Hoenn was introduced in Pokémon's third generation.
Hoenn debuted in Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, released in Japan in 2002 for the Game Boy Advance. The region is known for its mixture of land and sea routes, with water covering a major part of the map.
The third generation added 135 new Pokémon, bringing the overall total to 386. It also introduced abilities, natures, Pokémon Contests, Secret Bases, and two-on-two battles.
Hoenn is sometimes confused with other generation-linked regions. Johto belongs to Generation II, Sinnoh to Generation IV, and Kalos to Generation VI. Pokémon Emerald later expanded the Hoenn storyline as an enhanced version of Ruby and Sapphire.