Saturday January 17 2000
Just a couple of weeks after the ZGBA release, it became a real phenomenon, especially in Japan. It wasn't rare anymore to see people playing it outside. On trains, at parks, in cafés, even while waiting at crosswalks, the purple-and-white handheld kept showing up in people's hands. The device was simply too good, and the fact that it launched with so many big titles made it feel like everyone had a reason to own one.
Most players brought it everywhere, and ZAGE took advantage of that in a smart way. They sold a separate ZGBA carrying bag that quickly became a must-have accessory. The bag looked stylish, not like an ugly school pouch, and it was practical too. It could fit the ZGBA safely, carry the charger, and still have dedicated slots for cartridges and ZA-Batteries. It felt like ZAGE understood how fans actually lived with a handheld, not just how they played it at home. Even better, the bag wasn't expensive, so a lot of people who bought the ZGBA also picked up the bag without thinking twice.
And of course, the 21 launch games were their own kind of pressure. It was a lot to take in. For many players, it would take months to complete everything, especially if they only played after school or after work. But that was exactly what made the ZGBA launch feel satisfying. If you bought the full bundle, you never ran out of something to play. You could finish one game, then immediately jump into another genre, another world, another mood. The library didn't feel like a short honeymoon, it felt like an endless buffet, and for early adopters that meant the ZGBA wasn't just a new device.
It became a daily habit.
As expected, the most popular games are Pokémon Ruby and Pokémon Sapphire. This third generation exploded in popularity because Pokémon finally came back in a big way. The anime was still insanely popular despite alread ended, the kids were hungry for a new adventure, and the moment the two versions hit the ZGBA, it felt like the entire country caught fire again.
What made it even stronger was the timing. The ZGBA was new, the screens looked sharp, and people wanted a game that felt like a real "new era" title. Ruby and Sapphire became that symbol. You didn't just buy them because you liked Pokémon, you bought them because everyone else was talking about them, because trading started immediately, because school conversations turned into team wars overnight.
Pokémon Gen 3 in this ZAGE version also looks different compared to its counterpart in Zaboru's previous world. The sprites are richer and more expressive, with cleaner outlines and better color depth that makes the monsters feel more alive on a handheld screen. The music is clearer too, less muffled and less flat, with stronger instruments and better layering, so towns and battles feel more memorable even after you hear them a hundred times. The overall graphics are enhanced because the ZGBA's capability is far ahead of the GBA in Zaboru's previous life, and ZAGE's developers actually took advantage of that extra power instead of wasting it. The result is that Ruby and Sapphire don't just feel like "the next Pokémon."
They feel like Pokémon stepping into a new generation for real. Even simple battles look richer, because the Pokémon sprites are detailed and expressive, with cleaner shading and sharper animation that makes every creature feel more alive. And it isn't only the monsters. The battle effects are far more colorful too. Different skills have distinct visual flair—sparks for electric moves, heat waves and flame trails for fire attacks, water splashes that actually feel heavy, wind cuts that slice across the screen. It makes every fight feel more exciting, and it gives each move its own identity instead of looking like the same effect in a different color.
As for both versions, the core structure is still the same, but Zaboru added more flavor and sharper teeth to the experience. Compared to Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire in his previous life, this ZAGE version is noticeably harder, offering more challenge without turning it into unfair punishment. Trainers are a bit smarter, some battles are tuned to hit harder than players expect, and the mid-game doesn't feel like a sleepy walk anymore. You're encouraged to actually build a team, think about type coverage, and use items and strategy instead of steamrolling everything with one overleveled starter.
Still, the classic version differences remain exactly the way fans want them. Ruby's main antagonists are Team Magma, pushing their own extreme vision of the world, while Sapphire's villains are Team Aqua, obsessed with the opposite outcome. Ruby centers around Groudon as its legendary Pokémon, while Sapphire centers around Kyogre, and both legendaries feel like true "endgame gods" when they finally appear.
A lot of players bought both versions, but most still committed to one as their "main" save. The other copy usually became a trading partner, a way to grab exclusives, complete the Pokédex, or help a friend without starting over.
