ash defeats Norman for the Balance Badge, and Abilities are first shown activating. - AG085
Sky High Gym Battle! – Winona’s Feather Badge. - AG097Gaining Groudon – Maxie and Archie debut as Teams Magma and Aqua fight over Groudon, Kyogre and the orbs.
- AG098The Scuffle of Legends – Groudon and Kyogre clash, the orbs vanish and both teams’ plans collapse.
- AG100
Solid as a Solrock – Pikachu and Swellow beat Tate and Liza’s Solrock and Lunatone in a Double Battle for the Mind Badge. - AG111
Eight Ain’t Enough – Ash beats Juan, the anime’s Sootopolis Gym Leader in place of Wallace, for his eighth Hoenn badge.
What’s new in Hoenn
New features
Pokémon Natures were added: whenever a Pokémon is spawned in the wild or bred it has a Nature that benefits one stat and affects another, making the game more balanced and each Pokémon unique. Each Pokémon species now has a Pokémon Ability! After entering battle, or when something happens during battle, they do something like raising stats, lowering the enemy’s stats, or just being faster during a downpour. The Abilities make battling more fun and entertaining! Want to know more? Check out our guide to Pokémon Natures.
Double battles are happening! Now you can battle against two Pokémon at once with two Pokémon of your party. This really makes the hunting of Pokémon more fun and changes the strategy, as certain attacks have to hit two Pokémon at once, or all Pokémon, like Earthquake! This is what makes Abilities so useful, because there are some Pokémon that are immune to Ground-type moves – so if your partner Earthquakes there are no worries!
Pokémon Contests! Finally a way to battle… without battling. Pokémon Contests let you face your Pokémon against others without having to fight them; all the moves do things to impress the crowd. Moves are categorised as Cool, Beauty, Cute, Smart and Tough! Now you can become the best at Contests, groom your Pokémon and earn all the Ribbons for your beloved partners. Ribbons are basically prizes that you get when your Pokémon gets an achievement such as winning a Contest, filling up its EVs or just being plain unique. Be on the lookout for them.
Stats were overhauled. Individual Values are now unique and Effort Values manage how much your Pokémon grows from fighting. The new setup is done in a way that training affects your Pokémon, but breeding does too.
In depth: every Generation III system
Hoenn introduced more new systems than any generation since the first. Here is each one, with the fine print.
Can I catch them all?
Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire introduced a pretty impressive 135 new Pokémon, bringing the total number of known Pokémon to 386 across these titles and their predecessors. Unfortunately, due to a lack of connectivity between the Game Boy/GBC titles and the Game Boy Advance, not all known Pokémon can be brought to Hoenn (not in its GBA form, at least). In order to complete the Pokédex, trading is a necessity (cheating and hacking aside).
Event-only Pokémon
There are several Pokémon that could only be obtained via official Nintendo events (or the exploitation of cheats and glitches). These are:
- Latias and Latios: one roams your version after the Hall of Fame – Latios in Ruby, Latias in Sapphire. The other sits on Southern Island and needs the event-only Eon Ticket (Latias in Ruby, Latios in Sapphire). See our guide for how to get them.
- Jirachi & Deoxys: these two Gen III Pokémon are the only third-gen ’mons that have to be caught by external means – for example, if you had a GameCube you could use the Bonus Disc for Pokémon Colosseum in order to get Jirachi.
Version exclusives
Like all the paired series titles before them, Ruby and Sapphire also have a number of version-exclusive Pokémon, although not many – six version-exclusive normal Pokémon plus their mascot Legendaries (and, strictly, the roaming Eon Pokémon). Here’s what each game has:
Exclusive to Ruby
Seedot#273
Nuzleaf#274
Shiftry#275
Mawile#303
Zangoose#335
Solrock#338
Latios#381
Groudon#383
Seedot, Nuzleaf and Shiftry (Grass/Dark), Mawile (Steel), Zangoose (Normal), Solrock (Rock/Psychic), the roaming Latios – and Groudon, the Ground-type Legendary.
Exclusive to Sapphire
Lotad#270
Lombre#271
Ludicolo#272
Sableye#302
Seviper#336
Lunatone#337
Latias#380
Kyogre#382
Lotad, Lombre and Ludicolo (Water/Grass), Sableye (Dark/Ghost), Seviper (Poison), Lunatone (Rock/Psychic), the roaming Latias – and Kyogre, the Water-type Legendary.
Version decorations differ too: a Seedot doll and red tent in Ruby, a Lotad doll and blue tent in Sapphire.
What Hoenn leaves out
186 of the 386 Pokémon cannot be obtained in Ruby or Sapphire without trading or events: the 184 Generation I and II species left out of the Hoenn Pokédex (104 from Kanto’s original 151, 80 from Johto’s 100, including Mew and Celebi), plus Jirachi and Deoxys, which are in the Hoenn Pokédex but never appear in the wild.
Starter Pokémon
The Hoenn starters, with how each one fares against the Gyms:
TreeckoGrass · Grovyle (16) → Sceptile (36)
TorchicFire · Combusken (16) → Blaziken (36)
MudkipWater · Marshtomp (16) → Swampert (36)
- Treecko: A quick Grass type that handles Roxanne’s Rock Gym and Wallace’s Water team well. Flannery’s Fire Gym and Winona’s birds are its awkward stretches.
- Torchic: Combusken picks up the Fighting type, which pays off against Norman’s Normal types and Glacia’s Ice. Roxanne’s opening Rock Gym and Wallace’s Water team are the hardest matches.
- Mudkip: Once it becomes a Water and Ground type, Grass is its only weakness. It flattens Roxanne and Flannery and is immune to Wattson’s Electric attacks, which makes it the easiest of the three.
Legendary and Mythical Pokémon
- GroudonCave of Origin (Ruby)
- KyogreCave of Origin (Sapphire)
RayquazaSky Pillar
RegirockDesert Ruins
RegiceIsland Cave
RegisteelAncient Tomb- LatiosRoams Ruby
- LatiasRoams Sapphire
JirachiEvent only
DeoxysEvent only
Groudon – Lv. 45, Cave of Origin B4F, Sootopolis City (Ruby). Story encounter in Ruby only. After Maxie wakes it in the Seafloor Cavern, Steven leads you to Sootopolis and Wallace lets you into the Cave of Origin. It knows Slash, Bulk Up, Earthquake and Fire Blast, and its Ability is Drought. Sapphire players need a trade.
Kyogre – Lv. 45, Cave of Origin B4F, Sootopolis City (Sapphire). Story encounter in Sapphire only, after Archie wakes it in the Seafloor Cavern. It knows Body Slam, Calm Mind, Ice Beam and Hydro Pump, and its Ability is Drizzle. Ruby players need a trade.
Rayquaza – Lv. 70, Sky Pillar apex, Route 131 (both versions). Rocks block the Sky Pillar until you have entered the Hall of Fame. Climb with the Mach Bike to cross cracked tiles on 2F and 4F. It knows Fly, Rest, ExtremeSpeed and Outrage, and its Ability is Air Lock.
Regirock – Lv. 40, Desert Ruins, Route 111 (both versions). Solve the Sealed Chamber on Route 134 first: Dive in, use Dig by the first door, then read the inner wall with Relicanth leading your party and Wailord last. In the Desert Ruins, take two steps right, two down, then use Strength. Moves: Rock Throw, Curse, Superpower, AncientPower.
Regice – Lv. 40, Island Cave, Route 105 (both versions). After the Sealed Chamber, read the Braille in Island Cave and stand still for two minutes without pressing anything. It counts play time, so it works even with a dead clock battery. Moves: Icy Wind, Curse, Superpower, AncientPower.
Registeel – Lv. 40, Ancient Tomb, Route 120 (both versions). After the Sealed Chamber, use Fly in the middle of the Ancient Tomb’s inner room. Moves: Metal Claw, Curse, Superpower, AncientPower.
Latios – Lv. 40 roaming; 50 on Southern Island, Roaming Hoenn (Ruby); Southern Island (Sapphire, Eon Ticket). In Ruby it starts roaming once you enter the Hall of Fame, tries to flee every turn and keeps any status condition between meetings, so trap it first. In Sapphire it waits on Southern Island holding a Soul Dew, reached on the S.S. Tidal from Lilycove only with the Eon Ticket. Moves: Protect, Refresh, Luster Purge, Psychic.
Latias – Lv. 40 roaming; 50 on Southern Island, Roaming Hoenn (Sapphire); Southern Island (Ruby, Eon Ticket). The mirror of Latios: it roams Sapphire after the Hall of Fame and sits on Southern Island in Ruby, holding a Soul Dew, for players with the Eon Ticket. Moves: Water Sport, Refresh, Mist Ball, Psychic.
