Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire take place in the Hoenn region.
Hoenn is the setting for the third-generation Game Boy Advance games released in Japan in 2002. The region contains many islands and extensive sea routes, making water travel and the Dive ability important parts of exploration.
Hoenn’s design was inspired by Kyushu, one of Japan’s major islands. The game world was rotated relative to its real-world inspiration to create a better balance for gameplay and map exploration.
Ruby and Sapphire feature different villainous teams: Team Magma in Ruby and Team Aqua in Sapphire. Their plans focus on Groudon and Kyogre, respectively, and create the games’ central environmental conflict.