Game Details:

Developer: Game Freak
Publisher: Nintendo / The Pokémon Company
Platform: Game Boy Advance
Release Date(s): November 21, 2002 (JPN), March 17, 2003 (USA), April 3, 2003 (AUS), July 25, 2003 (EUR)
Mode(s): Single Player, Mulitplayer
Rating(s): PEGI: 3+ (EUR), ESRB: E (USA), OFLC: G8+
Controller(s): Game Boy Advance
Extra Contents: Ruby & Sapphire Main Page, Berry Patch, Importing/Exporting Pokémon - External Device Connectivity

Description:

Pokémon Ruby & Sapphire (ポケットモンスター ルビー&サファイア) were the first 3rd generation games to be released. Like the previous generations, the games were released on the same day as a pair but sold separately. The games debuted in Japan on November 21st, 2002 for 4800 yen.

Story/Information:

Released for Game Boy Advance in 2003, Pokémon Ruby and Pokémon Sapphire unveiled a ton of new Pokémon and introduced new features to the Pokémon games such as 2-on-2 tag battles and Pokémon Contests. The overall basic gameplay didn't change greatly in these third generation games as they are based on the previous games. The graphics improved and featured more colors and resolution.

The third generation games also keep track of time in real-time, a feature which was added in the second generation games. However, unlike the previous generation, Pokémon Ruby & Sapphire do not distinguish time between day and night.

The player starts off the game and is asked to select a gender. Players can use one of the suggested names or make their own one, though Brendan (ユウキ) & May (ハルカ) aren't the default selected names even though that's what their official names are.

Brendan (ユウキ): If you choose to play as a girl, your rival will be Brendan, a spirited boy who is interested in seeing you push yourself harder as a Pokémon Trainer.
May (ハルカ): If you choose to play as a boy, your friendly rival will be May, a spirited lass who'll meet you often on your adventures.

The game starts off as the players character is moving into a new home in Littleroot Town (ミシロタウン) as their father Norman (センリ) has become the leader of the Petalburg Gym (トウカジム). The player is then instructed to meet Professor Birch (オダマキ博士), but he is not in his laboratory. The player eventually will find him out in the field will be chased by a Poochyena. He instructs the player to take a Poké Ball out of his bag and select one of the starter Pokémon to be used to rescue him. Players can select: a Treecko, a Torchic, or a Mudkip.



Team Rocket is no longer the bad guys in the game and have been replaced by two new gangs: Team Magma & Team Aqua. Depending on which one of the games you play will determine which team is at the heart of the story plot.

Team Magma (マグマ団): In Pokémon Ruby, Team Magma and its leader, Maxie (マツブサ), drive an insidious plot to increase the planet's landmass and thus create more land habitats for people and Pokémon alike.
Team Aqua (アクア団): In Pokémon Sapphire, Team Aqua is the scheming team. Its members and its leader, Archie (アオギリ), are plotting to raise sea levels, thus creating more water habitats for Pokémon across the planet.

Ruby	Sapphire
Seedot	Lotad
Nuzleaf	Lombre
Shiftry	Ludicolo
Mawile	Sableye
Zangoose	Seviper
Solrock	Lunatone
Groudon	Kyogre

Importing / Exporting Pokémon:

The Pokémon in the games can only be found in specific locations and some of them are harder to find and obtain than others. The Pokémon locations are also different between the games as players will have to search harder between games to find the Pokémon they are looking for. On the right is a list of version exclusive Pokémon. Pokémon Ruby & Sapphire are not backward compatible with first or second generations games.

Using the Dual Slot feature of the Nintendo DS, players can permanently import Hoenn Pokémon from Pokémon Ruby and Pokémon Sapphire into Pokémon Diamond, Pokémon Pearl, Pokémon Platinum via Pal Park. Pokémon Ruby & Sapphire cannot be linked with Pokémon games of previous generations.

External Device Connectivity:

e-Reader support: Nintendo released Pokémon Battle-e cards which allowed players of Pokémon Ruby & Sapphire to add new content. A special e-Reader card called the Eon Ticket was also released which activated and transferred the Eon Ticket to the Mystery Events section of the games. The Eon Ticket allows the player to reach the Southern Island and faces either Latios in Pokémon Ruby or Latias in Pokémon Sapphire.

GameCube Games: Pokémon Ruby & Sapphire are also compatible with Pokémon Colosseum, Pokémon XD and Pokémon Box. Players can use the Nintendo GameCube Game Boy Advance Cable to connect their Game Boy Advance to their GameCube to transfer Pokémon between the games.

Features:

• Use the Game Boy Advance Game Link Cable and trade Pokémon with your friends or test your skills against them in a Pokémon battle.
• Battle, collect and train up to 386 different Pokémon as 135 new Pokémon have been added.
• Play on the go or at home. With the Game Boy Advance, players can play and collect Pokémon wherever they are.
• Travel through the brand new Hoenn region (ホウエン地方) and discover dozens of Pokémon you've never seen before as you explore the region of Hoenn.
• Pokémon now have special abilities which can very useful in battles.
• Become the world's greatest Pokémon Master by defeating the region's top Pokémon Trainers and Gym Leaders.
• Develop detailed strategies as you compete in all-new 2-on-2 Pokémon battles.
• See how your Pokémon stack up against the competition in new Pokémon Contests!

Screenshots:

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