HOENN Region Review: Balance, Karma, and Nature - A DEEP DIVE into the Region of Hoenn 

Can't wait for the 256 hour review of the Paldea region.

The fact that the Hoenn review is twice the Johto review, and the Johto review is twice the Kanto review, makes me really excited as we progress further into the later gens with larger and more complex regions, but also very worried for Sabrina's mental sanity lol

I remember when I was like 8 years old back in 2007 I bought Sapphire with only quarters at Target. It was like $35 or $40 worth of quarters. I still have that game.

Fun fact about Pacifidlog Town: it's one of the few ways to softlock in RSE. If you get rid of all your pokemon capable of surfing and flying, liquidate your items, and spend all your money, you can trap your character in Pacifidlog Town with no means of leaving or progressing.

I have been waiting for this. No, I didn't start with RSE, I'm one of those ancient people who lived for a brief period before Pokemon even existed. Born in the distant year of 1991, I spent 5 years in a world without Pokemon, and thus got to see it all from the beginning! But as much as I loved Kanto and Johto, it was Hoenn I fell in love with. Humans living in harmony with nature and Pokemon, a varied and much more wild region than we'd ever seen, and the raw beauty of a tropical climate. Contests, Diving, Secret Bases, an atmosphere of awe and wonder at nature's power. Hoenn is home, for me. I've never been more immersed in a Pokemon game than when I visit this beautiful, mysterious part of the Pokemon world!

Over 3 hours of Saffron City TV??? Easter has delivered in a a big way. Thanks!!!

You're so charismatic! Your voice cadence is the perfect balance of dynamic and relaxed, and your writing is just casual enough to feel fun, while still remaining informative and getting to the point. You've earned a subscriber!

4 hours of a deep dive into my favorite region? Hell yeah! 😁

I remember the nights playing my GBA under the blankets… I was the biggest consumer of double-A batteries, powering the gba and an adjustable flashlight I had. 😊

This review got me hyped to start another Emerald playthrough

Thank you for this video. I’ve been having a rough week and slowly watching this throughout the week has been a great comfort. Hoenn is a beautiful region and this review was equally as beautiful.

I love how in depth these are. Makes the perfect in-between work calls over the whole week sort of video.

FOUR HOURS?! GIRL YOU’RE SPOILING US! Can’t wait to start tonight and finish tomorrow

My older brother got a copy of Pokémon Black around 2012. It was his first experience with Pokemon and the first time I had heard of it. Fast forward to 2015, Christmas. I’m 11 years old and I had received a red Nintendo 3DS XL along with a copy of Omega Ruby. I fell head-over-heels for the game, the lore of Groudon and kyogre, the scenery, I still listen to the ost. This was what started my journey into pokemon gaming (I had collected cards before but never played any of the games). I understand now how my older brother must’ve felt experiencing something magical like that for the first time. Groudon is still my all-time favorite pokemon and always will be.

That was so fun, as always. I can't wait for the "Repair Hoenn" video! :)

Holy hell, Thank Arceus I bought snacks. This is gonna be amazing!

Thank you! This is beyond the pick me up I had mentioned, and almost 4 hour video genuinely made my night better. Thank you ❤️

Hoenn is my favourite region, Emerald was my first Pokemon game. I was the first of my group to reach Rayquaza in Sky Pillar and solve the Regi puzzles as well,had to help my friends to do the same.

you have no idea how much i needed content this long for my work day tomorrow, with my favorite region too. i love these

YES! Playing through Emerald right now and was waiting for this!

Wow I can't wait to dive into this video. Also looking forward to your region repair video. Personally, I think the water routes 128, 129, 130, and 131 need the most overhaul. The water to the west of Pacifidlog is fun with the water current puzzle, and the large water routes between Mossdeep, Sootopolis, and Lilycove introduce the diving mechanic. The numbered routes I mentioned are not notable. I would love something like a cycling road, bridges, large grassy islands, etc. to break up the monotony of surfing. And place trainers ON the land and change them from all being swimmers! Too many battles with the same Pokemon!

Well I know what Im listening to for the rest of my work day... 4 hours is crazy! You gotta one of the most hard-working people in the community rn. Keep up the great work!

