Generation III introduced 135 Pokémon species in Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire.
The third generation began with the 2002 Game Boy Advance games Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire and later included Pokémon Emerald. Its new species are numbered from Treecko at National Pokédex number 252 through Deoxys at number 386.
Generation III’s Pokémon were associated with the Hoenn region and included popular species such as Blaziken, Gardevoir, Rayquaza, Metagross, and Absol. The games also expanded the use of dual typing and added many Pokémon with no direct evolutionary connection to earlier generations.
The number 135 refers to new species introduced by the generation, not the total number of Pokémon available in every individual release. Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald also included selected Pokémon from earlier generations, while later remakes used different availability rules.
This figure is often confused with Generation II’s 100 new species or Generation V’s 156, the largest single-generation addition. Generation III’s 135 remains a distinct historical milestone in the expanding Pokédex.