History YMMV / Pokemonrubyandsapphire

* ContestedSequel: Fans are divided on whether ''Emerald'' or ''ORAS'' are the definitive Hoenn games, thanks to the latter games not reflecting most of the changes from ''RS'' in the former outside of a few {{Mythology Gag}}s. The merged storyline, ability to get all three mascot Legendaries, higher difficulty, rematchable Gym Leaders, and, of course, the Battle Frontier are cited in ''Emerald'''s favor, while the separate but expanded storylines, later-generation improvements, expanded Dex, improved Pokénav, Secret Bases and Contests, enormous selection of postgame starters and Legendaries and Soaring are seen as the better trade-off for ''ORAS'' fans.

* EvenBetterSequel: To ''X and Y'' [[note]]Although this is an inversion since ''Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire'' are prequels to ''X and Y'' in timeline placement[[/note]]. ''X'' and ''Y'', while lauded, suffered from a few issues such as an inconsistent framerate, [[ItsEasySoItSucks overly easy difficulty]], poor pacing, an over-reliance on old Pokémon, and a barren postgame. ''ORAS''[='s=] graphics and framerate have a bit more polish, the difficulty is a bit more balanced, the plot is more coherent and better-paced (allowing the characters to be more fleshed out), Gen III Pokémon are front and center just like in the originals, and there are many new postgame features including the Delta Episode and more past starters and legendaries. All of these double as improvements over the original ''Ruby'' and ''Sapphire'', and many fans cite ''[=ORAS=]'' as the ideal versions of the Hoenn games, resulting in a notable BrokenBase over how well they hold up compared to ''Emerald'' (long considered one of the best games in the franchise).

* ToughActToFollow:
** Much like the originals, expectations for ''Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire'' were very high due to the bar set by the previous remakes, ''Pokémon [=HeartGold=]'' and ''Pokémon [=SoulSilver=]'' — widely considered the most beloved games in the series. The final product was well-received overall, but failed to meet the standard left by ''HGSS'' and left many fans disappointed. A common criticism is that ''HGSS'' incorporated many of the expanded elements from ''Crystal'', whereas ''ORAS'' didn't do the same extent with ''Emerald'', especially with the lack of Battle Frontier.
** ''Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire'' themselves ended up being this to ''[[VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl]]''. Many fans loved the changes and improvements made to the original Hoenn adventures, and those fans were hoping to see Sinnoh gets this kind of remakes. When the remakes for ''Diamond and Pearl'' were finally released, however, they quickly came under fire for multiple reasons: the chibified overworld style, the lack of many quality-of-life improvements and all Pokémon from later generations, the characters and most of the Sinnoh region looking exactly the same as in the originals, and the Sinnoh adventure is a near-identical presentation to ''Diamond and Pearl'' without any of the improvements from ''Platinum'' (as opposed to ''ORAS'', which at least took ''some'' of the elements from ''Emerald'' in the post-game campaign) caused many to declare ItsTheSameSoItSucks. It did not help that ''BDSP'' were the first core series ''Pokémon'' games to not be developed by Game Freak, as they were busy working on the much more ambitious ''VideoGame/PokemonLegendsArceus''.

* VindicatedByHistory: ''Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire'' were fairly controversial when they were released -- see ToughActToFollow. People either liked or disliked the addition of Generation VI's [[AntiFrustrationFeatures quality-of-life features]], with some seeing them as unnecessary and [[ItsEasySoItSucks made the games very easy since the content was largely not balanced around their addition]]. Instead of incorporating more features from ''Emerald'', they incorporated more ''XY'' elements and also added many more original elements. Fast forward seven years, and as predicted, fans of ''Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire'' started crawling out of the woodwork after ''VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl'''s remakes proved to be more of a faithful remake to the point of copious ItsTheSameNowItSucks. Many of the quality-of-life improvements and new features in ''ORAS'' garnered more and more praise over time to the point that fans largely started considering them improved versions of ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY'' and among the best 3D games in the series only behind ''VideoGame/PokemonLegendsArceus''. It helps that ''Pokémon Emerald'', long considered a SacredCow in the fandom, has dropped off in popularity over time, leading to many fans who label ''ORAS'' as the definitive Hoenn games.

** Tate and Liza in ''Emerald''. It's fought in a Double Battle, a brand-new mechanic not seen much prior to this fight, which requires much more strategy than Single Battles. In ''Ruby and Sapphire'', their team only consisted of two Pokémon (meaning you could, in theory, defeat them in one hit). These two Pokémon, incidentally, have a much stronger physical defense than most of the Psychic types you are used to fighting. This time around, however... You first need to fight through a [[SquishyWizard Xatu]] (which can either use Confuse Ray on your fighters or Calm Mind to jack up its stats, aside from flat-out attacking with Psychic) and a [[StoneWall Claydol]], which spams Earthquake and [=AncientPower=]. The best part? Earthquake hits everything on the field, but thanks to their team choices, ''you're'' the only one who will get hit by it. Then there's Solrock and Lunatone you have to deal with. Solrock will use Sunny Day to power up its Flamethrower, reduce the effectiveness of Water-type attacks against them and instantly use [=SolarBeam=], as well as attacking with Psychic, while Lunatone will put up Light Screen (Claydol knows it, too) to raise the opposing team's already high Special Defense, put you to sleep with Hypnosis, and do the same Calm Mind/Psychic combo as Xatu. The team is also prone to using moves (such as the aforementioned Claydol's Earthquake) that hit both of your Pokémon at once, raising the stakes that much higher.

* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: When originally released, there was no hint of a [[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue Generation I]] [[VideoGameRemake remake]], meaning that around 184 Pokémon were completely absent from the games. The only hint that they would return was their isolated data, which usually indicates event Pokémon (a very [[SarcasmMode beloved]] game mechanic). That, combined with a number of [[{{Expy}} expies]] for the missing Pokémon, the National Pokédex not being available from the start as it was in [[Videogame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Generation II]], replacements for Team Rocket, no way to return to Kanto or Johto, minimal time-based events, and an overall similar structure to [[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue Generation I]], led many fans to think the release of ''Ruby/Sapphire'' was a franchise reboot, and said fans were not happy.

** After the fight with [[spoiler:Zinnia]] you go into space to confront Deoxys. Unless you are trying to capture it right there, which may take some time due to the low capture rate, the same uber-powerful Mega Rayquaza will just knock it out with just about any move in its arsenal. That is, if [[GlassCannon Deo]][[FragileSpeedster xys]] doesn't one-shot you first.
** After beating the Elite Four and returning for a rematch, they get much higher leveled teams, better Pokémon, and Mega Evolutions, making them a significantly higher threat...except for Steven, who's ''worse''. Though his team has the second highest levels in the game (behind Wally's final team), likely to be 5-10 levels higher than the player even if they've been using the GameBreaker Exp Share, it suffers heavily from PoorPredictableRock. Four of his team have the same common weakness: Water. None of them, with the exception of Aerodactyl, have any Electric or Grass moves, and on top of all that they're fairly slow, making it a cinch to sweep them with a Water Pokémon. On top of that, his strong fossil Pokémon are replaced by an Aerodactyl (which is still rather good) and a ''[[StoneWall Carbink]]'' with an ''offensive'' moveset!

** The intro of the game shows May along Torchic, [[BreakoutCharacter one of the favourite starters in the whole series]]; the EnsembleDarkHorse Flygon; Manectric, often considered one of the best pokemon of the generation... And Volbeat, both a [[LowTierLetdown very weak Pokemon]] [[TheScrappy and one of, if not the most hated Pokemon in Gen III]].

** Battling Fare Prince Trencherman requires you to defeat all 8 trainers of the Mauville Ramen Bowl battle in the food court in 8 turns. That'a right, you have to beat each of them in one turn. This wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for several of them [[LuckBasedMission intentionally trying to waste your turns with luck based strategies.]] The ''first'' opponent hits you with a Choice Scarfed Teeter Dance, confusing your entire field. The second uses three Simple (doubles stat boosts) Woobats with Double Team and holding Bright Powder. Miss once, and you've probably failed the run. And a third uses three Prankser Whimsicotts with Stun Spore, ensuring they Paralyze your Pokémon before you can do anything (and unless you have priority moves of your own, this tactic works ''regardless of how overleveled you are'') essentially giving each of your Pokémon a 25% chance of failing to move and thus, costing your run. And then the second last opponent uses ''three Imposter Ditto'', copying your party stats and all. Can you defeat ''your own Pokémon'' in one turn?

** There's also two girls locked in room 2 on Sea Mauville doing...something. The first girl is bewildered at how you got in despite the fact that she locked the door, and gives you the Room 6 Key to go away. She defends herself by claiming that she's busy "teaching the girl the difficulties of being a trainer!", while the other girl just blushes. The "[[SenpaiKohai Teammates]]" class trainers are often this, really. One of the earlier ones outright calls her partner cute.

* VindicatedByHistory: ''Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire'' were fairly controversial when they were released -- see ToughActToFollow. People either liked or disliked the addition of Generation VI's [[AntiFrustrationFeatures quality-of-life features]], with some seeing them as unnecessary and [[ItsEasySoItSucks made the games very easy since the content was largely not balanced around their addition]]. Instead of incorporating more features from ''Emerald'', they incorporated more ''XY'' elements and also added many more original elements. Fast forward seven years, and as predicted, fans of ''Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire'' started crawling out of the woodwork over ''VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl'''s remakes proved to be more of a faithful remake to the point of copious ItsTheSameNowItSucks. Many of the quality-of-life improvements and new features in ''ORAS'' garnered more and more praise over time to the point that fans largely started considering them improved versions of ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY'' and among the best 3D games in the series only behind ''VideoGame/PokemonLegendsArceus''. It helps that ''Pokémon Emerald'', long considered a SacredCow in the fandom, has dropped off in popularity over time, leading to many fans who label ''ORAS'' as the definitive Hoenn games.

