Ah, yes. Ruby and Sapphire. In my opinion, the greatest of all the Pokemon series... especially Sapphire. In 2003, Pokemon still had thousands of die-hard fans across the globe, waiting quite eagerly for a new instalment to the award-winning series. So Nintendo gave them Ruby and Sapphire.

Some new features: 135 new Pokemon, Greatly improved graphics, Berries (technically new, as they were completely different to the ones G/S/C), another brilliant new region called Hoenn, and contests. Contents consisted of showing off your Pokemon to the crowd, letting them see how cool, smart, beautiful, tough or cute they were (these stats were improved by feeding your Pokemon Pokeblocks; candy made from different kinds of berries). The second part of the contest was simply showing off your Pokemon's moves to the crowd, and being judged by how well they fitted into your chosen category.

The plot follows a young boy/girl as s/he runs through Hoenn, collecting Badges and new sla- err... Pokemon, constantly being attacked by Team Aqua (Sapphire) or Team Magma (Ruby). In Sapphire, the dreaded Team Aqua is planning to wake the ancien Creator of Oceans – Kyogre, in their crazed attempt to “improve” the world by creating a flood of biblical proportions. Their plans are constantly being thwarted by you and the helpful Team Magma. However, in Ruby, this time it's Team Magma's turn to take the stage! In this version, Team Magma is planning to wake the Ancient Creator of Land – Groudon in their attempt to “improve” the world by evaporating all the oceans. Once again, their insane plans are constantly being thwarted by you and the (this time) helpful team Aqua.

»   You should think carefully before choosing your starter Pokémon, it might very well affect your gameplay! For Example, Treecko will make the game easier for Sapphire Version, while Mudkip will make the game easier on Ruby Version. This is because, the Teams in each game, Aqua & Magma, mainly use Water (Aqua) & Fire/Ground (Magma) type Pokémon.