Ruby and Sapphire split on more than the legendary on the box. Here's the Pokemon Ruby vs Sapphire difference: the villains change, 8 Pokemon in each game are missing from the other, and the Hoenn Gyms stay exactly where they were. That makes this a pick about story and roster, since neither game is harder than the other.
The full Hoenn lists are on the Ruby and Sapphire Pokedex pages.
Team Magma or Team Aqua
Ruby sends you after Team Magma and Sapphire sends you after Team Aqua, and the swap goes deep. Maxie leads Magma with Tabitha and Courtney as his admins, and Archie leads Aqua with Matt and Shelly. A total of 34 trainers change to match, so the grunts in Ruby use Numel and the ones in Sapphire use Carvanha. (A Sharpedo is a jet ski with opinions. A Camerupt is a small volcano on a bad day.)
At Mt. Chimney both leaders finish on a level 25 Pokemon, a Camerupt for Maxie and a Sharpedo for Archie. They come back at Seafloor Cavern with the same two finishers at level 43.
Which Pokemon only one version has
Seedot, Mawile, Zangoose and Solrock belong to Ruby. Mawile's extra jaw is rude. Sapphire keeps Lotad, Sableye, Seviper and Lunatone for itself, and each game gets a full grass line, Seedot with Nuzleaf and Shiftry in Ruby and Lotad with Lombre and Ludicolo in Sapphire.
Only in Ruby
Only in Sapphire
Collector Hector on Route 115 shows how clean the split is. He carries a level 20 Seviper in Ruby and a level 20 Zangoose in Sapphire, which is whichever one you can't catch in that game.
Groudon or Kyogre, Latias or Latios
- Type
- Ground
- Category
- Continent Pokémon
- National Dex
- #0383
- Debut
- Gen III
- Base stat total
- 670
The box legendary is Groudon in Ruby and Kyogre in Sapphire, and both wait in the Cave of Origin at level 45. The second split is on the Southern Island, where Ruby has a level 50 Latias and Sapphire has a level 50 Latios.
Roxanne, Brawly and Wattson are the same
Roxanne opens the Gym route in Rustboro City with Geodude at level 14 and Nosepass at level 15, and Brawly is next in Dewford Town with Machop at level 17 and Makuhita at level 18. Wattson follows in Mauville City with Voltorb at level 20, Magnemite at level 22 and Magneton at level 23.
Every one of those fights is identical in both games. Only the Team Magma and Team Aqua trainers and Hector change, and the shops, trades and items match.
Which one should you buy?
Buy Ruby for Groudon and the Magma story. Buy Sapphire for Kyogre and the Aqua story. The games are close enough in difficulty that the villains settle it, and Sapphire gets our vote.
Ruby vs Sapphire FAQ
Can you play Ruby without Sapphire?
Yes. Ruby has the full Hoenn story, and trading with a Sapphire owner gets you the Pokemon you miss.
Is the story different in Ruby and Sapphire?
Yes. Ruby has Team Magma and Sapphire has Team Aqua, each with its own leader and admins.
