Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire 3DS Remakes Announced

Nintendo has today announced Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, remakes of their 2003 GBA adventures, will be coming to the 3DS in November.

The decision to remake Ruby and Sapphire isn't surprising seeing as their predecessors Pokemon Red and Blue, as well as Pokemon Gold and Silver, have already received the revamp treatment.

Set in the region of Hoenn, they will introduce a new location for the 3DS system as well as - I'm obviously speculating here - featuring the new mechanics that have made the series so popular in recent years.

Nintendo's decision to cling to a known winner is a good one, especially as they have posted their third consecutive annual operating loss. However, on a stronger note the last 3DS offerings, Pokemon X and Y, sold 12.26 million copies worldwide which makes them the biggest selling titles on the device.

No doubt we will hear more of these remakes during Nintendo's E3 broadcast next month.

Perhaps more significant is the wording "EXPLORE A DRAMATIC NEW WORLD!" within the trailer. We may be reading too far into it but does this mean we'll get extra content with the titles? Only time will tell.

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Levelling Up Pokemon Master Style

As most of you know; each and every Pokémon can reach a max level of 100. After a certain point in the game, it becomes really tough to gain the experience points required to boost through the higher levels but we have found a few techniques to speed this process up

Train a Pokémon received in a Trade:

The first obvious choice is training a traded Pokémon. Pokémon received from a trade with a different Trainer ID will receive more experience points than Pokémon you catch in your own game. This can speed up the entire levelling process and makes reaching that desired level 100 a much less time consuming process.

Increase your Pokémon’s affection in Pokémon-Amie:

Another way to get extra experience points from any Pokémon in your game is to increase that specific monsters affection using the Pokémon-Amie tool. Play games with it, pet it, and feed it until the hearts are filled up. You can check a Pokémon’s Pokémon-Amie stats when you try to switch to another Pokémon at the Pokémon-Amie menu. The happier a monster the more experience points it will receive.

Give your Pokémon the Lucky Egg:

This ‘hold item’ will dramatically increase the experience points given to your Pokémon during battle. It can be found in the Coumarine City Hotel.

Use Exp. Point Power:

If you use this O-Power, Pokémon will obtain even more experience points after battles, but only for three minutes after using the O-Power. This O-Power can be obtained in the Anistar City Pokémon Centre. 

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When you get into the later game, the techniques you use will have to change (or improve) as you obviously need more experience to go up each level as your critters become more powerful

The first option is the Battle Chateau. Battle a number of trainers each day to increase rank and find tougher trainers. You may even run into some Gym Leaders after becoming the Marquis (male) or Machioness (female) rank.

The second option is Restaurant Le Wow in Lumiose City. This restaurant cannot be entered until you become the Pokémon League Champion (which really is the end of the main story). It is recommended that you choose either a Triple Battle or a Rotation Battle. If you choose Double Battle, you'll only fight two Pokémon per trainer instead of 3, and you'll miss out on fighting Pokémon like a level 63 Audino, which gives a huge chunk of experience points.

The third, and more common, option is to challenge the Pokémon League again and again.

ONE FINAL NOTE:

Certain Pokémon will yield more experiences points that the average wild encounter, Luvdisc near Cyllage City (for lower levels) and Basculin, in the pond in Laverre City (for intermediate levels).

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