The Real-World Locations That Inspired Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire

Today marks 20 years since the original release of Generation 3 with Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire in Europe, which saw millions of players taking their first footsteps into Hoenn. A few years after the game's release, I would move to Hoenn in real life. I landed in the unassuming Verdanturf Town, before moving and eventually settling in Rustboro City for around a decade. Looking at a map of Japan, it is very easy to see that Hoenn is simply the southern island of Kyushu rotated 90 degrees anti-clockwise. If you do this all of the towns and villages line up.

Nothing more accentuates the real-world inspiration behind Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire than the accompanying manga, which was released at the end of 2022 in Japan, but wouldn’t be localized for a number of years. The Ruby and Sapphire manga took its time to show every nook and cranny of Hoenn, in turn showing the details ripped straight from Kyushu and transplanted into the Hoenn we know and love.

As someone who has explored both Hoenn and Kyushu extensively, let’s explore the two islands and find out just how similar the two really are.

Littleroot Town / Sasebo

In the games Littleroot Town is a small unassuming village, but its real-life partner town Sasebo is anything but. A port town, Sasebo is one of the first places that Westerners landed when they came to Japan, and the influence of the Dutch can still be seen today. It is also home to a huge American navy base making this one of the more Western-influenced areas of Japan. Moving on to Oldale Town will give you more of that Japanese feel. Oldale’s partner Takeo is a rural town, well known for its incredible hot springs, which is quite the feat in an area of Japan as volcano rich as Kyushu.

Petalburg City / Karatsu

You move from Oldale to Petalburg, where your absent father, Norman, tells you he thinks you’re too weak to bother with. Petalburg matches with Karatsu, famous for its castle and amazing beaches, it’s a pretty small town though it is full of luscious cherry blossom trees, likely where the inspiration for Petalburg’s name came from. Karatsu is also surrounded by mountains, which are great for hiking, and despite the tropical climate, skiing.

Rustboro City / Fukuoka

While the main city on Hoenn is Mauville, the actual capital of Kyushu is the metropolis of Fukuoka. Despite this adaptation, Rustboro and Fukuoka actually line up quite nicely. Petalburg Woods is a great stand in for the wilderness that lies between Karatsu and the city, but Rustboro is also home to Devon Corp, a stand-in for all the huge companies at home in Fukuoka. Just like Rustboro, Fukuoka was born of industrial roots, with nearby Kitakyushu still being the center of a lot of Japan’s industry today.

Slateport City / Nagasaki

Hoenn has you take a strange route, and following Rustboro comes the coastal town of Slateport, twin to Nagasaki. Yes, that Nagasaki, the one that was hit by the atomic bomb during WWII. Not affected nearly as badly as Hiroshima, Nagasaki still stands strong as a thriving port town, with great fresh seafood, and amazing nature surrounding it. Slateport’s slogan is “The port where people and Pokémon cross paths with nature.” and – Pokémon aside – this is true of Nagasaki too.

Mauville City / Kumamoto

Mauville is the sprawling metropolis of Hoenn, and Kumamoto is a fairly sizable town in its own right. It supports one of the biggest castles in Kyushu, and plenty of shops and restaurants for locals, just like Mauville. I can’t think of a particular reason for Mauville to be so linked to electricity, but then you also can’t cycle from Nagasaki to Kumamoto, so there are variations.

Lavaridge Town / Aso

Despite never living here, Aso is my favorite place in the whole of Japan. Mt Aso is one of the world’s largest active volcanoes, and has a huge caldera you can peek into from the top. Surrounded by wilderness, the towns surrounding Mt Aso are predictably full of hot springs, and excellent food. It’s easy to see how close Lavaridge is to real life.

Fallarbor Town / Beppu

While Oita is the capital of the prefecture, I think Fallarbor Town is more closely linked to Beppu and incredibly close by hot spring town. The hot springs are an obvious link to Meteor Falls, and Oita in general is known for its outstanding nature. Beppu is home to a lot of wildlife including an area full of monkeys that locals come and feed every day, and, oddly enough, an African Safari Park.

Verdanturf Town / Saga

Much like Verdanturf Town, Saga is a town of little interest. Saga Prefecture does hold a Gatalympics every year where there are various competitions based around getting people as muddy as possible. There’s also a hot air balloon festival which is a little bit more pleasant.

Fortree City / Takachiho Gorge

This is where Hoenn differs significantly from Kyushu, Miyazaki isn’t so much about living in trees as it is about sun, sea and surf. Still when you are setting your game on an island, it is nice to have some variation. It’s likely that Fortree is a reference to the prefecture’s Takachiho Gorge which is slightly offset from Fortree but known for its incredible nature walks.

Lilycove City / Kagoshima

The half beach half harbor town of Lilycove mirrors Kagoshima quite nicely, especially with a large museum that mimics Kagoshima’s huge aquarium. Nearby Mt Pyre is similar to Sakurajima, which is home to a smaller but very active volcano. Sakurajima erupts hundreds of times a year, and visitors to the island and even nearby Kagoshima are likely to be covered in volcanic ash at some point during their visit.

Sootopolis City / Yakushima

We’ll end our tour of Hoenn with Sootopolis, one of the region’s best hidden secrets. Likewise Yakushima is an island of delights for those willing to travel out to it. Yakushima is the island that the film Princess Mononoke was based on and anyone who travels to it can see why. Filled with a luscious forest, and streams so clear you can drink straight from them, it’s obvious to see why it is one of Japan’s best hidden treasures. While I didn’t find Groudon when I visited, I did see Jomonsugi, believed to be one of the world’s oldest trees. The island is also surrounded by a coral reef, which is why you can find Pokémon like Corsola, Clamperl and Relicanth surrounding it.

Written by Georgina Young on behalf of GLHF.