Generation III/Advances in Gameplay

Through its incompatibility with Generation I and Generation II, Generation III enhanced the Pokémon world the most yet, bringing about the most changes to the world of Pokémon. The advances include:
 * The addition of, the most added since Generation I (at the time of its release), bringing the total to 386. Many new Pokémon have previously unseen type combinations, while two of them— and —are related by evolution to older Pokémon.
 * Two new forms of are also introduced.
 * The addition of, bringing the total to 354.
 * Pokémon may now have one or two of 77 different, special attributes in addition to types and moves which can change the tide of battle and affect out-of-battle gameplay.
 * The Pokémon Storage System has changed from a text-based interface to a full-color graphical user interface. Boxes, while remaining at 14, now have 10 extra spaces, allowing for storage of 140 additional Pokémon (for a total of 420 Pokémon).
 * It also now allows additional Pokémon to be captured without the need to change the active box of the PC, with the game now automatically sending newly captured Pokémon into a separate box rather than preventing the player from capturing anymore Pokémon until the active box which is full is changed for one that isn't.
 * The introduction of Pokémon Contests, where Pokémon show off their style in one of five Contest conditions, with Contest stats enhanced by Pokéblocks. Through this and other methods Ribbons can be won for Pokémon, which they will retain when transferred to later games.
 * A brand-new region, Hoenn, with its own set of eight Gym Leaders and Elite Four. The player characters are also different from the previous games.
 * Seven new variants, replacing those introduced in and exclusive to Johto.
 * In addition, the type of Poké Ball a Pokémon was caught in is now displayed in the summary page.
 * New villainous teams, Team Aqua and Team Magma, whose focus is on capturing the Legendary Pokémon and, respectively.
 * Weather can now be found on the field and activate at the start of battle, while one more,, has been added.
 * Double Battles, where both sides use two Pokémon at a time, are introduced.
 * Communication capabilities with the e-Reader to activate certain events.
 * All handheld Generation III games have a framerate of 60, allowing for smoother animations.
 * Link trades and battles are made possible between Japanese and international releases due to the use of a worldwide character set. Due to the fact that online trading was introduced only in Generation IV, however, most are not made aware of this.