On top of that, each version keeps its own exclusive Pokémon list, which brings the trading culture back to life. Some players choose based on the legendary, others based on which team they like more, and plenty of people pick purely because they want certain exclusives for their dream party. On paper it's a small difference, but in real life it's the reason friends argue, swap, and trade for weeks—and it's exactly the kind of version identity that keeps Ruby and Sapphire buzzing everywhere.
Some Pokémon can also only evolve through trading, and ZAGE kept that classic mechanic alive. For example, Seadra needs to be traded while holding the Dragon Scale to evolve into Kingdra. Clamperl can evolve into either Huntail or Gorebyss depending on the item it holds during the trade: Deep Sea Tooth or Deep Sea Scale. Those little rules made trading feel more meaningful, not just for Pokédex completion, but for building a stronger team.
Zabo-man also appears again as Hidden Trainer in this game.
And speaking of trading, the version exclusives became the main fuel for schoolyard negotiations.
In Ruby, players could find Seedot, Nuzleaf, and Shiftry, while Sapphire players got Lotad, Lombre, and Ludicolo. Ruby also had Mawile, Zangoose, Solrock, and Plusle, while Sapphire had Sableye, Seviper, Lunatone, and Minun. These differences weren't huge on paper, but in real life they were everything. If your friend picked the opposite version, you suddenly had a reason to meet up, link up, and trade. If you picked the same version as everyone else in your class, you either begged someone from another class to help, or you bought the other version yourself.
The new continent, Hoenn, was another reason people fell in love so fast. It felt fresh and adventurous, full of beaches, forests, caves, and cities that each had their own identity. Players loved the sense of travel, the mix of land and sea routes, and the feeling that the world was bigger than what they were used to. Overall, everyone was just happy to have a new Pokémon game that exceeded expectations.
The story itself was a bit goofy, but it had its own charm, and that charm made the whole journey feel lighter and more fun. And like usual with Pokémon, debates broke out everywhere, especially about which starter was the best, and whether Kyogre or Groudon was stronger.
Especially in school, the debates were basically a daily war. Right now, a group of middle school kids were already arguing like they were defending national pride.
"Of course Mudkip is the best Pokémon! He's the cutest!" a girl declared, hugging her ZGBA like it was a baby.
A boy snorted so loudly it sounded personal. "Mudkip? Obviously Treecko is the most badass. He looks like a small green Mewtwo and he's so cool."
The Mudkip girl gasped. "Excuse me? Treecko looks like a leaf that got angry."
Before the Treecko boy could counterattack, another kid jumped in with a grin like he'd been waiting for this moment his whole life.
"HAHAHA! Both of you can't compare to my Spicy Karage!"
His friend blinked. "Who the hell is Spicy Karage?"
The kid puffed his chest out like he was announcing a legendary warrior. "That's the name of my Blaziken. And Torchic is the best starter. He is Lord of Destruction. FLAME BABY!"
The Mudkip girl took one step back, genuinely scared. "You're weird…"
The Treecko boy nodded, as if this was a scientific conclusion. "He's super weird."
But then a fourth kid, quiet until now, pushed up his glasses like a professor and entered the battlefield with wisdom.
"It's a cool name," he said calmly, "just like my Sceptile. I bestowed him the name Steamed Weed. Now he is my Emperor of the Wind."
Everyone stared.
The Torchic kid whispered, "Steamed… Weed?"
The glasses kid nodded solemnly. "If you name your Pokémon, they gain personality."
The Mudkip girl squinted. "Your Pokémon has personality, yeah. It's just… illegal."
The Treecko boy slammed his fist into his palm like he was calling for a rematch. "Fine! After school, battle. Winner decides which starter is objectively the best."
"Deal!" the Torchic kid shouted. "Spicy Karage will burn you all!"
The Mudkip girl hugged her console tighter, face serious now. "My Mudkip noo my Swampert will wash your brain."
And the glasses kid, still calm, whispered like a villain in a drama. "Steamed Weed will dominate the skies."
A teacher walked past, heard nothing but random shouting, and sighed like she'd already accepted that Hoenn had invaded education forever.
Not just middle school kids. Even office workers were debating like their salary depended on it. Right now, three coworkers were supposed to be doing paperwork, but the only thing they were truly working on was proving which legendary was stronger.