Jirachi – Lv. 5 (event), Not available in the wild. Received through the Pokémon Colosseum Bonus Disc (North America) or Pokémon Channel (Europe), each Jirachi holding a Salac or Ganlon Berry, or at Japanese events such as the Wishing Star (June to August 2003) and Tanabata distributions. No Hoenn-based game, the remakes included, offers it without an event.
Deoxys – Lv. Depends on the event, Not available in the wild. Trade or event only in Ruby and Sapphire, where it takes its Normal Forme. FireRed, LeafGreen and Emerald players met it on Birth Island with the Aurora Ticket, and Deoxys changes Forme when traded between games.
Gift Pokémon, in-game trades and trade evolutions
Pokémon you are simply handed:
- Treecko, Torchic or Mudkip (Lv. 5) – Route 101. Professor Birch’s starter, the one you use to save him from a wild Poochyena.
- Wynaut (Egg) – Lavaridge Town. From the old woman by the hot-spring sand baths; it hatches at Lv. 5.
- Lileep or Anorith (Lv. 20) – Devon Corporation, Rustboro City. Take either the Root Fossil or the Claw Fossil from the Route 111 desert, not both, and a Devon scientist brings it back to life.
- Castform (Lv. 25) – Weather Institute, Route 119. A thank-you from a scientist once you drive out Team Magma or Team Aqua; it holds Mystic Water.
- Beldum (Lv. 5) – Steven’s house, Mossdeep City. Left on his table with a note after you enter the Hall of Fame.
Hoenn’s three in-game trades, the same in both versions:
| You give | You get | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Slakoth | Makuhita (nickname MAKIT, holding an X Attack) | Rustboro City |
| Pikachu | Skitty (nickname SKITIT, holding Glitter Mail) | Fortree City |
| Bellossom | Corsola (nickname COROSO, holding Tropic Mail) | Pacifidlog Town |
Each traded Pokémon arrives with one Contest condition raised by 30, the others by 5, and a sheen of 10. The trades are identical in both versions.
Six evolutions in the Hoenn Pokédex only happen through trading, three of them with the Pokémon holding an item: Kadabra into Alakazam, Machoke into Machamp, Graveler into Golem, Seadra into Kingdra (Dragon Scale), Clamperl into Huntail (DeepSeaTooth), Clamperl into Gorebyss (DeepSeaScale).
Our own count: 178 in each version. Start from the 202 Hoenn Pokédex entries. Take away Jirachi and Deoxys (2), the other version’s seven exclusives (Lotad line, Sableye, Seviper, Lunatone and Kyogre in Ruby; Seedot line, Mawile, Zangoose, Solrock and Groudon in Sapphire), the Eon Pokémon that needs the Eon Ticket (1), the two starter lines you did not pick (6), the fossil line you did not take (2), and the six trade evolutions (Alakazam, Machamp, Golem, Kingdra, Huntail and Gorebyss).
Trading, the e-Reader and the GameCube
Like the previous Pokémon core-series titles, Ruby and Sapphire continued to allow players to trade between the two cartridges in order to fill up their Pokédex by trading the game-exclusive Pokémon – this time it was done using the GBA Game Link Cable. Unfortunately Ruby & Sapphire cannot be used with the Wireless Adapter, and likewise they weren’t backwards compatible with their Gen I and II counterpart titles.
Ruby and Sapphire can trade with fellow GBA titles Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, and also offer compatibility with the spin-off titles Pokémon Colosseum and its sequel Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness for GameCube. Later on, Ruby & Sapphire would also be able to trade with their successor, Pokémon Emerald.
The Pokémon from Ruby & Sapphire / Gen III can’t be traded directly to Gen IV, V or VI games; however, if the player chooses to do so they can permanently transfer their Pokémon to Gen IV using the Pal Park feature. If you want to get Pokémon from your Gen III game to a Generation V game you can do so by transferring first to a Gen IV game and then using the Poké Transfer. Likewise, Gen III ’mons can be transferred to a Gen VI title using the Poké Transporter, or even to Pokémon Bank, if you go via a Gen IV and Gen V game.
Ruby and Sapphire link by Game Link Cable only; they do not support the Wireless Adapter and were the last core games limited to wired play. Up to four Game Boy Advance systems can connect, enough for Multi Battles, four-player Contests and the Berry Blender. In the Cable Club you can trade, battle and mix records with other copies of Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, FireRed and LeafGreen, although Japanese and non-Japanese cartridges cannot mix records. Mixing also spreads Secret Bases and copies of the Eon Ticket. A trade with FireRed, LeafGreen or Emerald unlocks the National Pokédex. On GameCube, Pokémon Colosseum and XD trade with them over the GameCube link cable. Pokémon Box Ruby & Sapphire stores and breeds them. Pokémon Channel and the Colosseum Bonus Disc send Jirachi to copies in the same language. Japanese and English copies can also use the e-Reader for Battle-e trainer cards and Mystery Events. There is no link to Generation I or II, because Game Boy and Game Boy Advance link systems differ. Generation IV’s Pal Park later moved Pokémon forward one way.
The Hoenn region
Ruby & Sapphire are set in the Hoenn region, an area of the Pokémon world just south of the Sinnoh region. Hoenn was inspired by Kyushu, the main Japanese island (turned ninety degrees). Like Johto and Kanto had themed place names before it (i.e. places named after colours, or plants), Hoenn is no different: all of the cities and towns of Hoenn are two words joined together, for example Little Root, Ever Grande and so on.
This region’s Pokémon Professor, as mentioned already in the story, is Professor Birch in Littleroot Town.
As you can probably tell from the map above, the Hoenn region features an impressive variety of environments, which range from volcanic regions to deserts, grasslands and rainforests. Compared to other regions from the core series of games there is also a comparably large water mass, especially when compared to the largely landlocked Sinnoh region. Likewise, Hoenn was compared to Johto by Ruby in the Pokémon Adventures manga when she stated that she preferred Johto’s many large and modern cities over the wilderness and sparse population of the Hoenn region. Due to the rugged nature of the inland terrain, the majority of the towns in Hoenn are situated on the coast.
Another notable feature is that the Hoenn region has one active volcano, Mt. Chimney, in the north-west. The name Mt. Chimney is owed to the fact that every so often the volcano will pump out clouds of ash, which rain down on nearby towns, cities and routes.
Hoenn has a warm, semi-tropical climate, so it’s suspected that Hoenn must be situated reasonably close to the equator of the Pokémon world. But it’s not all piña coladas and sunshine for the residents of Hoenn: the desert regions are prone to terrible sandstorms, whereas the north-eastern areas can often be pelted by tropical rainstorms, which act to sustain the region’s rainforests.
Hoenn, in the order you reach it
Littleroot Town
Littleroot is the smallest settlement in Hoenn, a cluster of homes surrounded by lively countryside, and the place your family moves to as the game begins. Your new house stands next door to Professor Birch’s, so his son or daughter is your neighbour and soon your rival. Your first real meeting with Birch happens just outside town on Route 101, where a wild Poochyena has him cornered. The town’s name follows Hoenn’s habit of joining two words, here ‘little’ and ‘root’.
Pokémon of note: Treecko, Torchic, Mudkip, Poochyena. Items: Your starter, from Professor Birch’s bag on Route 101.
Routes 101–103 & Oldale Town
These short routes form Hoenn’s training ground. Route 101 links Littleroot with Oldale Town, a little place whose bright flowers stand out against thick woodland, and it is where Birch’s bag gives you your first partner. On Route 103 Birch’s child waits for the first rival battle: a single Lv. 5 starter chosen to have the type edge over yours. On Route 102 Wally, armed with Norman’s borrowed Zigzagoon, catches his Ralts while you watch, the game’s lesson in how to catch a Pokémon.
Pokémon of note: Poochyena, Zigzagoon, Ralts.
Petalburg City & Route 104
Petalburg is a seaside city where the breeze smells of salt, and its Gym belongs to your father, Norman. The Gym stays closed to you until you hold four badges, so your first visit is a family call that turns into a tutorial when Wally walks in wanting a Pokémon of his own. When you return, Norman’s Gym is a chain of rooms, each themed on a battle skill such as speed, accuracy or defence, and you must clear three in a row to reach him. Petalburg’s dock is also where Mr. Briney sets sail for Dewford once Peeko is safe.
Pokémon of note: Slaking, Vigoroth, Zigzagoon. Items: TM42 Facade (Norman), Balance Badge (Surf outside battle).
