Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire
- Advanced Generation redirects here. For the third generation of the Pokémon franchise, see Generation III.
Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire (Japanese: ポケットモンスター アドバンスジェネレーション Pocket Monsters Advanced Generation) is the second series of the Pokémon anime and is based on the events of the core series Generation III Pokémon games. It follows the original series and was succeeded by Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl. It ran from November 21, 2002 to September 14, 2006 in Japan and from November 1, 2003 to March 3, 2007 in the United States, although the first two episodes aired as a sneak peek in the United States on March 15, 2003. It was not given an English name until after the release of Pokémon the Series: XY.
In this series, Ash travels through the Hoenn region in an effort to compete in the Hoenn League there. He is joined not by Misty, who had been his continuous companion for the entirety of the original series, but May, a rookie Trainer from Petalburg City who at first merely wishes to travel. Eventually, she learns of Pokémon Contests and declares herself a Pokémon Coordinator, training to win Ribbons so she can enter the Hoenn Grand Festival. May's brother, Max, also travels with the group and helps map out routes to take using his PokéNav. However, Max is too young to have his own Pokémon. Brock, Ash's near-constant adviser, returns soon after the start of the series, while Misty makes two several-episode cameo appearances.
After Ash competes in the Hoenn League, Ash and Brock return to Kanto while May and Max return to Petalburg City. While on his way home to Pallet Town, Ash meets Scott, who after observing Ash's battle skills invites him to enter the Battle Frontier. He travels around Kanto in an effort to complete the Battle Frontier and is joined again by Brock, Max, and May—who is now aiming to compete in the Kanto Grand Festival.
Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire saw a change in the formula. While in Kanto and Johto, Ash encountered all three of those regions' starter Pokémon and caught each, in this series Ash's only capture of a starter was Treecko, while his friends, May and Brock, caught a Torchic and a Mudkip, respectively. Also, unlike when he traveled to the Orange Archipelago and Johto, Ash left behind all of his Pokémon at Professor Oak's, bringing only Pikachu. Another change was new clothing for Ash and Brock. No longer did Ash wear the hat he claimed to have sent in a million postcards for, but instead a completely different outfit. Misty also received a new outfit during her return appearances.
Episodes in Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire are numbered with the prefix AG on Bulbapedia, based on its Japanese name Advanced Generation. For a complete episode listing, see the list of Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire episodes.
Blurb
Polishing off the Silver Conference, Ash heads toward his next challenge—the far-off Hoenn region! While he must say goodbye to old friends, he makes the acquaintance of May, a Trainer just starting out on her Pokémon journey. Along with her little brother Max and the ever-reliable Brock, this pack of Pokémon Trainers begin pursuing their dreams—with Ash racking up three Gym Badges, while May changes tack to follow the Contest path of a Pokémon Coordinator.
Dub seasons
When Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire came to be dubbed into English and other languages, it was divided up into four seasons:
Movies
- Main article: Pokémon movie → Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire
Home video releases
North American DVD releases
- List of English language Pokémon Advanced home video releases (Region 1)
- List of English language Advanced Challenge home video releases (Region 1)
- List of English language Advanced Battle home video releases (Region 1)
- List of English language Battle Frontier home video releases (Region 1)
Australian DVD releases
- List of English language Pokémon Advanced home video releases (Region 4)
- List of English language Advanced Challenge home video releases (Region 4)
- List of English language Advanced Battle home video releases (Region 4)
- List of English language Battle Frontier home video releases (Region 4)
Japanese DVD releases
Gallery
- For more images, please see artwork from Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire on the Bulbagarden Archives.
Posters
Characters
Trivia
- This is the only series in which:
- Ash has two male long-term traveling companions at once.
- Ash does not have a recurring rival throughout. The only rivals he had during this series met him shortly before the Ever Grande Conference and then departed right after.
- Ken Gates is not the English dub's narrator for its entirety. Mike Pollock took over in Which Wurmple's Which? and he remained until the end of the eighth season.
- None of Ash's companions own a walking Pokémon.
- All three of the regional starter Pokémon owned by the protagonists evolve at least once.
- Ash's Pokémon League Conference placement ranking is the same compared to his previous ranking.
- Ash and his friends went their separate ways twice. The first was after the end of the Ever Grande Conference, and the second was at the end of the Pokémon: Battle Frontier.
- This is the first series where none of the episodes used Traditional or Hand-Coloured Cel animation (excluding flashbacks or movies).
- This is the final series to be dubbed by 4Kids Entertainment, and the first series to be dubbed by The Pokémon Company International (then known as Pokémon USA). The Pokémon Company International took over dubbing starting with Pokémon: Battle Frontier.
In other languages
Language | Title | |
---|---|---|
Chinese | Cantonese | 精靈寶可夢超世代 Jīnglìhng Pokémon: Chīu Saidoih* 寵物小精靈超世代 Chúngmaht Síujīnglìhng: Chīu Saidoih* |
Mandarin | 精靈寶可夢超世代 / 精灵宝可梦超世代 Jīnglíng Pokémon: Chāo Shìdài* 神奇寶貝超世代 Shénqí Bǎobèi: Chāo Shìdài* | |
Danish | Pokémon Serien: Ruby and Sapphire | |
Dutch | Pokémon de Serie: Ruby and Sapphire Pokémon-serie: Robijn en saffier | |
Finnish | Pokémon-sarja: Rubiini ja safiiri | |
French | Pokémon, la série : Rubis et Saphir | |
German | Pokémon – Die TV-Serie: Rubin und Saphir | |
Indonesian | Pokémon AG | |
Italian | Serie Pokémon Rubino e Zaffiro | |
Korean | 포켓몬스터 AG Pocket Monsters AG | |
Norwegian | Pokémon Serien: Ruby and Sapphire | |
Brazilian Portuguese | Pokémon, a série: Rubi e Safira* Pokémon A Série: Rubi e Safira* Pokémon, a Série: Rubi e Safira* | |
Russian | Покемон сериал Рубин и Сапфир Pokémon serial Rubin i Sapfir* Сериал "Покемон": Рубин и Сапфир Serial "Pokémon": Rubin i Safir* | |
Spanish | Latin America | La Serie Pokémon Rubí y Zafiro* |
Spain | Serie Pokémon Rubí y Zafiro | |
Swedish | Pokémon Serien: Ruby and Sapphire | |
Thai | Pokémon Advanced | |
External links
This article is part of Project Anime, a Bulbapedia project that covers all aspects of Pokémon animation. |