Natures will increase one of the Pokémon's stats and decrease another stat, adding yet another layer to battle strategy. Pokémon also gained Natures in generation 3, making each Pokémon even more unique and giving each one a personality. Each Pokémon can only have one ability, though most species have two options that are randomly chosen upon encounter. These are special traits which have a variety of effects in battle, or in some cases out in the field. One of the biggest visible changes in Ruby/Sapphire was the introduction of Abilities. See the Effort Values page for more details. However, there is a maximum for each stat plus an overall maximum (roughly equivalent to two maxed-out stats). From Ruby/Sapphire onwards, each Pokémon battled yields small EV increases in specific stats. In previous games battling with your Pokémon simply increased EVs across all stats, up to a maximum. IVs now have a wider range, giving more individuality to Pokémon in the wild.ĮVs became more restricted and targeted. As such, Pokémon cannot be traded to generation 3 from any previous game.ĭirectly tied to the new data format was an overhauled Effort Value (EV) and Individual Value (IV) system.

The biggest change in Ruby/Sapphire was a less apparent one - a complete redevelopment of how Pokémon data is stored in-game. The Hoenn starters: Treecko, Torchic and Mudkip

Ruby and sapphire