As part of our celebration of 25 years of Pokémon, we’ve explored
memorable video game moments from shining Sinnoh,
unique Unova,
beautiful Kalos,
sunny Alola,
and wild Galar.
Continue your tour of the Pokémon world with some of the Hoenn region’s most
memorable video game moments, places, and characters. Introduced in Pokémon
Ruby and Pokémon
Sapphire and continued in Pokémon
Omega Ruby and Pokémon
Alpha Sapphire, the Hoenn region is full of opportunities for
adventure. Looking back on 25 years of epic Pokémon battles, beloved
friendships, and dastardly villains, it’s difficult to choose the very best. So,
while everyone’s favorite Pokémon, location, and challenge might be different,
here are some of the iconic moments that help distinguish and define the Hoenn
region.
Pokémon Contests
While earlier generations introduced and iterated on
traditional Pokémon battles, the Hoenn region was the first to offer Trainers
the opportunity to compete in Pokémon Contests. Trainers—referred to in contests
as Coordinators—compete to determine which Pokémon achieves the greatest score
in one of five different categories: Beauty, Cleverness, Coolness, Cuteness, or
Toughness. Variations of these Pokémon Contests appear in other games with
names like Pokémon Super Contests or Pokémon Contest Spectaculars, but it all
started in Hoenn.
Pokémon Contests take place in buildings called Contest
Halls and the competition circuit takes Coordinators across the Hoenn region. Any
aspiring Coordinator’s contest adventure begins in Verdanturf Town. From there,
successful competitors can travel to Fallarbor Town, sojourn in Slateport City,
and take their final trek to Lilycove City. Coordinators can earn ribbons by
winning contests, and with enough wins, they can move up in rank from Normal to
Super to Hyper and, finally, to the rank of Master.
In addition to being a new way to interact with the Pokémon
world, Pokémon Contests offer an exciting opportunity to participate in fun
activities like preparing Pokéblocks. To prepare Pokéblocks, Coordinators use a
Berry Blender and different types of Berries to increase desired conditions
like Coolness or Toughness. For example, Coordinators that want a Cool Pokémon
use red, spicy-tasting Berries to raise their Pokémon’s Coolness condition. Blending
Pokéblocks to ensure your Pokémon is the toughest in town is a unique
experience we’ll always remember.
Father Figure
Nearly every Pokémon core series video game features a
cheerful mother wishing her child well as they set off on their Pokémon
journey. Noticeably absent is the player character’s father—with one exception.
In the Hoenn region, the protagonist has a father named Norman who’s as
passionate about Pokémon as the player.
Norman works as the Gym Leader of Petalburg City. As a
Normal-type Pokémon expert, he gives the Balance Badge to Trainers who defeat
him. Norman battles with a Slaking and takes his role very seriously, refusing
to battle the protagonist until they have successfully acquired four Gym
Badges. Other characters insist that Norman “lives for Pokémon,” which explains
where the player character gets their love of Pokémon—the Berry doesn’t fall
far from the plant!
With his understated design and no-nonsense approach to
battling, Norman might not be the flashiest character among Pokémon’s colorful
history of dynamic Gym Leaders, but being the only protagonist’s father to
appear in the core series makes Norman anything but normal.
Notable Water-Type Pokémon
Hoenn is known for its abundance of water, which becomes a
core theme within the Pokémon Ruby and Pokémon Sapphire games.
The region boasts several islands, water routes, and even diving opportunities
for seafaring Pokémon Trainers. The importance of water extends to many of the
new Pokémon introduced in the third generation.
Of this region’s many Water-type Pokémon, Kyogre is
undeniably the most significant to the video games’ story. In addition to being
known as the most powerful Water-type Pokémon to exist in any region, the Sea
Basin Pokémon is credited with filling the seas that helped form the Hoenn
region. Kyogre is also at the center of villainous Team Aqua’s plot to cover
the world in water.
But Kyogre is far from the only compelling Water-type
Pokémon introduced in Hoenn. The mighty Swampert evolves from the ever-likeable
Mudkip, one of the first partner Pokémon available to Hoenn Trainers.
Stunningly beautiful Milotic, which evolves from the unlikely Feebas, was also
first discovered in Hoenn. Joining them on the extensive list of notable
Water-type Pokémon found in Hoenn are Sharpedo, Wailord, Spheal, and Walrein.
With a loyal Swampert at your side and a raging Kyogre to face in battle, the
Hoenn region makes it impossible to overlook the power and beauty of Water-type
Pokémon.