"Obviously Kyogre is stronger than Groudon," one guy declared, stabbing his finger at the air like he was pointing at a courtroom judge. "Kyogre can fly and kick Groudon's ass, definitely."
His coworker snorted so hard he almost inhaled his own pride. "Fly? That's it? Groudon can make earthquakes! Earthquakes! One stomp and Kyogre is sushi."
The first guy gasped. "Sushi? Kyogre is a whale, you barbarian! And he controls the ocean. Ocean beats dirt. That's science."
The Groudon fan leaned forward, eyes shining with the confidence of someone who had never been correct in his life but still believed today was the day. "Dirt? Dirt?! Groudon is the land itself. Without land, your ocean is just a big sad soup."
The third coworker, who had been trying to type a report this entire time, finally sighed. "Both are cool, you know. You don't have to fight like this."
Both of them turned toward him at the same time like he had committed a crime.
The Groudon fan clicked his tongue. "You have no personality."
The Kyogre fan nodded as if this was a medical diagnosis. "Yeah, neutral people are scary."
The third coworker blinked. "I'm scary because I don't want to die on a Pokémon hill?"
"Exactly," the Groudon fan said, completely serious.
A manager walked past, heard the words "earthquake" and "sushi," and paused at the door with a tired look.
"Are you guys… working?"
All three answered at once.
"Yes!"
Then, without missing a beat, the Kyogre fan whispered like a spy. "Kyogre still wins."
The Groudon fan whispered back, equally dramatic. "Groudon will bury him."
The manager stared for three seconds, like his brain was trying to process how he ended up managing adults who were yelling "sushi" and "earthquake" at nine in the morning. Then he slowly turned around and walked away, muttering just loud enough to be heard.
"Fools… obviously my Gardevoir, Garde-chan, is the best. Hehehe."
He didn't stop there. Still walking, he waved one hand like a dramatic villain. "Kyogre, Groudon, whatever. None of them can beat elegance. None of them can beat devotion. Garde-chan is a queen."
The three coworkers stared at his back in stunned silence.
The neutral guy blinked twice. "Did… did our manager just confess his Pokémon crush?"
The Kyogre fan whispered, terrified. "He called it Garde-chan."
The Groudon fan whispered back, equally scared. "He said queen."
From the hallway, the manager's voice echoed one last time, proud and shameless.
"And yes, I will buy the plushie. Two of them. One for the office, one for home."
The coworkers didn't even argue about legendaries anymore. They just went back to their work in silence, like they had witnessed something too powerful to debate.
Then the merchandise wave hit right after. ZAGE's subsidiary, HanDai, moved fast and flooded stores with Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire toys like they were preparing for a festival. New figures, plushies, little keychains, and even those small gashapon-style capsules that kids begged their parents for at every corner shop. They sold like hotcakes. Some items vanished in a day, and the same people who were fighting in lines for ZGBA were now fighting for a Torchic plush or a Kyogre figure.
And it wasn't only toys. A new set of Pokémon cards based on Ruby and Sapphire dropped too, and the timing was evil in the best way. Pokémon cards were already popular, but the Gen 3 release poured gasoline on the fire. Kids started bringing decks to school like it was a second homework assignment. Office workers bought packs "for fun" and somehow ended up arguing about rare pulls during lunch breaks. Even parents get dragged into it, because once a child starts saying "just one more pack," the whole house becomes a negotiation table.
Overall, the Pokémon craze was happening again, louder and wider than before. It wasn't just the games. It was the toys, the cards, the conversations, the battles, the trades, the rumors about secrets, and the endless bragging about who caught what.
And ZAGE wasn't going to let the momentum die on the handheld alone. The anime was ready to continue too. The Gen 2 season had already finished, so the stage was clear for Hoenn. Zaboru had already planned to give YaDo Studio the next task: a new season, new regions, new rivals, new badges, and a fresh wave of chaos for every kid who thought they could finally rest. Because in the ZAGE era, Pokémon never stayed quiet for long.
Then there are small problems related to plushie because well ZAGE with HanDai are starting to release the live sizes of plushies of Pokemon and it's getting out of hand..
To be continue
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