Petalburg Woods & Rustboro City
In Petalburg Woods you meet the villainous team for the first time, in the shape of a grunt you will beat again in Rusturf Tunnel. Rustboro, beyond, is Hoenn’s industrial heart and home of the Devon Corporation. Its president, Mr. Stone, gives you a PokéNav for agreeing to carry his letter, and later an Exp. Share. A Devon scientist turns whichever fossil you found in the Route 111 desert into Lileep or Anorith at Lv. 20. Roxanne’s Rock-type Gym awards the Stone Badge, and a local Trainer offers a Makuhita for your Slakoth.
Pokémon of note: Geodude, Nosepass, Lileep, Anorith, Makuhita. Items: TM39 Rock Tomb (Roxanne), PokéNav and Exp. Share (Mr. Stone), Stone Badge (Cut outside battle).
Route 116, Rusturf Tunnel & Verdanturf Town
Rusturf Tunnel was meant to link Rustboro with Verdanturf, but Mr. Stone stopped the digging when it began to upset the Whismur living inside. On your first visit Mr. Briney waits by the entrance, pleading with you to rescue his Wingull, Peeko, from the grunt who is also holding Devon’s stolen goods. On the far side lies Verdanturf, a quiet town where the prevailing winds keep Mt. Chimney’s ash away. That clean air is why Wally is sent to live there with his aunt and uncle. The town also has a Contest Hall with one Berry Blender partner.
Pokémon of note: Whismur, Wingull.
Dewford Town & Granite Cave
Dewford is a small island town that lives for the latest fad, and changing its current trend also reshuffles the hidden Feebas tiles far away on Route 119. Mr. Briney’s boat brings you here from Petalburg. Brawly’s Gym is a pitch-black maze that brightens as you beat each Trainer, and his Knuckle Badge lets you use Flash outside battle. That helps in Granite Cave, where Steven is exploring when you arrive with his father’s letter. He repays you with the Steel Wing TM and a word of encouragement.
Pokémon of note: Machop, Makuhita. Items: TM08 Bulk Up (Brawly), Steel Wing TM (Steven), Knuckle Badge (Flash outside battle).
Route 109 & Slateport City
Slateport is a bustling port where people from many regions mingle, and Mr. Briney sails you here once Steven has his letter. Captain Stern built its Oceanic Museum, a shrine to the sea, with water samples from Kanto and Johto on the upper floor. Entry costs 50, but while the villains occupy it a penniless player is waved in, taken for a member. Two grunts fight you upstairs, and the grunt from Petalburg Woods hands over TM46 Thief before slinking off. Stern’s Shipyard awaits Devon’s parcel, a girl in the Contest Hall gives you the Pokéblock Case, and the Pokémon Fan Club chairman hands out scarves to well-groomed Pokémon.
Items: TM46 Thief (grunt in the Oceanic Museum), Pokéblock Case (Contest Hall), Contest scarves (Pokémon Fan Club).
Route 110 & Mauville City
Route 110 is where Birch’s child catches up with you for the second rival battle, now with three Pokémon. It leads to Mauville, a big central city that blends old and new technology. Outside the Gym, Wally, visiting with his uncle, begs to prove himself, battles you with his Ralts and takes his defeat with good grace. Wattson’s Gym is laced with electric barriers flicked on and off by floor switches, which shut down for good once you win the Dynamo Badge and Rock Smash. The Game Corner runs special service days, and once you can Surf, Wattson has another job that pays with TM24 Thunderbolt.
Pokémon of note: Magnemite, Voltorb, Magneton, Ralts. Items: TM34 Shock Wave (Wattson), TM24 Thunderbolt (Wattson’s later job), Dynamo Badge (Rock Smash outside battle).
Fallarbor Town, Meteor Falls & Route 114
Fallarbor was founded by scholars who came to study meteorites, which makes it a fitting stop on a journey shaped by a stolen meteorite. In its Pokémon Center you meet Lanette, the engineer who built and maintains Hoenn’s Pokémon Storage System. She invites you to her cluttered house on Route 114 and gives you a Seedot doll in Ruby or a Lotad doll in Sapphire in return for keeping the mess to yourself. Fallarbor also has a Contest Hall. In the Pokémon Adventures manga, Meteor Falls hides the village of the Draconid people.
Items: Seedot doll (Ruby) or Lotad doll (Sapphire) from Lanette.
Mt. Chimney, Jagged Pass & Lavaridge Town
Mt. Chimney, in Hoenn’s north-west, is the region’s only active volcano, and its ash regularly rains down on the surrounding area. At the summit the villains turn a stolen meteorite on the crater: Team Magma to trigger an eruption, Team Aqua to calm it so rain can fill the cooled bowl. You beat Tabitha in Ruby or Matt in Sapphire and spoil the scheme. Jagged Pass then winds down to Lavaridge, a spa town whose hot springs are said to cure any ailment. An old woman by the sand baths gives you a Wynaut Egg, the herb shop sells bitter but potent remedies, and after Flannery’s Heat Badge your rival presents the Go-Goggles.
Pokémon of note: Slugma, Torkoal, Wynaut. Items: TM50 Overheat (Flannery), Wynaut Egg, Go-Goggles (rival), Charcoal (herb shop).
Route 111 desert
The heart of Route 111 is Hoenn’s desert, where sandstorms rage across the dunes. Somewhere in the sand lie a Root Fossil and a Claw Fossil, but you may take only one. Devon’s scientists in Rustboro bring it back as Lileep or Anorith. The desert also hides the Desert Ruins, a sealed rock that opens only once the Sealed Chamber puzzle is solved. Inside, Braille tells you to take two steps right and two down, then use Strength, which wakes Regirock. Emerald later moved the fossils into the Mirage Tower, which Ruby and Sapphire never had.
Pokémon of note: Lileep, Anorith, Regirock. Items: Root Fossil or Claw Fossil (one only).
Fortree City & Route 119
Route 119 is a tropical rainforest that follows a long river, and its map description warns that the harsh conditions will beat you within minutes; rain falls on three days out of four. The Weather Institute here is seized by Courtney in Ruby or Shelly in Sapphire. Clear them out and a grateful scientist gives you Castform. Further north your rival battles you a third time and hands over HM02 Fly. Six random river tiles hold Feebas, and two invisible Kecleon lurk until the Devon Scope reveals them. Fortree itself is a city of tree houses. Another Kecleon blocks Winona’s Gym until Steven provides the Scope, and a resident trades a Skitty for a Pikachu.
Pokémon of note: Feebas, Castform, Tropius, Kecleon, Skitty. Items: HM02 Fly (rival), TM40 Aerial Ace (Winona), Castform (Weather Institute), Rare Candy (upper river, needs Acro Bike, Surf and Waterfall).
Routes 120–121, the Safari Zone & Lilycove City
On Route 120 Steven hands you the Devon Scope, and the Ancient Tomb, home of Registeel, waits for the Sealed Chamber to be solved. Lilycove is the largest city in Ruby and Sapphire, a seaside tourist magnet with a department store that holds sales on random days and a Contest Hall where three partners can join you at the Berry Blender. Your rival offers an optional fourth battle here. The villains have dug their hideout into the city’s cove, and the S.S. Tidal sails from the harbour. In the Safari Zone, Pokéblock feeders lure Pokémon of particular Natures, and thrown Pokéblocks make wild Pokémon less likely to run.
Pokémon of note: Registeel. Items: Devon Scope (Steven, Route 120), Pokéblocks for the Safari Zone feeders.
Mt. Pyre
Mt. Pyre, rising from Route 122, is Hoenn’s resting place for Pokémon, a counterpart to Kanto’s Pokémon Tower. Its interior is lined with graves visited by grieving Trainers, and its inscription says the spirits of Pokémon rest here, past, present and future. An elderly couple on the summit guard two relics, the Red Orb and the Blue Orb. In Ruby, Team Magma barges in and takes the Blue Orb; in Sapphire, Team Aqua seizes the Red. The old lady then gives you the remaining orb. Legend makes the mountain the counterpart of the Cave of Origin: one is said to be where life ends, the other where it begins.
Pokémon of note: Shuppet, Duskull, Vulpix, Meditite, Chimecho. Items: Cleanse Tag (1F), Sea Incense (4F), Lax Incense (5F), TM Skill Swap (exterior).