Super-Secret Bases
Who doesn’t love a personal hideout? Pokémon Ruby and
Pokémon Sapphire introduced Secret Bases—a unique area where Trainers can
decorate the space and plot their next move within the Hoenn region. The Secret
Base feature is accessible to Trainers who utilize TM43 to learn the move
Secret Power. From there, Trainers will be able to find areas along the region’s
routes that can be converted into a Secret Base. For example, they might find
indents in a wall that can be carved into a cozy cave, or a tall tree with
vines that can be pulled down for a happy hideaway. Because each space has a
different size and shape, no two Secret Bases are the same.
Trainers can fill their Secret Base with all manner of
treasures, including: desks, chairs, mats, plants, bricks, beds, slides, stairs,
Berry Blenders, candlesticks, TVs, scrolls, cardboard boxes, tents, posters, dolls,
and more. Trainers can also visit each other’s Secret Bases, which offers the
opportunity to pick up Special Skills. These Special Skills include the chance
to get your Pokémon massaged, help Eggs hatch more quickly, search for
treasure, and exercise to help train your Pokémon. Secret Bases aren’t just
wicked cool places to hang out—they allow you to pick up items that can help
along your journey through the Hoenn region.
Two Villainous Teams
Most regions have a single villainous team that focuses its
efforts on a specific goal—usually involving Pokémon. Hoenn, however, boasts
double the villainy with Team Magma and Team Aqua.
You might think that having two villainous organizations
would result in double trouble for the region’s residents. But more often than
not, the two teams wind up thwarting each other’s nefarious schemes. This is
because Team Magma’s goal is to expand the world’s landmass, while Team Aqua
wants to increase the amount of water in the world. More specifically, Team
Aqua intends to awaken Kyogre to destroy civilization and return the world to
an earlier state for the benefit of Pokémon. Meanwhile, Team Magma plots to use
Groudon to create more land where humans can build and further develop
civilization.
In the games, Team Magma grunts fight with Pokémon including
Zubat, Koffing, and Poochyena, as well as Ground- and Fire-type Pokémon like
Numel. The team is led by Maxie, who oversees the Magma Hideout in Lilycove
City or the Jagged Pass, depending on the game. Team Aqua grunts also work with
Zubat and Poochyena, but they tend to focus on Water-type Pokémon like Carvanha
and Wailmer. The team is led by Archie, whose style resembles a pirate, and whose
hideout is in Lilycove City.
While neither team successfully achieves its vision of
reshaping the world utilizing Legendary Pokémon, there’s no denying that their
influence helped shape the video games set in the Hoenn region. In particular,
their machinations result in two highly memorable weather conditions: extremely
harsh sunlight and heavy rain. Groudon’s emergence causes the battlefield to be
hit with intense sunshine, while Kyogre’s emergence causes the battlefield to
be besieged by unrelenting rainfall. Both scenarios were unprecedented when
they first occurred, making the experience difficult to forget.
Honorable Mentions
It’s all but impossible to capture everything that makes the
Hoenn region notable in a five-item list, so here are some other elements that stand
out. To start, the region boasted unforgettable, original city designs. Most remarkable
among these is undoubtedly Fortree City, which is essentially a treehouse town
complete with rope bridges. Could anything possibly be cooler? No, but New
Mauville gives it a run for its money. Originally planned to be entirely indoor
city, it now sits abandoned beneath Mauville and resembles an empty shopping
mall. Then there’s Pacifidlog Town, a settlement comprised of floating houses
in the middle of the sea. And Sootopolis City is located inside a giant crater,
which is pretty awesome indeed.
Hoenn also boasts one of the most difficult Pokémon-catching
experiences of all time: the elusive Feebas. The Fish Pokémon can only be
caught on Route 119, which is mostly water. More specifically, Feebas can only
be caught on six spaces which are randomly determined and change over time.
Basically, this means that to catch a Feebas in Pokémon Ruby or Pokémon
Sapphire, Trainers pretty much had to attempt to fish on every single
available spot along Route 119.
Hoenn video games also task Trainers with learning some Braille
if they want to catch Regirock, Regice, and Registeel. The quest to catch them is
epic, requiring Trainers to decode Braille messages to reveal the locations
where the Legendary trio rest. Trainers also had to catch Wailord and Relicanth,
as well as travel to a series of cities, among other daunting tasks. The
difficulty of the quest, especially in a time that preceded internet game
walkthroughs, is impossible to overstate, but it certainly made for a memorable
experience.
There’s still more to see on our tour through the world of Pokémon. Check back soon—we’ll be heading to the Johto region next as we continue to celebrate 25 years of Pokémon!
And don’t miss our previous Pokémon region retrospectives! They’re filled with incredible moments and tons of memories.
The Galar region
The Alola region
The Kalos region
The Unova region
The Sinnoh region
Source: Pokemon
