In the Pokémon video game series, which games first introduced Pokémon Contests?

Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire first introduced Pokémon Contests in the Pokémon video game series.

Released for the Game Boy Advance in 2002 and 2003, Ruby and Sapphire added Contests as an alternative to standard Pokémon battles. Instead of focusing mainly on attack strength, these events judged how Pokémon presented moves and performed before a panel.

The games featured five Contest categories: Cool, Beauty, Cute, Smart, and Tough. A Pokémon’s Condition affected its performance, and players could improve that Condition by feeding Pokémon Pokéblocks made from Berries. This gave players another reason to collect Berries and experiment with combinations.

Pokémon Contests returned in Pokémon Emerald and later appeared in several other games, although their names, rules, and presentation changed over time. They are sometimes confused with Super Contests, which were introduced in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, but Ruby and Sapphire established the original Contest format in the main series.