Thanks Sabrina, was a great watch. 4 hours video is impressive, can be seen that you have done lots of research to present great amount of details about the region and the games itself, both originals and remakes. The narration is pleasant too, i like the enthusiasm that you present when talking about the things you like in game, i share some of those and the enthusiasm for them is contagious in a way you present it. I like humorous elements too. Maybe i am going to repeat myself from previous videos comments, but watching your videos rekindles my love for the series and want to go back to playing especially the older entries in the series. Without this it would be hard, the Scarlet and Violet were really disappointing for me and kind of made me drift off the series. And it's kinda sad for someone who spent countless hours playing the games since gen 1. As for Hoenn games, for me they are more than games, they are mostly memories. First one was having the religious stepfather back in the days who forbid me to play Pokemon games cause it's devil, so couldn't play on Game Boy and didn't even have Advance back then, but was secretly playing Pokemon on emulators. For Ruby i had to go to internet cafe to download it and split in winrar to 4 parts and copy them to disquettes. There was always something wrong with at least one part because of read errors and had to go back to this internet cafe like 2 or 3 times. And they always deleted the files and had to repeat the process but the parts were not compatible with previous ones. So i hidden them in windows folder and went back to same computer on next visit to finish. Then i gave the rom to my best friend. We were impressed about the quality jump compared to gen 2 games. We also found some gameshark codes and were doing crazy stuff in game. Later i moved to another city with mom only, Pokemon became legal for me again. I bought used GBA SP and Sapphire. Played it so much. But it brings me back also to memories like playing it on summer holidays off school when visiting my grandparents in another city. It has been a long time now since they are no longer with us, so it brings back memories of kind of chill times without worries. When i was there i caught shiny Zubat in Victory Road cave. Was my first shiny in Sapphire. But later when i bought Fire Red and wanted to transfer my shiny to it i realised this used Sapphire was a fake, so the original Fire Red didn't even see it when connecting, such a waste. I got rid of this cardridge eventually. Later when OR/AS was announced i got super hyped for it and preordered both versions with steelbooks and figurines. Enjoyed them af, all the improvements, both quality of life and story-wise, i guess you mentioned most of them in the video. I was also writing e-mails to various local game stores when there were events rolling out asking them if they maybe have the codes :D Spent 300 hours in Omega Ruby and with lots of trades and grind finally caught them all, for the first time in my life. At least i thought so, having 720 caught, later Volcanion was announced and I wasn't able to get the code for it, the codes itself were quite limited compared to when the games launched and none of local game stores had them. But overall was a great journey. Well, that's it I guess, and can't wait to see next materials from You. Oh also I wanted to say thanks for mention in the video, was really nice seeing that ^.^ Hope you enjoyed reading all this at least a bit. How is it for you? Do you remember more and enjoy remembering more the content of the games itself or the memories about circumstances during the time in your life when playing them?

The beautiful thing about Pokémon is the endless amount of creative content you can create around it in pretty much any category, but for you to break down entire regions in such detail adds so much depth to the games we've played over the years. Not gonna lie, I got so nostalgic over this video, I spent an hour searching my warehouse for my original copy of Emerald. Never found it but at least I had the video to keep me entertained.

I have been working through this video over several drives to work and several nights waiting to sleep. Very cool to see you expressing yourself more through your editing style. Great work!

Can’t wait to get cozy tonight and tomorrow and watch with it raining. Love your pokemon deep dives! Also holy moly, 3 hours? This is gonna be a treat! ❤

4 hours of l̶i̶s̶t̶e̶n̶i̶n̶g̶ t̶o̶ S̶a̶b̶r̶i̶n̶a̶ Hoenn analysis? Let's GO! Loved this so much. I swear, each new video you drop is like an event and I'm super stoked every time I see it pop up in my notifications. Quickly becoming one of my favourite channels, excited to see your Region Fix and inevitable Sinnoh/future regions. The fact that you're also doing Orre is insanely hype 👌 Immediately hit Join as soon as you mentioned you've unlocked that option for your channel, so happy for you! Also you're literally the only channel I've ever done the Join subscription for so I'm not even sure how it wprks haha Happy to support regardless 💙

I really like your content, it reminds me a lot of great memories, Hoenn used to be my favorite Pokémon region growing up, from Paris 🇫🇷 👌

I slowly watched this over the course of 4 days. Thank you! It was really comforting and relaxing. I might slowly re-watch it for a healthy background video if I ever need a safe way to fill silence! 💜⚡

Although Pokemon Red was my first ever game (am so very old 😅) I remember being blown away when I first played Sapphire as it was the first full colour game I'd seen for Game Boy and I could finally play as a girl too!

This is absolutely my kind of content, I've never been so happy with my recommendations. I feel like I just found youtube's best kept secret, you're great!

Aaah I can’t wait to watch this when I get home from work. Love your content! And a 4 hour video too! Saffron TV you spoil us.

This came out at the perfect time for me! I’m playing through Omega Ruby for the first time right now! I’m just about to start the Mt. Pyre quest.

