Pokemon Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald Switch Ports Seem Inevitable After Home Update

Did you notice that sneaky little detail in Pokemon Home's latest update? Fans sure did, and it's fueling fresh speculation that Pokemon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald are coming to Switch.

The update, rolled out today by The Pokemon Company, finally lets you transfer your FireRed and LeafGreen monsters into Pokemon Home. From there, you can bring them forward to other games in the series—though once they leave their GBA home, there's no going back. That's already big news for longtime fans.

But here's the kicker: the new button added to the app's menu simply says "GBA games," not "FireRed and LeafGreen." As one ResetEra user pointed out, that vague wording could be a hint at future ports of other GBA titles—namely, Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald. It's a small thing, but in the world of Pokemon speculation, small things are everything.

This all traces back to last month, when fans noticed some Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire footage posted by an official Japanese Pokemon Twitter account looked suspiciously crisp for a 2002 Game Boy Advance game. Even more telling? The clip lasted exactly 30 seconds—the same length as video clips saved on a Switch console. Given that FireRed and LeafGreen already got Switch versions, it didn't take long for the rumor mill to churn.

Of course, we have to be realistic. A button labeled "GBA games" is far more space-efficient than one that specifically name-drops FireRed and LeafGreen. It could mean absolutely nothing. But let's be honest: with FireRed and LeafGreen now climbing the list of best-selling Pokemon games thanks to the new Switch re-releases, would The Pokemon Company really leave Gen 3 port money on the table? I'd be shocked.

The pieces are all there—the suspicious footage, the vague button, the proven demand. It's not a confirmation, but it's enough to keep hope alive. And for fans who grew up exploring Hoenn, that hope is a powerful thing.

What do you think? Are Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald coming to Switch, or are we reading too much into a button? Let us know in the comments!