Mossdeep City & Shoal Cave
Mossdeep is an island city devoted to space research, and the game’s clock even counts its rocket launches. Steven lives here: visit his house for HM08 Dive, and after the Hall of Fame he leaves a Beldum and a note on his table. Tate and Liza’s Gym is a floor of moving tiles whose directions change as you pull switches, and the twins always fight together in a Double Battle. Their Mind Badge lets you Dive outside battle. Shoal Cave’s tides rise and fall with the real-time clock, one of only two things in Ruby and Sapphire still tied to the time of day.
Pokémon of note: Lunatone, Solrock, Beldum. Items: HM08 Dive (Steven), TM04 Calm Mind (Tate & Liza), Beldum (Steven’s house, after the Hall of Fame).
Route 128 & the Seafloor Cavern
Far beneath Route 128 lies the Seafloor Cavern, reached only by Surfing out and Diving down. The stolen Submarine Explorer 1 sits moored at the bottom. Inside, a maze of chambers demands Strength and Rock Smash, and Courtney (Ruby) or Shelly (Sapphire) and their grunts guard the way. In the deepest room Maxie, whose ace is Camerupt Lv. 43, or Archie, whose ace is Sharpedo Lv. 43, uses the orb from Mt. Pyre to rouse the slumbering legendary. It will not be tamed and bursts free, spreading harsh sun or heavy rain across eastern Hoenn.
Pokémon of note: Groudon, Kyogre, Camerupt, Sharpedo.
Sootopolis City & the Cave of Origin
Sootopolis sits in the rain-filled crater of an old undersea volcano, so the only ways in are from the air or by Diving up through the seabed off Route 126. It is the one city you must Dive to reach the first time. Wallace runs the Water-type Gym and guards the Cave of Origin at the north end, a shrine said to be where life begins. During the crisis the city bakes or floods, and Kiri, the girl who gives out two Berries a day, is nowhere to be seen. Groudon or Kyogre waits at Lv. 45 on the cave’s lowest floor, and HM07 Waterfall lies one floor above.
Pokémon of note: Groudon (Ruby), Kyogre (Sapphire), Milotic, Barboach. Items: HM07 Waterfall (Cave of Origin B3F), TM03 Water Pulse (Wallace), Two Berries a day from Kiri, Wailmer Doll.
Pacifidlog Town & Mirage Island
Pacifidlog began life as a floating storehouse for people who lived on the ocean surface, and it remains one of Hoenn’s tiniest communities. A resident named Lane trades a Corsola for a Bellossom, and another hands out TMs on a schedule set by the clock. Mirage Island is the region’s great rumour: it appears only on certain days, chosen by a daily random draw tied to the real-time clock. That is one reason the berry glitch, which freezes daily events, frustrated so many players.
Pokémon of note: Corsola, Bellossom. Items: Corsola ‘COROSO’ (trade, holding Tropic Mail).
Ever Grande City, Victory Road & the Pokémon League
Ever Grande is a city of colourful blooms built around the Pokémon League. Victory Road is your last cave, and in Ruby and Sapphire Wally ambushes you near its exit with a team led by Gardevoir; after the Hall of Fame he stays for rematches. Then come the Elite Four, Sidney (Dark), Phoebe (Ghost), Glacia (Ice) and Drake (Dragon), and the Champion, Steven, who escorts you into the Hall of Fame. These were the first games in which the Elite Four had their own battle music instead of reusing the Gym Leader theme.
Pokémon of note: Gardevoir, Absol, Salamence, Metagross.
Sky Pillar
The Sky Pillar is an ancient tower on the northern edge of Route 131, built to honour a legendary Pokémon said to live high in the heavens. Rocks wall the island off until you have entered the Hall of Fame. Inside, cracked tiles on the second and fourth floors mean you need the Mach Bike to climb. Wild Golbat, Claydol and Altaria haunt the tower, along with Mawile and Dusclops in Ruby or Sableye and Banette in Sapphire. Rayquaza rests at the apex at Lv. 70.
Pokémon of note: Rayquaza, Claydol, Altaria, Dusclops, Banette. Items: Mach Bike (needed to climb).
The Sealed Chamber and the three Regi chambers
Hidden under the currents of Route 134, the Sealed Chamber is reached by Diving and surfacing at a rock marked in Braille. The first room spells out the Braille alphabet, and its door asks you to Dig. The second reads ‘first comes Relicanth, last comes Wailord’. Read it with those two at the top and bottom of your party, and a rumble (the same sound as the removal van at the start of the game) unseals three tombs. Desert Ruins on Route 111 holds Regirock, Island Cave on Route 105 holds Regice and Ancient Tomb on Route 120 holds Registeel, each at Lv. 40 behind its own Braille riddle.
Pokémon of note: Relicanth, Wailord, Regirock, Regice, Registeel.
The Battle Tower & Southern Island
Two remote islands complete Hoenn. The Battle Tower stands in the sea south of Route 130, reachable only by boat, where sets of seven battles in Level 50 or Level 100 mode earn prizes, Shields and Ribbons. Southern Island is a tiny tropical isle reached on the S.S. Tidal from Lilycove Harbour, and only with the Eon Ticket. Waiting there at Lv. 50 and holding a Soul Dew is Latias in Ruby or Latios in Sapphire, the one that does not roam your version. The ticket came from Nintendo Power, e-Reader cards and events, and each could be passed on to 30 friends by mixing records.
Pokémon of note: Latias (Ruby), Latios (Sapphire). Items: Eon Ticket (event), Soul Dew (held by the Eon Pokémon), Silver and Gold Shields (Battle Tower).
Characters & teams
Hoenn’s cast: two villainous teams, a rival who is also the Professor’s child, a frail boy who becomes your last obstacle before the League, and a Champion who hides in a cave.
Team Aqua & Team Magma
Team Aqua
Team Aqua is a villainous gang that operates in the Hoenn region; their ambition is to expand the world’s water mass, a goal they hope to achieve by awakening the Legendary Pokémon Kyogre. Team Aqua is led by Archie, and two other major characters are Matt and Shelly, the team’s male and female admins. If you play the Sapphire version, Team Aqua will be the primary evil team.
Team Magma
The arch-rivals of Team Aqua, due to their completely opposite goals: these guys want to expand the world’s land mass, and their plans rely on raising the Legendary Ground-type Pokémon Groudon from its slumber. They also operate in the Hoenn region and are often seen in conflict with Aqua. Magma is led by Maxie, and other members of importance are Courtney and Tabitha, the team’s top-ranked admins. If you play the Ruby version, Team Magma will be the primary evil team.
The main cast
Brendan
Brendan (Yuuki in Japan) is the boy you can play as, or Professor Birch’s son and your rival if you choose May. As the player, he has just moved to Littleroot Town from Johto. As the rival, he lives next door, helps his father finish the Hoenn Pokédex and plans to become a Pokémon professor himself. He always takes the starter with the type edge over yours and battles you on Routes 103, 110 and 119 and, if you accept, in Lilycove City. He never evolves it to its final stage and bows out once you reach the Hall of Fame. Along the way he hands you the Go-Goggles in Lavaridge and HM02 Fly on Route 119.
May
May is the girl you can play as, or Professor Birch’s daughter and your rival if you choose Brendan. She is his exact counterpart: as the player she has just arrived in Littleroot, and as the rival she lives next door, helps her father with the Hoenn Pokédex, picks the starter that beats yours, gives you the Go-Goggles and HM02 Fly, and battles you on the same routes. The anime made her its new heroine. In Get the Show on the Road! she takes Torchic from Professor Birch and sets off with Ash, after the Rustboro Gym she decides to become a Pokémon Coordinator, and she reaches the Top 8 at the Hoenn Grand Festival.
Wally
Wally (Mitsuru in Japan) is a frail Petalburg boy whose illness is never explained, though clean air seems to help. Before moving to Verdanturf Town to live with his aunt and uncle, he asks Norman for help catching a Pokémon. With a borrowed Zigzagoon and Poké Ball he catches a Ralts on Route 102, the first rival ever shown catching a first Pokémon. In Mauville he begs his uncle to let him take on Wattson, loses to you and vows to train harder. He reappears on Victory Road, apparently cured, as your last challenge before the League: his Gardevoir now leads a team of five.
Professor Birch
Professor Birch is Hoenn’s Pokémon professor and the father of Brendan or May, depending on whom you play. Your first meeting is anything but dignified: a wild Poochyena has him cornered on Route 101, and the Pokémon you grab from his bag to rescue him (Treecko, Torchic or Mudkip, at Lv. 5) becomes yours. His child is helping him complete the Hoenn Pokédex. In Ruby and Sapphire, it is a trade with FireRed, LeafGreen or Emerald, not Birch, that adds the National mode.
