Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire

Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire (Japanese: ポケットモンスター　アドバンスジェネレーション Pocket Monsters Advanced Generation) is the second series of the Pokémon animated series in Asia (including Japan) and the third series of in the West. The series is based on the events of the core series Generation III Pokémon games. It follows the original series and was succeeded by . It ran from November 21, 2002 to September 14, 2006 in Japan and from November 1, 2003 to March 3, 2007 in , although the first two episodes aired as a sneak peek in the United States on March 15, 2003. It was not given an English name until after the release of .
In this series, Ash travels through the Hoenn region in an effort to compete in the Hoenn League there. He is joined not by , who had been his continuous companion for the entirety of the original series, but , a rookie Trainer from Petalburg City who at first merely wishes to travel. Eventually, she learns of Pokémon Contests and declares herself a Pokémon Coordinator, training to win Ribbons so she can enter the Hoenn Grand Festival. May's brother, Max, also travels with the group and helps map out routes to take using his PokéNav. However, Max is too young to have his own Pokémon. , Ash's near-constant adviser, returns soon after the start of the series, while Misty makes two several-episode cameo appearances.
After Ash competes in the Hoenn League, Ash and Brock return to Kanto while May and Max return to Petalburg City. While on his way home to Pallet Town, Ash meets Scott, who, after observing Ash's battle skills, invites him to enter the . He travels around Kanto in an effort to complete the Battle Frontier and is joined again by Brock, Max, and May—who is now aiming to compete in the Kanto Grand Festival.
Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire saw a change in the formula. While in Kanto and Johto, Ash encountered all three of those regions' first partner Pokémon and caught each, in this series Ash's only capture of a first partner Pokémon was , while his friends, May and Brock, caught a and a , respectively. Also, unlike when he traveled to the Orange Islands and Johto, Ash left behind all of his Pokémon at 's, bringing only . Another change was new clothing for Ash and Brock. No longer did Ash wear the he claimed to have sent in a million postcards for, but instead a completely different outfit. Misty also received a new outfit during her return appearances.
Episodes in Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire are numbered with AG on Bulbapedia, based on its Japanese name Advanced Generation. For a complete episode listing, see the list of Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire episodes.
==Blurb==
Polishing off the Silver Conference, Ash heads toward his next challenge—the far-off Hoenn region! While he must say goodbye to old friends, he makes the acquaintance of May, a Trainer just starting out on her Pokémon journey. Along with her little brother Max and the ever-reliable Brock, this pack of Pokémon Trainers begin pursuing their dreams—with Ash racking up three Gym Badges, while May changes tack to follow the Contest path of a Pokémon Coordinator.
==Japanese seasons==
All episodes in the season were broadcast under the title Pocket Monsters Advanced Generation. In the Japanese rental-only DVD releases, the releases including the episodes from AG135 to AG192 are titled as Pocket Monsters Advanced Generation Battle Frontier (ポケットモンスター　アドバンスジェネレーション　バトルフロンティア), though this title is not used within the episodes themselves.
Advanced Generation series logo.png|Pocket Monsters Advanced Generation logo
Advanced Generation Battle Frontier 2006 logo.png|Pocket Monsters Advanced Generation Battle Frontier 2006 logo
==Dub seasons==
When Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire came to be dubbed into English and other languages, it was divided up into four seasons:
* Pokémon: Advanced (AG001 - AG040)
* Pokémon: Advanced Challenge (AG041 - AG092)
* Pokémon: Advanced Battle (AG093 - AG119, AG121 - AG145)
* Pokémon: Battle Frontier (AG146 - AG192)
Season6 logo.png|Pokémon: Advanced logo
Season7 logo.png|Pokémon: Advanced Challenge logo
Season8 logo.png|Pokémon: Advanced Battle logo
Battle Frontier logo.png|Pokémon: Battle Frontier logo
==Movies==
* Pokémon: Jirachi: Wish Maker
* Pokémon: Destiny Deoxys
* Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew
* Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea
==Home video releases==
===North American DVD releases===
* List of English language Pokémon Advanced home video releases (Region 1)
* List of English language Advanced Challenge home video releases (Region 1)
* List of English language Advanced Battle home video releases (Region 1)
* List of English language Battle Frontier home video releases (Region 1)
===Australian DVD releases===
* List of English language Pokémon Advanced home video releases (Region 4)
* List of English language Advanced Challenge home video releases (Region 4)
* List of English language Advanced Battle home video releases (Region 4)
* List of English language Battle Frontier home video releases (Region 4)
===Japanese DVD releases===
* List of Japanese language Advanced Generation home video releases
==Gallery==
:For more images, please see artwork from Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire on the Bulbagarden Archives.
===Posters===
AG series poster early.png|Japanese teaser poster for Advanced Generation
AG series poster.png|Japanese poster for Advanced Generation
AG poster 2.png|Japanese poster for Advanced Generation
AG series poster Asia.png|Pokémon Asia poster for Pokémon Advanced
Pokémon the Series Ruby and Sapphire Google Play.jpg|English poster for Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire
Ash and Friends Advanced Generation.png|Poster for the series featuring the protagonists
===Characters===
File:Ash AG.png|Ash Ketchum
File:BrockAG.png|
File:May AG.png|
File:MaxAG.png|Max
File:Team Rocket Trio AG.png|
==Trivia==
* This is the only series of in which:
** has two male long-term traveling companions at once.
** Ash does not have a recurring rival. The only rivals he had during this series met him shortly before the Ever Grande Conference and then departed right after.
** Ken Gates is temporarily replaced as the English dub's narrator. Mike Pollock took over in Which Wurmple's Which? and he remained until the end of the eighth season, with Gates—now known by his real name: Rodger Parsons—returning for the ninth season and onward.
** None of own a walking Pokémon.
** Ash's Pokémon League Conference placement ranking is the same compared to his previous ranking.
** Ash and his friends went their separate ways twice. The first was after the end of the Ever Grande Conference, and the second was at the end of the Pokémon: Battle Frontier.
** Ash has at least one traveling companion accompany him from the very beginning of the series all the way to the very end.
** Ash's main outfit debuts in the previous series and is retired in the next.
* This is the only series:
** To be dubbed by two different dubbing companies.
*** It is the final series to be dubbed by 4Kids Entertainment, and the first series to be dubbed by The Pokémon Company International (then known as Pokémon USA). The Pokémon Company International took over dubbing starting with Pokémon: Battle Frontier.
** Where no introduced in the generation(s) it covers is featured. While appears once in this series, he is not introduced as a Champion until .
** In which all three of the regional first partner Pokémon evolve in Pokédex order.
* This is the first series:
** Where none of the episodes used traditional or hand-colored cel animation (excluding flashbacks). However, cel animation was still used for the s.
*** This is also the first series to feature CG animation outside of movies, usually for certain move animations and sometimes also for various props and backgrounds.
** That all three of the regional first partner Pokémon owned by the protagonists evolve at least once.
* This is the final series where all of the episodes are in 4:3 aspect ratio.
==In other languages==
==External links==
* Pokémon Advanced at the Pokémon official site for Asia
* Pokémon Advanced PV
* TV Tokyo (Japanese)
==Related articles==
Category:Series of the Pokémon animated series
de:Advanced Generation
es:Serie Rubí y Zafiro
fr:Cycle 2
it:Serie Pokémon Rubino e Zaffiro
ja:ポケットモンスター アドバンスジェネレーション
zh:寶可夢 超世代