Pokémon Gen 3 comeback leaks as Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald ports look likely to shadow drop

It looks like the Nintendo Switch consoles could be getting ports for three of the best and most beloved Pokémon games ever, with a shadow drop expected soon.

Without question, the Pokémon video game series is one of the most popular properties in the industry and is probably one of the remaining system sellers that we still have going strong.

Sure, some of the most recent mainline Pokémon games haven't hit it out of the park, with its formula feeling somewhat stale, but any new arrival is always a massive event for passionate fans. Yet, spin-off titles such as the fantastic Pokémon Pokopia prove that the series can still get creative and achieve critical success.

New arrivals expected before Pokémon Winds and Waves

Before the arrival of the Nintendo Switch 2 exclusives, Pokémon Winds and Waves, next year, according to a recent rumour circulating on social media, ports of Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald could be shadow dropped in the coming weeks.

As picked up by My Nintendo News, the rumour of Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald ports coming to Nintendo Switch consoles appears to have originated from video game industry insider Shpeshal Nick.

Replying to a previous tweet, Shpeshal Nick said, “Currently, the ports of Pokémon Ruby/Emerald/Sapphire are planned for late September/October.” Of course, it’s worth keeping in mind that this is an unconfirmed rumour, so it should be taken with a pinch of salt until proven otherwise.

That being said, the Nintendo Switch consoles had ports of two other classic Game Boy Advance games in March 2026, those being Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen. So ports of Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald do not feel outside the realm of possibility.

READ MORE: Pokémon Emerald becomes online multiplayer as Green Trainers Online overhauls the franchise favourite

Are Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald well-received?

Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire were released in 2002/03, and Pokémon Emerald in 2004/05; all were on the handheld console, the Game Boy Advance. Each game is also set in the Hoenn region. What’s more, Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire had remakes on the Nintendo 3DS in 2014, but at the time of writing, Emerald has had no such treatment.

In terms of how well each was received, they are considered to be fan favourites, and each has a respectable score on Metacritic. Pokémon Ruby scored 82; Pokémon Sapphire scored 8.1 from users, and while Pokémon Emerald scored lower with 76, its user score sits at 8.8.

When is the Pokémon Winds and Waves release date?

Neither Pokémon Winds nor Pokémon Waves has a confirmed release date at this time. All we know right now is that they will both be released exclusively on the Nintendo Switch 2 sometime in 2027. When those release dates drop, we’ll be sure to let you know.

As for the ports of Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald, now that the proverbial cat is out of the bag, hopefully Nintendo will make an official announcement sooner rather than later.

READ MORE: The 8 best improvements in Pokémon Pokopia's free 2.0 update patch notes