* {{Narm}}: The big confrontation between Kyogre and Groudon in ''Emerald'' has Groudon on a rock just big enough for it to stand on in the middle of the ocean as it's raining, making it seem comically one-sided in Kyogre's favor.

*** Pike Queen Lucy, of the Battle Pike, is remembered for not only having one of the most...uh...[[DistractedByTheSexy unique]] character designs, but was one of the most favorable anime characters to ship with Brock, as she was one of the few who actually fell for Brock in the anime. She got a very small cameo (as an NPC you can talk to in the Battle Maison) in the remakes; and after an ''entire decade and a half,'' she finally managed to return in ''VideoGame/PokemonMasters'' as the first (and so far, '''only''') female Frontier Brain that can be recruited.

*** Tower Maiden Anabel, of the Battle Tower, may be hated by some for her jerk-like actions to the player, but she was another anime character that was appreciated by anime fans. On top of that, she returns in ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'' and [[spoiler:it's revealed that ''Emerald''[='=]s version of Anabel is the one who appears in ''Sun'' and ''Moon'']].

** Wattson can be this if you bring a Ground-type, due to two of his Pokémon (specifically, his Magnemite and Magneton) having a quadruple weakness to Ground.

** Battling Fare Prince Trencherman requires you to defeat all 8 trainers of the Mauville Ramen Bowl battle in the food court in 8 turns. That'a right, you have to beat each of them in one turn. This wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for several of them [[LuckBasedMission intentionally trying to waste your turns with luck based strategies.]] The ''first'' opponent hits you with a Choice Scarfed Teeter Dance, confusing your entire field. The second uses three Simple (doubles stat boosts) Woobats with Double Team and holding Brightpowder. Miss once, and you've probably failed the run. And a third uses three Prankser Whimsicotts with Stun Spore, ensuring they Paralyze your Pokémon before you can do anything (and unless you have priority moves of your own, this tactic works ''regardless of how overleveled you are'') essentially giving each of your Pokémon a 25% chance of failing to move and thus, costing your run. And then the second last opponent uses ''three Imposter Ditto'', copying your party stats and all. Can you defeat ''your own Pokémon'' in one turn?

* AuthorsSavingThrow: These games made a stronger effort to make Dark and Ghost types more usable throughout the adventure, after the previous entries kept most of them restricted to [[LateCharacterSyndrome post-game areas that you would already have a full team by the time you reach.]] One of the first Pokémon you can catch is a Dark-type, another early one is Dark/Ghost type, a few new Water and Grass types have a second Dark typing, and a later (though still pre-Elite Four) area has two pure-Ghost types to catch. Their performance in battle varies, but it's much easier to have a Dark or Ghost type as a mainstay on your team.

** On a meta-level, some fans who played the original were expecting a more-direct TimeSkip sequel that sets long after the original ''Ruby and Sapphire'' (akin to ''VideoGame/PokemonBlack2AndWhite2''), only to find out ''Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire'' were remakes with similar storylines they knew before, and even with some changes couldn't put off their frustration. Whether ''Delta Episode'' could put out this flame is up for question.

** On a meta-level, some fans who played the original were expecting a more-direct TimeSkip sequel that sets long after the original ''Ruby and Sapphire'' (akin to ''VideoGame/PokemonBlack2AndWhite2''), only to find out ''Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire'' were remakes with similar storylines they knew before, and even with some changes couldn't put off their frustration. Wether ''Delta Episode'' could put off this flame is up for question.

** Lileep's and Cradily's pink tentacles with lighter pink ends can easily be mistaken for [[NaughtyTentacles something else.]]

** [[CuteMonsterGirl Gardevoir]], having an endearing humanoid design and [[MamaBear protective personality]].
** Flygon has a pretty big underground cult following for being one of the coolest Pokémon designs of the third generation and for its unique typing. Even after Garchomp was released with the same typing and better stats overall, many players prefer the good old [[OurDragonsAreDifferent insect/dragon hybrid]] because it's just [[RuleOfCool way too damn cool]].

*** ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'' even put this meme into the Poke Finder's comments section.

* {{Misblamed}}: Many fans are complaining about Gym Leaders supposedly being made easier since Emerald, not realising that it was actually Emerald that made the Gym Leaders ''[[SequelDifficultySpike harder]]'' compared to the original Ruby and Sapphire, which the remakes follow.

* TaintedByThePreview: The remakes were getting a lot of flak for the rather abysmal marketing, which focused almost entirely on Mega Evolution and updated character designs, instead of other mechanics, character and story changes, and other improvements. Soaring wasn't revealed until shortly before the games were released, and Dex Nav was only revealed through some gamer reviews a week before the game's release. Fan opinion has mostly cooled down on the game, but the previews made the games look like Ruby and Sapphire, just with Megas.

** The white thing on Brendan's head is commonly mistaken for his hair. It's actually a hat, with his actual hair being brown.

* CommonKnowledge: Hoenn's infamous "trumpets" are actually French horns. Even people who know this will still refer to them as trumpets because more people recognize that instrument and [[InherentlyFunnyWords the word is easier to use in memes]].