I know I’m months late but these type of videos and the length are perfect for me. I usually go to sleep with RU-vid autoplay on and my algorithm is pretty weird with what plays, but I found your channel when I woke up with this video playing and watched it in its entirety while I did my morning tasks. Very good video and I’m subscribed :)

Wow, almost 4 hours of a region review is crazy 🤯. But somehow how you delivers it makes it enjoyable. I was born in 93, started with RBY, yet Gen III and IV are where I really felt the region are "alive" if it makes sense. This video really took me back. Awesome work, Sabrina

you're a great scriptwriter and your delivery is amazing as well. Really enjoyed listening to this entire breakdown. Can't wait for more stuff like this - longform content is sorely needed on this platform, moreso now, than ever before.

There's nothing quite like multi-hour long reviews of the Pokémon titles!

Hello from France ... Just a message to say thank you for your amazing work, lovely journey to rediscover theses Pokemon regions!!

4 hours? This is gonna be great! Also great timing because I'm just getting into Emerald romhacking and feeling the Hoenn vibes lol

This review has been such a great listen over the past few days. Hoenn (specifically Gen 3) is my favorite region. I did have a small correction, though. Weather moves were actually introduced in gold and silver! They had sunny day, rain dance, and sandstorm. Gen 3 introduced overworld weather effects and hail!

LOVE THE REVIEW. THIS MADE MY SUNDAY. I binged the whole thing. It was amazing. I can't wait for your next one!

I stumbled across this video while looking up design details on various pokemon regions in preparation for my own fangame, and after listening through I have to say that you've shown me that Hoenn has shaped the way that I view a Good Region far more than I had expected. Everything from the extra side content like the Trick House or the Contest Halls, to the sound design building up your adventure along the way, to the emphasis on a theme in not just the story, but the culture and even the actual region's geography, as well. Even the missteps like the lack of interesting things in the water half of the region have made me understand how important that *is* in a pokemon region. I'm reminded of so many memories of my childhood, and I probably played Sapphire and Emerald even after I got my hands on Diamond for a time. I remember trying my hand at the Battle Frontier well before I understood what "team composition" and "setup moves" were, and being so unbelievably excited when I finally cleared a facility that wasn't the Battle Pike. I remember saving up for the Rooftop Sales in Lilycove to deck out my secret base to brag to my older brother when we mixed records. I remember figuring out the Regi puzzles on my own and excitedly telling everyone at school. I remember doing tricks on my bike and running across the bridges in Foretree and chasing pokemon through the extra tall grass and just sitting there, enjoying the world and music and feeling of harmony. And that's the kind of feeling I want to evoke in my game. A feeling of adventure.

Hoen is my favorite!! Its finally here!!! Thank you for the amazing deep dive into my favorite pokemon region

I never imagined the review would be this long. I thought it would be like an hour. Ruby and sapphire came out same year I was born, but i did grow up playing alpha sapphire

This has been such a flood of happy memories, thank you so much ❤ I love this specific generation and region so much

This video was an event. It has taken me two days to watch it in full, but it has been a delight. ❤❤❤ So excited for the Hoen improvement video. 🎉

I've wanted a video like this for a while. I've been finding myself looking at the maps for the older games lately and just thinking about each town/route.

In such a short time, it is impressive how much effort you put into each new video. Evolving... if you will haha Great video Sabrina.

I cannot stress enough how much ive been waiting for this video and how much it exceeded my expectations. Hoenn is such a wonderful region with such diversity, creativity and lore and somehow you said everything it had to be said and more. I really, REALLY love the biome/routes, lore/immersion and music section of this cause you put into words everything i felt playing this games but couldnt really put it into words the way you did, i agree with 99% of what you said maybe with exception of the natural phenomena where i would give it a 3,5/4,5 because the weather conditions are really portrayed in the best way in the whole franchise, but thats just nitpicking cause i actually agree with your arguments here. Hoenn is such a magical region and perfect concepts that were executed almost flawlessly throughout the games. Ive been digesting this video over the last week because you know, adult stuff that doesnt let me really enjoy a 4h video without pausing it because of work n other stuff like that but when it was over i really wished i could ve listened more because youre so well articulated and made me feel like a child again experiencing the region for the first time, one could tell this took a lot of work and research to be done which i appreciate. Dont know if youre gonna read this comment cause its so long lmao but i just wanted to say this is the best channel ive subscribed in a long time and i look forward to your vídeos that are so well crafted and you really deserve a lot more views and some sponsorship as well, im really looking forward for the "fixing" vídeo and the next region reviews, keep up your great work. ❤❤❤ (Also i apologize for any errors in the text, im not a native speaker lol)

HOLY COW YOU'RE BACK! YES YES YES!

