Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire Differences. Are They Major?

Remade from the 2002 originals Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire made their debut in 2014. After all these years Gamefreak still has yet to deviate from their two title model for main series Pokemon games. That is not a bad thing as this encourages trading between players.

Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire differences reside in version exclusive Pokemon. There is not that many major changes should you pick one title over the other.

Here today we are going to discuss how the two versions contrast. First we will begin with the main antagonist team change. Once done with that we can move on to seeing what version exclusive Pokemon are and how they differ between titles. With that out of the way we can at last go into the most noticeable deviations without even playing the game different Mascot Legendary Pokemon. Finally, we end with explaining what Portal World Legendaries are along with their variation between titles.

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Team Magma and Team Aqua

Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire both share the same plot line. Characters simply get shifted out depending on the title.

One group in particular is the main antagonist teams. Team Magma operates as the main antagonists in Omega Ruby. Team Aqua takes the mantle as the main villains in Alpha Sapphire.

The Pokemon each team uses is themed towards their team. Most grunt level trainers will vary little from using the same Pokemon (Zubat’s and Poochyena’s evolutionary line). The Team Leaders and their top admins however will differ in the Pokemon they will use in battle.

For veteran Trainers this goes much unnoticed as Team Magma’s Maxie and Team Aqua’s Archie pose little challenge. For unprepared or less experienced trainers Camerupt and Sharpedo might pose some trouble. These Pokemon can be bypassed using proper counters, high level Pokemon, or EV trained Pokemon of the same level.

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Version Exclusive Pokemon

Most of Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire differences lay in the available Pokemon per title known as version exclusives.

These versions exclusives can only be encountered and caught in one title as opposed to both. This is implemented by Gamefreak as a motivation to trade with others.

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Omega Ruby includes the following obtainable Pokemon and their respective evolutionary line

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• Kabuto
• Seedot
• Mawile
• Zangoose
• Solrock
• Shieldon
• Shellos West Sea Variant (pink and squishy looking)
• Throh
• Archen
• Skrelp

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Alpha Sapphire includes the following obtainable and their respective evolutionary line

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• Omanyte
• Lotad
• Sableye
• Seviper
• Lunatone
• Cranidos
• Shellos East Sea Variant (teal blue and seemingly squishy)
• Sawk
• Tirtouga
• Clauncher

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Mascot Legendary Pokemon

Without even playing the game a person can notice that the Mascot Legendary Pokemon differ from each other. With Primal Groudon on Omega Ruby’s box art and Primal Kyogre on Alpha Sapphire’s.

If you ever have yet to know of Primal Reversion it is a transformation that only Groudon and Kyogre can undergo. Primal Reversion returns Groudon and Kyogre into their full ancient powerful state.

Both Legendaries receive a boost to all stats but HP. Groudon losses the ability Drought and gains the ability Desolate Land. Desolate Land nullifies any water type attack, boost fire type attacks and remains active until Groudon is switched or fainted. Kyogre will lose its ability Drizzle and will have gained Primordial Sea. Primordial Sea nullifies fire type attacks, will boost water the power of water type moves and will remain in play as long as Primal Kyogre is present in battle.

Groundon have to be given the Red Orb and Kyogre have to given the Blue Orb to hold as an item before battle to unlock their Primal Reversion. Upon being released into battle they will immediately undergo Primal Reversion.

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Portal World Legendaries

In both titles a player can encounter Portals that become available after putting a stop to Groudon or Kyogre. These portals appear on mirage spots or in caves around the region.

Inside these portals reside Legendary Pokemon and depending on the title some will be different.

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Portal World Legendary in Omega Ruby

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• Ho-oh
• Palkia
• Tornadus
• Reshiram

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Portal World Legendary in Alpha Sapphire

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• Lugia
• Dialga
• Thundurus
• Zekrom

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Ho-oh and Lugia are found in Sea Mauville. You will need to gather the Scanner and either the Clear Bell for Ho-oh or the Tidal Bell for Lugia. The Scanner can be found in the hull of the ship by searching around the floor. The HM Dive is needed to reach this location. Once found you can head off to Slateport and turn it into Captain Stern. In return, you will be given one of the two bells depending on your version.

Ho-oh’s portal is found on top on of the deck of the ship and Lugia’s portal is found in the at the bottom of the ship.

Both Dialga and Palkia require special conditions in order to open their portal. The player will need Azelf, Mesprit and Uxie present within your party. You will also need to soar on Latios or Latias around Dewford Town. There will be a big green ripple in the sky upon entering you will encounter either Dialga or Palkia.For Tornadus and Thundurus you will need to have Castform in your party. Then you will need to soar around Fortree City where you can come across an ominous looking black cloud. Once you enter you will be attacked by Tornadus or Thundurus. Soar around by Mauville City you can encounter a red light it is Fabled Cave. Inside of the cave you can find the portal for Reshiram or Zekrom. You will need to have a Level 100 inside your party in order to make the mirage island appear. A rather tedious but very fun and creative method that implements legendaries from many other generations.

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Only Some Pokemon Encounters Change

Honestly the biggest change to gameplay is different Pokemon encounters. The main antagonist team do change as well but they are so easy to bypass the change is only noticed in scenery and characters. Overall gameplay will not be that much different.

Some events like saving Latios in Omega Ruby or Latias in Alpha Sapphire will differ but still are essentially the same in both titles. Both will still need help from the main antagonist team whether it be Team Magma or Team Aqua.

Once you obtain the Eon Flute you can call upon Latios or Latias to soar you through the skies of Hoenn.

Oh I forgot to mention the little certificate in the top is a certificate of unwavering friendship. This is received in Omega Ruby and I would imagine a Kyogre equivalent is given in Alpha Sapphire should you meet a very special condition. Should you port over a Groudon in Omega Ruby and I assume a Kyogre in Alpha Sapphire from the original 2002 version and talk to one of the in game developers you will be given this certificate.

Truth be told my original Groudon was long gone by this time. Though one day while searching for serious trading partners I stumbled across someone who was in search of a Shaymin. They were willing to trade their shiny Groudon which raised some red flags but I went through with the trade.

You see Groudon, Kyogre, Deoxys, and Rayquaza are shiny locked in both games. Meaning the shiny variant cannot be encountered through normal gameplay. Yet in the original Ruby and Sapphire they were not so you could happen across a shiny variant.

This Groudon in particular had a Mild nature with terrible IVs, no fancy ribbon or uncanny contest stats and it was caught in a Masterball. So it could have been hacked for and ported over to one of these games or it is legit I have no way of knowing.

What I do know for certain is I no doubt have forged an unwavering friendship with my first Groudon. To receive this without it present kinda brought me joy as I remembered some battles I had with my awkward Bold nature Groudon (I knew little about EVs, IVs, and natures during this time).

Thanks Namie whoever you are it was a good trade please take care of my Shaymin.

Have a favorite Pokemon you have formed unwavering friendship with in a Pokemon game by all means feel free to share it below. If you have any questions or comments about the differences of these two video games drop it below as well and I will get back to ya. Thanks for reading have a wonderful day.