The Pokémon franchise is beloved for its attention to detail, whether that be through creature and location design inspirations or lore. Its longevity is partially due to there always being something to learn about each monster and the world itself. Each game is full of tiny details and mechanics that expand the depth of the user experience. That being said, they can be completely missed by the average player, but are there to be discovered and utilised by those willing to take a closer look.
Without further ado, here are some of my favourites from the Generation 3 games, Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald.
Shoal Cave Tides
Twice per day, the tides will change in this mysterious cave off the coast of Mossdeep. During those times, you can collect the spoils from within to get the items needed for a Shell Bell. You can also only find Pokémon like Snorunt in areas that are accessible only during low tide. The tides produce a visual contrast upon entry. As well as this, different areas are accessible from the routes’ cave mouths opening and shutting with the wavering tides.
Mirage Island
Most players will never see this mysterious locale; however, the island produced many a playground rumour on how exactly to find it. The elusive isle lies east of Pacifidlog town and contains nothing but Wynaut and the very rare Liechi berry. There is one method to obtain access to Mirage Island, but the problem arises when you realise it is completely random.
Each day, a random number is generated between 0 and 65535; this is then checked against the personality value of your party Pokémon when divided by 65535. If the numbers match, then the island will appear. If not, then you’ll need to try again. The actual odds of this are far, far lower than even shiny odds, so you’re far more likely to find a shiny Pokémon than see Mirage Island
You’re probably wondering: What is a personality value? In the simplest terms, it is a randomly generated 32-bit value that is applied to each Pokémon you encounter. This value determines gender, abilities, nature, shininess, forms, and size, among other elements we’ll get into later. This value is essentially the Pokémon’s identity hard-written into a string of numbers so that the game can read and find the information about that specific entity.
Spinda
While unassuming on the surface, Spinda is one of the most unique and complicated Pokémon in the franchise. Spinda’s spots are what make it special. Their spot placement is based on the aforementioned personality value. As it is a 32-bit value, there are 4,294,967,296 different results, some of which are visually identical, but the vast majority are completely unique. This means that one player cannot catch every spot pattern, but also, two players finding identical patterns is obscenely rare.
Fun fact, if you were to endeavour to catch every single Spinda form, you would need 715828 Pokémon Home Subscriptions. If you were to capture one per minute on average, it would take over 8000 years to catch all of them, too… assuming every encounter was unique. Insane numbers for this clumsy little panda! Gatorshark made a tool back in the day that was used to help track the variants. That is, if you’re wanting to find the perfect Spinda.
Trainer Card
Starting with this generation, the trainer card saw a huge overhaul. This ranges from displaying your Pokédex progress to your battles won against others, and even trades completed. However, what I feel is the best change is the new ranking system that has been applied to the cards. Now, for every major feat you complete on your journey, you obtain a star, and your trainer card changes colour.
The four ranks you can obtain here are Bronze, Copper, Silver, and Gold. These ranks can then be flexed to your friends to show your superiority. You obtain ranks by beating the Pokémon League, getting a 50-win streak in the Battle Tower, completing the regional Pokédex, and mastering all the contest types. This adds a layer of mastery to the game that is tangible and provable… besides the Pokédex, anyway.
Braille
The integration of Braille as a hidden language was a bold but incredible move by Game Freak. Its use is simple: there are secret ruins in the game relative to the Regi trio, and in order to unlock them, you must translate the markings. Deep inside the user manual was a chart that translated these markings into letters that the players could read. This allowed the player to decipher all the ruins, figure out the puzzles, and access legendary Pokémon. It makes kids feel like archaeologists uncovering a secret they have yet to learn. Consider that this was before the widespread availability of the internet, too, so we didn’t necessarily have easy access to Google.
The Pokémon games are no strangers to cryptic lettering systems; they have the Unown for this after all. However, the decision to make it a real-world language used for accessibility for the visually impaired was a sensitive and genius decision. I recall memorising the chart completely as a child, then effortlessly reading it for other kids around school. I also approached signs in real life and read those, and while I have forgotten a large amount of it, having this in a video game of all things is still crazy to me.
Abilities that work outside of battle
Everyone knows and loves the abilities introduced in Generation 3, but did you know some had secondary uses? I’m referring to those beyond Flame Body, which helps with hatching eggs. There are a handful of abilities that you could be utilising that do more than you might have expected. I have compiled a list of all abilities with secondary aspects. I want to give a big thanks to Serebii for being an invaluable resource on all things Pokémon.
| Ability Name | Effect |
| Intimidate | Low-Level Pokémon Appear Less Often |
| Keen Eye | High-Level Pokémon Appear More Often |
| Hustle | High-Level Pokémon Appear More Often |
| Vital Spirit | Electric-type Pokémon Appear More Often |
| Pressure | Wild Pokémon Appear More Often |
| Arena Trap | Wild Pokémon Appear More Often |
| Suction Cups | Makes Hooking a Pokémon Easier While Fishing |
| Sticky Hold | Makes Hooking a Pokémon Easier While Fishing |
| White Smoke | Wild Pokémon Appear Less Often |
| Sand Veil | Wild Pokémon Appear Less Often in a Sandstorm |
| Static | Steel-type Pokémon Appear More Often |
| Magnet Pull | Steel-type Pokémon Appear More Often |
| Synchronise | Pokémon of the Same Nature Appear More Often |
| Compound Eyes | Pokémon With Held Items Appear More Often |
| Cute Charm | Pokémon of the Opposite Gender Appear More Often |
| Hyper Cutter | Increases Cut’s Radius |
| Swarm | The Roars of Wild Pokémon are More Common |
| Lightning Rod | Increases the Amount of PokeNav Calls |
Other small details
Everyone knows that you can cut the grass around you with the HM Cut, but, did you know that if your Pokemon has hyper cutter you can cut even more grass? 
There’s an NPC named Kiri in Sootopolis City that will give you two berries a day. She is named after Junichi Masuda’s daughter who was born around the release of Ruby and Sapphire in Japan. 
There is a 1 in 64 chance that you’ll see a random NPC or Pokemon scaling Mt Chimney when you take the cable car up. 
When you notice the TV counting down the days to the Department Store Sale you’d better take note. If you go there on the day of the sale you can buy really great stuff for your secret base, including the ability to cover up the holes to make even more space.
These are some of my favourite subtle features in Generation 3. Do you have any that I may have missed? Let me know by commenting below! If you’d like to learn more about the ribbon system that was introduced in this generation, please consider reading this article.
Video game completionist and 3D platformer connoisseur, Riley is a fan of the whimsical frenzy of bright and colourful characters that blessed us in the late 90's. Their favourite game's are Spyro, Persona 5 and Super Mario Sunshine.