To that end, they seek the legendary monsters Kyogre and Groudon, who hold the power to dramatically alter the world's weather patterns. In a marked departure from the first and second generation games, Ruby and Sapphire does away with Team Rocket and introduces two new teams of villains-Team Aqua and Team Magma, whose stated goals are to flood the world and dry it up respectively (don't ask). As usual, their goal is to travel the region, collect eight badges, and ultimately catch 'em all. It stars Brendan and May, either of whom can be selected as the main protagonist-a feature that had previously been introduced in Pokémon Crystal. Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire are set in the Hoenn region, which is modeled after the real-life Fukuoka region in Japan. Alright, you've given a bit of general background on Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire. With Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire on its way, here's a quick primer on what to expect, and what stands out about the third generation of Pokémon after all these years. Today it's remembered a bit more fondly as the beginning of Pokémon's modern era, but it's somewhat controversial in its own way. Like the GBA itself, Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire embodied the awkward middle point between the original Game Boy and the revival of interest in handheld gaming brought about by the Nintendo DS. Its monsters were derided as pale copies of the ones introduced in Red and Blue, and long-standing fans howled when it came out that their existing collection couldn't be transferred to the Game Boy Advance. Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire did little to quash that sentiment.
Pokémon, critics said, was going the way of Cabbage Patch Kids and Beanie Babies. Pokémon Gold and Silver had received positive reviews from critics, but its core audience was starting to grow up, and the animated television show wasn't nearly as popular as it had been a few years earlier. The prevailing wisdom at the time was that the Pokémon phenomenon that had kicked off in 1998 and reached its height the following year had run its course. to a general sigh of indifference among mainstream gamers.
In 2003, Game Freak released Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire in the U.S.