Norman, your father
Norman is your father and the Normal-type Leader of the Petalburg Gym. Ruby and Sapphire were the first core games to show the player’s dad, and only they, Emerald and the remakes feature both parents. He lends Wally a Zigzagoon and a Poké Ball for his first catch, then refuses to battle you until you hold four badges. His Gym is a chain of themed training rooms. His team, Slaking Lv. 28, Vigoroth Lv. 30 and Slaking Lv. 31, backed by two Hyper Potions, guards the Balance Badge, Surf and TM42 Facade. In the anime his Vigoroth humbles Ash long before their official match in Balance of Power.
Steven Stone
Steven Stone (Daigo Tsuwabuki in Japan) is the son of Devon’s president and, as you discover at the League, Hoenn’s Champion. His favourite Pokémon is Beldum and his favourite move Steel Wing, which explains the gifts he leaves you. You meet him in Granite Cave, on Routes 118 and 120 and at his Mossdeep home, and he guides you to the Cave of Origin. Billed as a Steel specialist, his team holds as many Rock types as Steel.
Wallace
Wallace leads Sootopolis City’s Gym in Ruby and Sapphire, the eighth and last before the League, and also guards the Cave of Origin. His Water-type team of Luvdisc, Whiscash, Sealeo, Seaking and Milotic, topping out at Lv. 43, guards the Rain Badge, Waterfall and TM03 Water Pulse. The anime gave the Sootopolis Gym to Juan instead, and Ash beats his Luvdisc, Whiscash and Milotic in Eight Ain’t Enough.
Archie, leader of Team Aqua
Archie leads Team Aqua, the main villains of Sapphire. In the original games he believes a world with more sea would be kinder to people and Pokémon alike, a gentler motive than the remakes later gave him. He steals the Red Orb from Mt. Pyre and uses it in the Seafloor Cavern, where his Mightyena, Crobat and Sharpedo (Lv. 43) guard Kyogre’s resting place. Kyogre will not be controlled, and once you have calmed the crisis, Archie returns the orb. The anime introduced him in Gaining Groudon.
Maxie, leader of Team Magma
Maxie leads Team Magma, the main villains of Ruby, and wants to expand the world’s land by awakening Groudon. His team steals the Blue Orb from Mt. Pyre, and in the Seafloor Cavern he uses it to wake Groudon, defended by Mightyena, Crobat and Camerupt (Lv. 43). Because it is the wrong orb, Groudon flies into a rage instead of obeying. Once you have subdued it, Maxie returns the orb to its resting place and leaves. In the anime, Maxie and Archie debut together in Gaining Groudon.
Mr. Stone
Mr. Stone, full name Joseph Stone, is Steven’s father and president of the Devon Corporation in Rustboro. After you recover Devon’s stolen goods, he gives you a PokéNav for carrying a letter to Steven, then an Exp. Share. An old friend of Mr. Briney, he halted Rusturf Tunnel’s construction to protect the Whismur inside.
Mr. Briney
Mr. Briney (Old Man Hagi in Japan) is an old sailor whose Wingull, Peeko, is snatched by a grunt near Rusturf Tunnel. Rescue it and he ferries you to Dewford, then Slateport. In his youth he travelled the world with Mr. Stone and Drake, and after the Hall of Fame he turns out to captain the S.S. Tidal.
Lanette
Lanette (Mayumi in Japan) built and maintains Hoenn’s Pokémon Storage System. You meet her at the PC in Fallarbor’s Pokémon Center, and she invites you to her cluttered house on Route 114, giving you a Seedot doll (Ruby) or Lotad doll (Sapphire) to keep the mess secret. She is Brigette’s younger sister.
Gym Leaders
The eight Gym Leaders of the Hoenn region. You’ll have to beat all eight of these guys and win their badges if you want to enter the Pokémon League and take on the Elite Four and the Champion. Also check out our guide on the Gym Leaders of Ruby & Sapphire and how to beat them.
The Hoenn badge route – the order the game expects, with each leader’s ace, a sensible team level and the TM they hand over:
- Stone BadgeRoxanne · Rustboro CityRock · ace Nosepass Lv. 15Aim for Lv. 15 · TM39 Rock Tomb
- Knuckle BadgeBrawly · Dewford TownFighting · ace Makuhita Lv. 18Aim for Lv. 18 · TM08 Bulk Up
- Dynamo BadgeWattson · Mauville CityElectric · ace Magneton Lv. 23Aim for Lv. 23 · TM34 Shock Wave
- Heat BadgeFlannery · Lavaridge TownFire · ace Torkoal Lv. 28Aim for Lv. 28 · TM50 Overheat
- Balance BadgeNorman · Petalburg CityNormal · ace Slaking Lv. 31Aim for Lv. 30 · TM42 Facade
- Feather BadgeWinona · Fortree CityFlying · ace Altaria Lv. 33Aim for Lv. 33 · TM40 Aerial Ace
- Mind BadgeTate & Liza · Mossdeep CityPsychic · ace Solrock Lv. 42 (always a Double Battle)Aim for Lv. 42 · TM04 Calm Mind
- Rain BadgeWallace · Sootopolis CityWater · ace Milotic Lv. 43Aim for Lv. 43 · TM03 Water Pulse
The eight Hoenn Gym Leaders
Rustboro Gym: Roxanne
Roxanne only likes one thing more than studying and learning, and that’s battling with her team of Rock-type Pokémon. She’s known as “The Rock-Loving Honors Student”. Defeat Roxanne and she will present you with the Stone Badge.
“Hello, I am Roxanne, the Rustboro Pokémon Gym Leader. I became a Gym Leader so that I may apply what I learned at the Pokémon Trainer’s School in battle. Would you kindly demonstrate how you battle, and with which Pokémon?” – Roxanne
Team: Geodude Lv. 14, Nosepass Lv. 15
Roxanne is the first real test of your starter: Treecko and Mudkip have the edge over her Rock types, while Torchic has a tough afternoon. She uses just two Pokémon in Ruby and Sapphire. In the anime she debuts at Rustboro’s Pokémon Trainers’ School, and Ash wins the Stone Badge in The Winner by a Nosepass!, where Pikachu finally masters Iron Tail. Reward: TM39 Rock Tomb. Badge: Lets you use Cut outside battle and raises Attack by 10 per cent outside link battles.
Dewford Gym: Brawly
Brawly, as the name suggests, uses Fighting-type Pokémon – he’s always up for the ruck, that one. When he’s not battling at his Gym you can find him hittin’ the waves, as he loves to surf; as a result they call him “A big wave in fighting”. If you can knock out Brawly’s Fighting ’mons he’ll yield the Knuckle Badge.
“I’m Brawly! Dewford’s Gym Leader! I’ve been churned in the rough waves of these parts, and I’ve grown tough in the pitch-black cave! So you wanted to challenge me? Let me see what you’re made of!” – Brawly
Team: Machop Lv. 17, Makuhita Lv. 18
Brawly’s Gym is a pitch-black maze that lights up a little more with every Trainer you beat, and fully once he falls. Flying and Psychic types make short work of his pair. Emerald gave him a third Pokémon, Meditite. In the anime Ash loses the first battle and wins the rematch on Brawly’s geyser field in Just One of the Geysers, eleven episodes later. Reward: TM08 Bulk Up. Badge: Lets you use Flash outside battle; Pokémon up to Lv. 30 obey you.
Mauville Gym: Wattson
The jolly old man who stands as the leader of the Mauville Gym is known as Wattson, his name itself directly relating to the Electric Pokémon that he specialises in. If you can withstand the voltage of Wattson’s team and overcome him you’ll earn yourself the Dynamo Badge.
“I’ve given up on my plans to convert the city, I have. And so, I put my time into making door traps in my Gym. Oh? Now, what are you doing here? What’s that? You say you’ve gotten past all my rigged doors? Wahahahah! Now, that is amusing! Then, I, Wattson, the Leader of Mauville Gym, shall electrify you!” – Wattson
Team: Magnemite Lv. 22, Voltorb Lv. 20, Magneton Lv. 23
Wattson’s Gym is a puzzle of electric barriers switched on and off by floor switches, and they shut down for good once he loses. Ground types are immune to his attacks, which makes Marshtomp the ideal answer. Once you can Surf he has a further job for you, rewarded with TM24 Thunderbolt. In the anime Pikachu sweeps all three of his Pokémon in Watt’s with Wattson? Reward: TM34 Shock Wave. Badge: Lets you use Rock Smash outside battle and raises Speed by 10 per cent outside link battles.