Hey Sabrina! Wow! Nearly 4hr review! Definitely gonna put my headphones on and listen while falling asleep too! I'll try and make sure I stay awake for the full analysis. RU-vid always slaps me away from your content - but I find a way to fight back lol. Love your content as always.

I’m so excited for you to cover sinnoh with this same depth

this video kept me cozy while i worked on my ORAS pokedex! great video as always, excited for the next one!

This video was recommended to me out of the blue and now I'm binging your Scarlet nuzlocke during work! You make content that's really refreshing to see and I look forward to seeing this series continue!! ❤❤

I absolutely love the longer in depth region reviews rather than splitting them into multiple videos.

This channel deserves way more subs; the quality of content is insane

Knocked it out of the park; I think your reviews are the best on RU-vid! The combination of the effort you put into researching everything about them + your passion and ability to articulate your own personal experiences and preferences makes for the ultimate review video essay! This was a treat, I hope you're able to enjoy a long rest between this and the Sinnoh review!

Oh how I miss 2D Pokémon games.😢 There’s something about the sprites that comfort me and take me back to a simpler time in life. I am very interested to see how you review the 3D Pokémon games, specially gens 7-9. I am eagerly awaiting your new content, I can tell how much time and effort is put into these videos considering how high quality they are so keep up the amazing work.

The problem with Team Magma is that the odds of their whole plan succeeding is heavily weighed against them. Increasing the Sun’s intensity might dry up the sea, eventually… but in the short term (if real life Earth is anything to go by), the intense heat would melt the planet’s ice caps… thus raising the sea level… thus flooding the current landmasses with more water.; a W for Team Aqua. If they instead leaned into Groudon’s ground typing and tried a more seismic solution out in the deep sea to create more volcanoes… the earthquakes would cause massive tsunamis that would (say it with me) flood the current landmasses with more water. They can’t win. Too much water.

Loved this video! Sapphire was my very first Pokémon game, my brother got Ruby at the same time. The gorgeous jewel tones of the cartridges was everything to me. I can't really recall what team I actually used in either Sapphire or Emerald beyond my starters being Torchic & Mudkip lol but all of the nature and wonder of Hoenn is forever embedded in my heart. I did forget about some of the smaller towns (particularly the ones between Wattson and Flannery), so it was great to see everything again with context and a critical appraisal of how Gen 6 could have done more than just replicating some of the flaws. I never realized stuff that seems so obvious thanks to this video like the balance between land and sea being a yin yang. Thank you 🙇

Really impressive production quality

IT'S HERE!

Honestly I found your channel like yesterday and I love these lol, and also want to say, don't sweat how long a video ends up being too much, I'm one of many people that gave up days of their life watching Quinton Reviews' ICarly/ Nickelodeon Sitcom Universe Series, but we also don't mind shorter videos. Basically, don't force padding out the videos but I know I personally am willing to watch every bit of one that spends hours breaking down the whole damn thing too lmao. I love your energy, your channel is honestly such a gem. You keep doing you, I'll just be over here patiently awaiting new content after im done catching up on your backlog 😂😂😂

This was such a great video I cannot wait for your review of Sinnoh!!!

I watched this whole video because Hoenn is the best region in Pokemon and I am hoping and coping that one day we get an Emerald remake with the Hoenn Battle Frontier, or at least some sort of Legends: Delta Emerald/Rayquaza or whatever game.

It's astounding that you manage to not only keep putting out quality content but also continue to improve on that content.

Thank you for the video! Love your in depth reviews, can’t wait for the next!

Ok, I will listen to you now while falling asleep. I will tell you if I had good dreams

Sea Mauville was an amazing experience the first time I explored it. I replay ORAS occassionally just to have that experience again.

Commented on this earlier but was at work and couldn't watch yet. The amount of time, research, patience and love that went into this is amazing! You should be very proud of yourself for this one, Saffron. I haven't finished the video yet, but you better believe I will. I'll probably come back to this video for years to come just to make my inner Hoenn fanboy happy. Thank you for your hard work and dedication. It's hard to find gems like this nowadays. 😁 Edit: Also, some of the jokes are hilarious!

thank you very much for the deep dive, Sabrina! this week in my country we have a few holidays so i’m working ot and this is the perfect video to listen to while doing my best uwu

I'm so glad you're still doing these!

Fun fact: Lilycove’s contest hall is the only consistently unchanged one across every game, since Slateport and Verdanturf’s contest halls become the battle tents that she mentioned in the video. Side note, I only found out this year that they were contest halls in the original Ruby and Sapphire, as I’ve only ever played Emerald.

i love these region review videos you make

Ah, my region of origin; the first region I ever played through. Alola may technically be my favorite region, but Hoenn will always be my home.

