Pokémon Gen 3 remaster footage surfaces, new Nintendo Switch ports could be on the way

Pokémon fans are losing it after what appears to be remastered footage of Gen 3 gameplay has seemingly surfaced, fuelling speculation that ports of Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire could be heading to Nintendo Switch consoles very soon.

In February 2026, Nintendo released ports of Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen on Nintendo Switch. Released for Game Boy Advance in 2004, FireRed and LeafGreen are remakes of Pokémon Red and Green, which launched on Game Boy in 1996.

It was only a matter of time before Nintendo greenlit even more ports to capitalise on the powerful dopamine hit that is nostalgia. News later began making the rounds that ports of Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald could be shadow dropped at any moment.

Pokémon fans spot something unusual in Ruby and Sapphire gameplay footage

As brought to our attention by Kotaku, gameplay footage of Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire was recently posted on the official Japanese Pokémon X account @poke_times.

There was one particular aspect of this gameplay footage that made Pokémon fans very curious. The gameplay looked to be in HD, which is not reflective of the only officially released versions from 2004 that made use of the Game Boy Advance’s 240 × 160 pixels.

“The colour is way too vibrant. It's the Ruby Sapphire Switch version, no doubt about it,” replied kikucheat303.

“Is this footage from the actual hardware?” asked patellmatellgm1. “Was the GBA this crisp? It's looking cleaner than my nostalgia filter.”

“This is someone's footage before Ruby came out. The one they posted does seem more Switch-esque,” suggested Liamrnd2.

What could this apparent tease mean for Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire on Nintendo Switch?

The first thing that we should consider is that the footage shown on the X account @poke_times could simply have the goal of generating nostalgic interactions.

However, to be more optimistic, and probably what we’re all hoping it means, is that ports of Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire could drop on the Nintendo Switch consoles very soon, most likely digitally on the Nintendo eShop.

It’s perhaps worth taking into account the original release date of Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, in particular, the Japanese release date, which came months before the games were released in the West.

Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire were released on the GBA in Japan on November 21, 2002. That anniversary is only two months away, and despite potentially being released in the same month as GTA VI, as Nintendo has already proven with the November release of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake, it’s not scared of competing with Rockstar Games.

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So, hypothetically, if Nintendo were to announce a surprise Pokémon Direct in the next few weeks, as it has done many times before, it might be worth marking our calendars for Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire to land on the Switch and Switch 2 eShop this November. Fingers crossed.

We’ll keep you updated should that information drop.