Hoenn is a literal nightmare if you don’t have a plan. Honestly, it’s the water. Everyone memes about "too much water," but the real issue is how that water hides the coolest secrets in the franchise. If you’re dusting off a Game Boy Advance or firing up an emulator, you’re likely looking for a pokemon ruby and sapphire guide that does more than just tell you to beat Roxanne with a Treecko.
You need the weird stuff. The stuff about internal batteries, the Regis, and why your Feebas won't evolve.
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Generation III was a hard reset for Game Freak. It was the first time we couldn't trade back to previous generations. That isolation made Hoenn feel like a distinct, somewhat lonely island. But it also introduced the most complex mechanics we’d seen yet, specifically Natures and Abilities. If you grew up playing Red or Gold, suddenly seeing a "Modest" Gardevoir meant something huge. It wasn't just flavor text. It changed everything about how the game was played.
The Starter Struggle and The Early Game Trap
Choosing your starter is the first real hurdle. Most people grab Mudkip. Why? Because Swampert is an absolute unit. Its Water/Ground typing only has one weakness: Grass. Since Hoenn is basically a giant tropical puddle, having a monster that can ignore Electric attacks is a massive advantage.
But here’s what the average pokemon ruby and sapphire guide won't tell you: Torchic is the secret "hard mode" that pays off late. Blaziken is a glass cannon, sure, but it shreds the mid-game. If you pick Treecko, you're in for a rough time during the Elite Four. Sceptile is cool, but its move pool in the original GBA games was, frankly, kind of tragic. This was before the physical/special split of Generation IV, so all Grass moves were special. Sceptile had the stats, but lacked the diversity.
Early on, you’re going to run into Taillow. Catch it. No, seriously. Swellow with the Guts ability is one of the most broken things you can use in a casual playthrough. If you purposely poison or burn it before a big fight, its Attack stat sky-rockets. You can basically Facade your way through the entire gym circuit.
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The Braille Mystery and the Regi Trio
Remember when games didn't hold your hand? Ruby and Sapphire had this insane side quest involving the Regis—Regirock, Regice, and Registeel. To even start this, you need two very specific Pokemon: Relicanth and Wailord.
Wailord is easy enough to get if you have the patience to level up a Wailmer to 40. Relicanth is a nightmare. It only has a 5% spawn rate in the deep underwater seaweed patches near Sootopolis. Once you have them, you have to find the Sealed Chamber. You’ll need a Pokemon that knows Dig.
Cracking the Code
The game literally expects you to translate Braille. There was a chart in the physical manual back in 2003, but who has that now? You go to the back of the chamber, use Dig, and put Wailord in the first slot of your party and Relicanth in the last. Or is it the other way around? In the original Ruby and Sapphire, Wailord is first, Relicanth is last. If you’re playing Emerald later, they swapped them just to mess with us.
Once you hear that "thud" sound, three doors open across the map.
- Regirock: Located in the desert. You have to walk two steps left, two steps down, and then use Rock Smash.
- Regice: In the Island Cave. You have to wait. Just stand still for about two minutes. The door eventually just... opens.
- Registeel: In the Ancient Tomb. Run to the middle of the room and use Fly. Don’t ask why Fly opens a door in a cave. It just does.
The Feebas Problem: A Lesson in Patience
If you want a Milotic, you have to find Feebas. This is arguably the most frustrating mechanic in Pokemon history. Feebas only appears on Route 119. That route is huge. It’s full of long grass, weather changes, and a massive river.
Feebas only appears on six specific tiles in that entire river.
Six.
And those tiles change based on the "Trendy Phrase" in Dewford Town. If you change the phrase, the tiles move. The only way to find it is to fish every single tile, two or three times, until you get a bite. It can take hours. Once you get it, you can't just level it up. You have to max out its Beauty stat using Blue or Indigo Pokeblocks. If your Feebas has a Nature that hates dry flavors (like Adamant), you literally might not be able to evolve it because it'll get "full" before its Beauty is high enough. It’s brutal.
Why Your Clock Might Be Broken
If you’re playing on original hardware, you might see a message saying "The internal battery has run dry."
This is the "Dry Battery" glitch. Unlike Gold and Silver, where a dead battery meant your save file was deleted, in Ruby and Sapphire, you can still play and save. However, time-based events stop. Berries won't grow. The tide in Shoal Cave won't change. Espeon and Umbreon become impossible to get.
Most importantly, the Mirage Island timer stops. Mirage Island is a legendary spot on Route 130 that only appears if a hidden number on one of your Pokemon matches a hidden number generated by the game each day. If the battery is dead, that number never changes. If you don't have a match on the day it died, you are locked out forever unless you replace the CR1616 battery inside the cartridge.
Navigating the End Game
The Elite Four in Hoenn is a massive step up from Johto. Sidney and Phoebe are manageable, but Glacia’s Walrein is a menace. It loves to spam Sheer Cold. If that 30% accuracy move hits, your lead Pokemon is gone.
Then there’s Drake. He’s the Dragon master, and back then, Dragon-types were terrifying because Fairy-types didn't exist. You need Ice Beam. Go to the Abandoned Ship, find the Scanner, trade it for the DeepSeaTooth or DeepSeaScale, but honestly, just make sure you grab the TM for Ice Beam from the Game Corner in Mauville or the ship itself. Without Ice-type moves, Drake’s Salamence will Dragon Dance once and sweep your entire team.
Steven vs. Wallace
Depending on if you are using this pokemon ruby and sapphire guide for the originals or if you've wandered into Emerald territory, the champion changes. In Ruby and Sapphire, it’s Steven Stone. He uses Steel types. Fire is good, but his Cradily and Armaldo will mess you up because they aren't typical Steel types. His Metagross is the real threat. It’s fast, bulky, and hits like a truck with Meteor Mash.
Real Actions for Your Playthrough
- Check your Nature: If you catch a Ralts and it's "Adamant," put it back. Adamant lowers Special Attack. A Gardevoir that can't hit hard is just taking up space.
- The Mach Bike is Mandatory: You'll want the Acro Bike for tricks, but the Mach Bike is the only way to get up the muddy slopes in Sky Pillar to catch Rayquaza.
- Get the Exp. Share early: Talk to the President of Devon Corp in Rustboro after delivering his letter. It makes the mid-game grind significantly less painful.
- Keep a "HM Slave": Linoone is the GOAT here. It can learn Surf, Strength, Rock Smash, and Cut. Plus, its Pickup ability generates free items like Rare Candies and Ultra Balls while you walk around.
- Save your Master Ball: Don't use it on Kyogre or Groudon. You can catch them with Ultra Balls or Timer Balls if you're patient. Save it for Latios or Latias, who roam the map and flee the second the battle starts.
Hoenn is a masterpiece of world design, but it’s punishing if you don’t respect its mechanics. Focus on building a balanced team that can handle the sheer volume of Water-type encounters in the late game. Get yourself an Electric or Grass type early—Manectric or Magneton are solid choices—and you'll find the path to the Hall of Fame a lot smoother.
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Stock up on Repels. You’re going to need them for the surf between Mossdeep and Sootopolis. Trust me.