Lavaridge Gym: Flannery
Flannery is a Fire-type specialist and the new leader of the Lavaridge Gym, who has recently taken over from her grandfather. She is known amongst the locals as “One with a fiery passion that burns!”. Extinguish Flannery and her team and she will yield her Heat Badge.
“Welcome… No, wait. Puny Trainer, how good to see you’ve made it here! I have been entrusted with the… No, wait. I am Flannery, and I’m the Gym Leader here! Uh… Dare not underestimate me, though I have been Leader only a short time! With skills inherited from my grandfather, I shall, uh…demonstrate the hot moves we have honed on this land!” – Flannery
Team: Slugma Lv. 26, Slugma Lv. 26, Torkoal Lv. 28
Flannery’s Gym is a steam-filled bathhouse where geysers lift you between floors and her students hide in the pools. In Ruby and Sapphire she fields two Slugma and a Torkoal; the Numel, Slugma, Camerupt and Torkoal line-up belongs to Emerald. Water and Ground moves win the day. In the anime Ash earns the Heat Badge in Going, Going, Yawn! Reward: TM50 Overheat. Badge: Lets you use Strength outside battle; Pokémon up to Lv. 50 obey you.
Petalburg Gym: Norman
Norman specialises in Normal Pokémon, as his name practically suggests. He is the father of the player, but don’t think for a minute that he’ll go easy on you: Norman is ambitious and wants to rise above the status of Gym Leader, and people know him as “A man in pursuit of power!”. Face down and defeat your in-game father in order to obtain the Balance Badge.
“Hm… So, you did get four Gym Badges. Fine, as I promised, we will have a Pokémon battle. … I’m so happy that I can have a real battle with my own child. But, a battle is a battle! I will do everything in my power as a Gym Leader to win. You’d better give it your best shot, too!” – Norman
Team: Slaking Lv. 28, Vigoroth Lv. 30, Slaking Lv. 31
Your father will not battle you until you hold four badges, and his Gym makes you clear three themed training rooms in a row before you reach him. He backs his Slaking pair and Vigoroth with two Hyper Potions; Fighting moves are the classic answer. Emerald swapped in Spinda and Linoone. In the anime Ash wins the Balance Badge in Balance of Power. Reward: TM42 Facade. Badge: Lets you use Surf outside battle and raises Defence by 10 per cent outside link battles.
Fortree Gym: Winona
Winona is an expert in bird Pokémon. The residents of Fortree City know her as “The bird user taking flight into the world”, a statement potentially linked to the fact that Winona often flies on the back of her Pokémon. Clip the wings of Winona and her team of birds and be awarded the Feather Badge.
“I am Winona. I am the Leader of the Fortree Pokémon Gym. I have become one with bird Pokémon and have soared the skies… However grueling the battle, we have triumphed with grace… Witness the elegant choreography of bird Pokémon and I!” – Winona
Team: Swellow Lv. 31, Pelipper Lv. 30, Skarmory Lv. 32, Altaria Lv. 33
An invisible Kecleon blocks Winona’s Gym until Steven gives you the Devon Scope on Route 120. Inside, rotating gates force you to double back, and no Trainer can be skipped. She backs her flock with two Hyper Potions, and Altaria is her ace. Electric and Rock moves work well, and Ice for the Dragon. In the anime Ash wins the Feather Badge in Sky High Gym Battle! Reward: TM40 Aerial Ace. Badge: Lets you use Fly outside battle; Pokémon up to Lv. 70 obey you.
Mossdeep Gym: Tate & Liza
The twin Gym Leaders of the Mossdeep Gym are Psychic specialists; they’re also the only Trainers in the game with the Trainer class ‘Leader’. The residents of Mossdeep City know them as “The mystic combination!”. They only command one Pokémon each, but they’re pretty tough. If the player can defeat this formidable duo they’ll be awarded the Mind Badge.
“Tate: “Hehehe… Were you surprised?” Liza: “Fufufu… Were you surprised?” Tate: “That there are two Gym Leaders?” Liza: “That there are two Gym Leaders?” Tate: “We’re twins!” Liza: “We’re twins!” – Tate & Liza
Team: Lunatone Lv. 42, Solrock Lv. 42 (always a Double Battle)
The twins share a Gym floor of moving tiles whose routes change with every switch you pull, and they always fight as a pair, with four Hyper Potions between them. Water and Grass moves hit both of their Rock and Psychic Pokémon hard. Emerald added Claydol and Xatu. In the anime Pikachu and Swellow win the Mind Badge in Solid as a Solrock. Reward: TM04 Calm Mind. Badge: Lets you use Dive outside battle and raises Special Attack and Special Defence by 10 per cent outside link battles.
Sootopolis Gym: Wallace
Wallace is a Water-type Trainer and the final Gym Leader you will take on in the Hoenn region. He is a tough Gym Leader with aspirations of going much further, which will soon be realised. He is unique in having the Trainer class ‘Sootopolitan’ and is known by locals as an “Artist, and lover of water”. Defeat him to obtain the Rain Badge, the final badge you will need in order to enter the Pokémon League and confront the Elite Four.
“My name is Wallace. I’m this town’s Gym Leader. I’ve also been entrusted with the protection of the Cave of Origin. This sunshine (Ruby)/downpour (Sapphire) is caused by a power emanating from the Cave of Origin. That… That is the Red Orb (Ruby)/Blue Orb (Sapphire). I see. Follow me.” – Wallace
Team: Luvdisc Lv. 40, Whiscash Lv. 42, Sealeo Lv. 40, Seaking Lv. 42, Milotic Lv. 43
Wallace is the eighth and final Gym Leader in Ruby and Sapphire, and also guardian of the Cave of Origin. Milotic is his ace, and Grass and Electric moves do most of the work, though Whiscash shrugs off Electric. In the anime the Sootopolis Gym belongs to Juan instead, and Ash beats his Luvdisc, Whiscash and Milotic for his eighth Hoenn badge in Eight Ain’t Enough. Reward: TM03 Water Pulse. Badge: Lets you use Waterfall outside battle; all Pokémon obey you.
The Elite Four & the Champion
Once the player reaches Ever Grande City they will get the opportunity to take on the Elite Four of Hoenn, and should they defeat them they’ll even get a shot at the Champion of the Pokémon League. Check out our Elite Four Strategy Guide if you’re having trouble beating them.
Sidney, Phoebe, Glacia and Drake, then Champion Steven
Sidney, Dark-type master
Considering he is a master of Dark-type Pokémon, Sidney is an upbeat guy who loves his Pokémon and his role within the Elite Four. Sidney will come at you with all-out offensive moves.
“Welcome, challenger! I’m Sidney of the Elite Four. I like that look you’re giving me. I guess you’ll give me a good match. That’s good! Looking real good! All right! You and me, let’s enjoy a battle that can only be staged here in the Pokémon League!” – Sidney
Team: Mightyena Lv. 46, Cacturne Lv. 46, Shiftry Lv. 48, Sharpedo Lv. 48, Absol Lv. 49
Sidney opens the League with an all-Dark team, and his ace, Absol, holds a Sitrus Berry. His Shiftry belongs to the Seedot line, which is wild only in Ruby, so Sapphire players face a Pokémon they cannot catch. Fighting and Bug moves hit every member of his team.
Phoebe, Ghost-type master
Phoebe doesn’t look at all like your traditional Ghost-type master, being fairly smiley and welcoming. She trains at Mt. Pyre, and this is where she claims she developed the ability to commune with Ghost types. Phoebe isn’t an all-out attacker like Sidney; she’ll be using confusion, sleep and status effects more than a full-on offence.
“Hahaha! I’m Phoebe of the Elite Four. I did my training on Mt. Pyre. While I trained there, I gained the ability to commune with Ghost-type Pokémon. The bond I developed with my Pokémon is extremely tight. Come on! Just try and see if you can even inflict damage on my Pokémon!” – Phoebe
Team: Dusclops Lv. 48, Banette Lv. 49, Sableye Lv. 50, Banette Lv. 49, Dusclops Lv. 51
Phoebe’s Ghost team pairs two Dusclops with two Banette and a Sableye, which is otherwise a Sapphire exclusive. Her final Dusclops holds a Sitrus Berry. Normal and Fighting moves cannot touch any of her team, so bring Dark or Ghost attacks.
Glacia, Ice-type master
It’s not known where Glacia is originally from, but it is said that she travelled from a region far away in order to become part of Hoenn’s Elite Four. She is passionate and tactical in equal measure, referring to herself as having “flaming passion in icy cold”. Glacia will utilise items as much as she can during combat with the player.