The ninth movie was about an ancient civilisation called The People of the Water (the film was during the Battle Frontier season so it’s set in Kanto rather than Hoenn), and ORAS using some of this for a side narrative similar to the Delta Episode could have been a way to flesh out the water side of Hoenn. Make it an optional quest line with temples and NPCs affiliated with the People of the Water, giving more varied architecture and with a Manaphy egg either as part of quest progression or the quest line reward. Delta Episode introduced the Draconids, an ancient group of people associated with dragon types, so having a water based counterpart wouldn’t be out of the question. It’s also an ideal opportunity for some Kyogre lore with Primal Reversion.

So excited for this! Been waiting patiently and so glad to see the new region review out!

Johto may be my personal favorite region, but there is no denying the beauty if Hoenn, and you've done an excellent job of capturing and sharing that beauty with us.

Special interiors is a perfectly fine term to use for discussing the features of a Pokémon region. *Edit* Can't wait for the Orre review!

I always liked how small and peaceful Hoenn feels, even more so compared to say the bustling and busy Kanto. But I suppose looking back it being mostly an idealistic, quiet place full of nature is supposed to be part of the point given it becomes a battleground between what are pretty much two elemental gods (Three if you add Rayquaza into the mix) While Kanto and Johto feel like you're starting in a small town and going off seeing all the sights and big cities Hoenn as a contrast very feels more like you've set off on a peaceful adventure through the wilds.

Amazing as always!

The ranger trainer class is also cool, working thematically for the region by protecting the balance of nature and man (being found in Hoenn’s rainforest area), and we even got a spin-off series of games called Pokémon Ranger.

Once again Sabrina, fantastic video. I loved this region, maybe not as much as Sinnoh, but it was still a fantastic experience, playing through this region. Great job on this video.

26:11 Thank you, I knew I wasn't the only weirdo who thought of "Mallville" as one of the most hilarious puns in Pokemon History.

4 hours!?! So excited to see this in it's entirety!! Time to like and then press play!

Glad you brought up the Story of Greater Mauville Holdings. With all little touches in Gen 6 such as the various failed mega projects, TV Mauville's abandoned Super Hero Franchise, the closing of the Game Corner, and the bizarre "Powerless Man" Quest, it gives the feeling that you were exploring Hoenn during the time of Japan's "Lost Decade".

Free divers only being female is likely a reference to the historic profession of ama divers, who are traditionally all female. If you made them all into one 'diver' training class, you would lose that fun real world reference!

Looking forward to the region repair and Sinnoh review!

Holy miltank! A video that'll keep me entertained at work now. Thank you!

Loving your reviews.

Let’s goooo! The goated series review series continues!

I only recently played Emerald, as part of my project to explore all of the Regions... but good god was it a fun trip, especially as I did make use of the various features, both for EV berries, and breeding the right HP-type.

Can't wait to watch all of it! As soon as I got the notification on Instagram and RU-vid I instantly had to click "Watch Later", I'm just upset I couldn't watch your Scarlet and Violet DLC video since I'm still playing The Indigo Disk 🥺 probably gonna be live commenting so I'm sure this won't be the last comment. Thank you for being amazing as always! 😊

Been here since Kanto review. This channel about to blow up deluxe with this long-form banger

I know I’m late to the party here. Just stumbled across your content and love it. Wanted to say thank you for your hard work. I love to listen to it while I do house work. Especially folding laundry. 😂

For some context, in Japan, milk is commonly sold at hot springs, which might be why moomoo milk is sold in lava ridge. Why Japanese decided to sell milk at hot springs, I don't know

Now this is a beefy review! Cant wait for you to dive deep into this region!

"I'm Elderly" 😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣... Amazing review, totally amazing, thanks for all the hard world it must have taken to make it!

this review gives me life. life i say! great work as always~!

I love Hoenn so dang much. My first game was Leaf Green, but I got Emerald not long after. I put probably hundreds of hours into that game and it's where I caught my first two shinies (Whismur and Electrike, both of which I still have). And even though ORAS didn't really live up to the hype it was the first Pokemon game my (now ex) girlfriend and I got to experience together for the first time. We did a nuzlocke of it and I remember crying during the final Wally fight cuz it just reminded me of our relationship. I was the Pokemon veteran that'd been playing for years and she was still new to the world of Pokemon at this point. Thanks for reminding me of all these sweet memories and reigniting my love for Hoenn as a region, Sabrina. Can't wait for the inevitable Sinnoh review.