“Welcome, my name is Glacia of the Elite Four. I’ve traveled from afar to Hoenn so that I may hone my icy skills. But all I have seen are challenges by weak Trainers and their Pokémon. What about you? It would please me to no end if I could go all out against you!” – Glacia
Team: Glalie Lv. 50, Sealeo Lv. 50, Sealeo Lv. 52, Glalie Lv. 52, Walrein Lv. 53
Glacia relies on just three species: two Glalie, two Sealeo and her ace, a Walrein holding a Sitrus Berry. Fighting, Electric and Rock moves cover the Ice and Water Sealeo and Walrein, and Fire, Rock, Steel and Fighting moves handle Glalie.
Drake, Dragon-type master
It is said that Drake once had his life saved by a Dragon-type Pokémon, though the details of that situation are not known. Ever since then he has dedicated his life to learning everything he can about the Pokémon that saved his life. He used to be shipmates with Mr. Briney. Drake is the strongest member of Hoenn’s Elite Four.
“I am the last of the Pokémon League Elite Four, Drake the Dragon master! In their natural state, Pokémon are wild living things. They are free. At times, they hinder us. At times, they help us. For us to battle with Pokémon as partners, do you know what it takes? Do you know what is needed? If you don’t, then you will never prevail over me!” – Drake
Team: Shelgon Lv. 52, Altaria Lv. 54, Flygon Lv. 53, Flygon Lv. 53, Salamence Lv. 55
Drake, the strongest of the four, brings two Flygon alongside Shelgon, Altaria and his ace, a Salamence holding a Sitrus Berry. Ice moves are four times as effective against Flygon, Altaria and Salamence. He once travelled the world with Mr. Briney and Mr. Stone.
Steven, Champion
Steven is the Champion of the Hoenn region, and an even more powerful Trainer than all of the Elite Four you faced before him; he specialises in the Steel type. Steven’s home is in Mossdeep City, and the president of the Devon Corporation is his father. Steven enjoys exploring remote places in search of rare stones. His team is as formidable as one would expect from the Champion – he specialises in Steel, but his team is a little different to what you might expect.
“Welcome. I was looking forward to seeing you here one day. You… What did you see on your journey with Pokémon? What did you feel, meeting so many other Trainers like you? What has awoken in you? I want you to hit me with it all! Now, bring it!” – Steven
Team: Skarmory Lv. 57, Claydol Lv. 55, Aggron Lv. 56, Cradily Lv. 56, Armaldo Lv. 56, Metagross Lv. 58 (Sitrus Berry)
Hoenn’s Champion uses four Full Restores and pays out 11,600 for victory. For a so-called Steel specialist he fields as many Rock types, including the fossils Cradily and Armaldo, and his Skarmory is the only Pokémon from outside Generation III used by any Hoenn League Trainer. Water moves hit Claydol, Aggron and Armaldo hard, and Ground moves floor Aggron and Metagross, though Skarmory is immune.
Glitches, exploits and oddities
Ruby & Sapphire’s most famous fault is a date bug that silently switches off the clock-driven side of the game; the rest are quieter. Here are the ones worth knowing.
The berry glitch
Early Ruby and Sapphire cartridges contain a date bug in the real-time clock code. The clock starts at 1 January 2000, but the game’s day counter only adds days for years from 2001 onwards, so once the clock passes 366 days the count breaks. From then on planted Berries stop growing and daily events freeze: Mirage Island, the changing weather on Routes 119 and 123, shop sales, the Lottery and the free Berry gifts. English versions 1.0 and 1.1 are affected, as is version 1.0 in other languages; later revisions and every copy of Emerald are fixed. Nintendo spread a patch through FireRed, LeafGreen and Emerald’s Berry Program Update, through Colosseum, XD and Pokémon Box, through PAL Pokémon Channel, through Japanese e-Reader cards and by mail-in repair.
The dying clock battery
Separate from the berry glitch, every cartridge relies on a small CR1616 battery to keep its clock ticking, and these ageing batteries are now failing. When one dies, the game shows a warning after the title screen that time-based events will no longer occur, and Berry growth and Shoal Cave’s tides come to a halt. A replacement battery gets the clock running again, though the reset can upset timed events on an existing save. On unpatched copies the berry glitch can also strike again 366 days after the new battery goes in.
The 256-item selling bug
Ruby and Sapphire only read the lower part of the number when you sell a stack of 256 or more of one item, so every full block of 256 earns nothing. Sell 999 Berries, for example, and you receive just 2,310, because the 768 Berries in the three full blocks are ignored. It only matters for very large stacks, and selling in batches of 255 or fewer avoids it entirely. The bug is unique to Ruby and Sapphire; Emerald, FireRed and LeafGreen do not share it, so it is one of the quieter fixes later Generation III games made.
Invisible Pokérus
A rare strain of Pokérus occurs naturally only in Ruby and Sapphire. It sets the virus to last a single day but shows no symptom on the summary screen, gives none of Pokérus’s usual training bonus and leaves no trace once it clears, so the same Pokémon can catch it again. Because it survives trading and transfers, Pokémon infected in Ruby or Sapphire can carry this odd strain into later games. From Emerald onwards the games never generate this strain by themselves, so any example is a souvenir of a Ruby or Sapphire save.
Weak roaming Eon Pokémon
The roaming Latios in Ruby and Latias in Sapphire are hobbled by a bug that leaves them with low individual values, so the one you finally catch will never be a strong specimen. The roaming legendary beast in FireRed and LeafGreen suffers from the same flaw, but Emerald’s roamers are not affected. The roamer changes route every time you enter a new area, is the encounter a quarter of the time when it shares your area, and is put off by Repels. If you care about stats, the Southern Island Eon Pokémon from the Eon Ticket is the better specimen.
The invisible ‘stop learning’ screen
When a Pokémon evolves and tries to learn a new move, pressing A and B on exactly the same frame at the ‘delete a move’ prompt makes the ‘stop learning’ screen load invisibly, leaving a black screen until you press A again. It is harmless, as one more press of A carries on normally, but it has confused plenty of players into thinking the game had frozen. The bug runs through Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, FireRed and LeafGreen, and the Western releases of Ruby and Sapphire even show a stray red highlight box on the hidden screen.
The Yellow Scarf slip (Japanese copies)
In the Japanese releases, the Pokémon Fan Club chairman in Slateport checks conditions a little too generously. A Pokémon with a Smartness of 200 can collect both the Green Scarf and the Yellow Scarf, even though the Yellow Scarf should require high Toughness. Scarves matter in Contests, because a scarf matching the Contest’s category adds 20 points in the opening audience round. The check was tightened for the international versions, so only Japanese cartridges can hand out the bonus scarf.
Battle Tower Ribbons on the wrong Pokémon
Using Pokémon Box Ruby & Sapphire, precisely timed party swaps while the Battle Tower is handing out a Winning or Victory Ribbon can pin the Ribbon on Pokémon that could never have entered, such as legendaries, Pokémon above Lv. 50 or even Eggs. The trick happens while Pokémon Box’s ‘Go to Adventure’ mode loads the game, and the Ribbons normally need 56 straight wins at Lv. 50 or Lv. 100. The well-known Battle Tower cloning trick and the Pomeg glitch, by contrast, belong to Emerald and do not work in Ruby and Sapphire.
Wally’s unlucky Ralts
In Wally’s capture lesson on Route 102, Norman’s Lv. 7 Zigzagoon is meant to weaken a Lv. 5 Ralts, but it can occasionally knock it out instead, roughly once in every 200,000 viewings. The quirk exists in Emerald too. It is a fitting footnote to a scene that made history, as Wally was the first rival shown catching his first Pokémon in the wild. The script carries on as if the catch worked, and Wally keeps his Ralts regardless. A Shiny Ralts can also appear in the tutorial, but it is not Shiny when you meet Wally’s Ralts later.
Videos & media
Check out these videos of Pokémon Ruby & Sapphire, including intros, trailers and TV commercials from different regions.
All of the unused music for Pokémon Ruby & Sapphire, which is present in the game data but not accessible via gameplay.
Official trailers for Pokémon Ruby & Sapphire.
A Japanese TV commercial for Pokémon Ruby & Sapphire.
The intro / opening video for Pokémon Ruby.
The intro / opening video for Pokémon Sapphire.
Trivia & facts
- There is a girl in Sootopolis City called Kiri (the girl who gives you two Berries a day). This NPC was named after Junichi Masuda’s daughter, who was born shortly before the Japanese release of Ruby and Sapphire.
- If you try to enter the Oceanic Museum while it’s occupied by Team Aqua or Team Magma but don’t have the money to pay the entrance fee, you’ll get in for free. The receptionist will simply mistake you for a member of Aqua/Magma and let you in. Once neither of the teams occupies the museum, however, you’ll need to get your hands in your pockets!
- There is evidence within the game’s code that Double Battles with wild Pokémon had been planned but never made it to release. This is evidenced by the text string “Wild v[&H05] and v[&H03] appeared!”, where each “v[&H03]” statement would call the name of a Pokémon.
- Ruby & Sapphire are the first main-series titles which show the player’s father: Norman, the Gym Leader, is the player’s father regardless of whether the player is playing as male or female. The other core-series titles which feature both of the player’s parents are Pokémon Emerald and Pokémon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire.
- These were the first Pokémon core-series titles to run at 60 frames per second; the same frame rate was carried over into FireRed, LeafGreen and Emerald.
- Nincada can evolve into two different Pokémon. If the player has a free slot in their party and a Poké Ball in their bag they will get Ninjask and Shedinja. This even applies if Nincada is Shiny, so you could end up doubling your shiny goodness.
- Ruby and Sapphire are the first core-series games in which you can’t choose your rival’s name: it’s always Brendan or May.
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Kyogre, Sapphire’s mascot – and one half of the pre-order coin. In the USA there was a special promotional coin featuring Groudon and Kyogre for pre-orders from some retailers.
- Early versions of the Ruby and Sapphire box art had the “Gotta catch ’em all!” slogan on the front covers; this was removed in the final version.
- The Japanese release date for Ruby & Sapphire was the same date as the third anniversary of the release of Gold & Silver.
The Japanese Ruby box.
Further trivia
- Ruby and Sapphire were the first games to give the Elite Four their own battle theme instead of reusing the Gym Leader music.
- The rumble that unseals the three Regi tombs reuses the sound of the removal van from the very start of the game.
- The deepest floor of the Cave of Origin has no background music. The only other silent place in Ruby and Sapphire is the inside of the removal van.
- Steven’s Skarmory is the only Pokémon from outside Generation III used by any Hoenn League Trainer. His favourite Pokémon is Beldum and his favourite move is Steel Wing, which is why he gives you both.
- Island Cave’s ‘wait two minutes’ puzzle counts play time, not the clock, so it still works on a cartridge with a dead battery.
- The Oceanic Museum’s water samples on the upper floor come from Kanto and Johto; Emerald relabelled them as plain numbered samples.
- Masuda explained that the name Hoenn (豊縁) means ‘abundant relations’, a nod to the bonds between people and Pokémon.
- The Ruby and Sapphire opening sequences differ: one features Latios, the other Latias.
Legacy
Bundles, the third version and the remakes
- Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire Super Packs (Europe) – 28 November 2003. Limited bundles of a red Game Boy Advance SP with Ruby, or a blue one with Sapphire, plus a carry case, priced at about 170 euros.
- Pokémon Emerald – 16 September 2004. The enhanced third Hoenn version: Japan 16 September 2004, North America 1 May 2005, Europe 21 October 2005. It had sold 6.32 million copies by the 2007 financial year.
- Pokémon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire – 21 November 2014. Nintendo 3DS remakes released twelve years to the day after the originals in Japan, North America, Australia and South Korea, and on 28 November 2014 in Europe. They had sold 14.68 million copies by 31 March 2026.
Where to play Ruby & Sapphire today
Ruby and Sapphire have never been re-released. There was no Virtual Console version, and as of October 2026 no Switch or Nintendo Classics release has been announced. Rumours grew after FireRed and LeafGreen arrived on Switch as standalone downloads on 27 February 2026, and again after an unusually crisp official clip in September 2026. Original cartridges work in a Game Boy Advance, but their ageing clock batteries are failing. The 3DS remakes are the main alternative, though the 3DS eShop closed on 27 March 2023.
How it was made
Ruby and Sapphire were Game Freak’s first Pokémon games for the Game Boy Advance, directed by Junichi Masuda with Ken Sugimori as art director. For the first time, Sugimori did not draw every design himself. They were revealed on 7 March 2001 as ‘Pokémon GBA’, alongside the e-Reader, and renamed for Pokémon Festa 2002, a summer tour of Japan. Masuda based Hoenn on Kyushu turned 90 degrees, saying it balanced the play area better on the wide screen. He called communication the core idea: the Game Boy Advance could link four players instead of two, which made Multi Battles and four-player Contests possible. The team kept the graphics engine simple to suit both young children and veterans. Masuda wanted each Pokémon to have up to three mood-based cries, but hardware limits ruled it out. Because Game Boy and Game Boy Advance links work differently, the games could not connect to Generations I and II. The games reached Japan on 21 November 2002, Gold and Silver’s third anniversary, and in the US a US$7 million campaign ran from March to May 2003.
Ruby & Sapphire in other media
Sales & reviews
Sales figures
Pokémon Ruby & Sapphire sold a total of 16.22 million units between them. As extremely anticipated titles with a loyal fanbase, Ruby & Sapphire had sold over 1.25 million units in their first four days in Japan alone, making them the best-selling video games of Japan’s 2002 holiday season. Six weeks after release 4.4 million units had been sold across Japan; no game had broken 2 million sales in Japan since Final Fantasy X in 2001.
In North America 2.2 million units of the games had been sold by April 2003, barely a month after release, which ranked them the second and third best-selling video games of 2003 in the United States. Over in Europe the success continued: interestingly, they were the second best-selling video games of Europe’s 2002 holiday season, despite not officially being released there until July 2003, nearly half a year later. Due to the popular demand for the games in Europe, lots of copies of Ruby and Sapphire had been imported from the U.S. to meet consumer demand.
The 16.22 million copies that R&S sold allow the games to stand tall as the best-selling video games ever for the Game Boy Advance.
Weekly chart data give 1,093,299 in the first week (Sapphire 549,337, Ruby 543,962) and 5,160,765 by the end of 2006 (Sapphire 2,610,744, Ruby 2,550,021). In Europe, Once officially out, they sold 500,000 copies on the first weekend and 1.5 million within eight weeks. Nintendo sold 6.6 million units within the financial year of release.
- 16.22mworldwide, both versions (Nintendo, March 2013)
- 1.25mJapan in four days
- 4.4mJapan in six weeks
- 2.2mNorth America by April 2003
Review scores
Ruby and Sapphire were positively received across the board, with the worst rating from the major sites being a still-pretty-good 7 out of 10 from Eurogamer. Here’s what other major sources scored and said about their outings to the Hoenn region:
- Craig Harris from IGN was clearly taken with the games, giving them a rare 9.5 out of 10 and stating “Pokemon: Sapphire Version and Pokemon: Ruby Version feature extremely deep game design that will suck up a lot of players’ gaming time. And that’s a really good thing, folks.”
- GameSpot reviewer Greg Kasavin was pretty impressed too, giving a commendable 8.1 out of 10 and commenting “Pokemon fans will be in for exactly what they want, while new players now have the perfect opportunity to see what this unusual and likeable series is all about.”
- Users of Metacritic have Pokémon Ruby & Sapphire scored at an average user score of 8.7 over 181 ratings, whilst the average score from its 33 syndicated critics was 82/100.
- GameRankings’ aggregate score comes in at 84.21% for Ruby and 84.03% for Sapphire.
Critics broadly loved the depth. IGN praised a design that could swallow huge amounts of playing time, and GamePro felt Double Battles made the harder fights genuinely tactical. The presentation drew mixed notices. Computer and Video Games found the graphics gorgeous and several outlets enjoyed the catchy music, but others thought the step up from the Game Boy Color was modest. Eurogamer judged the visuals functional at best, and GameZone spotted animations dating back to the original Game Boy. The familiar loop was the main complaint. Eurogamer felt the endless fighting and collecting soon wore thin, 1UP.com called the games formulaic and said doubles were underused, and GameSpot found them far too easy. Fans also missed Gold and Silver’s day-and-night clock, and many resented being unable to bring their old Pokémon forward from earlier games.
Awards and honours:
Media & artwork
- Official artwork gallery from Pokémon Ruby & Sapphire – a large gallery featuring many of the Pokémon from the game
- Official artwork gallery from Pokémon Ruby & Sapphire – a gallery featuring many of the characters from the game
- Box art from Pokémon Ruby, including numerous regional variations and editions
- Box art from Pokémon Sapphire, including numerous regional variations and editions
- Screenshots from Pokémon Ruby Version
- Screenshots from Pokémon Sapphire Version
Further reading
Our Hoenn guides, plus the games either side of Ruby & Sapphire: