Pokemon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald Are Officially Returning In 2027

Published Oct 3, 2026, 5:00 AM EDT

James is a gaming writer from London who has spent thousands of hours exploring titles from every genre. Though he has a particular affinity for multiplayer titles like World of Warcraft, Destiny 2 and League of Legends, he has also put thousands of hours into single-player experiences, from deep RPGs to epic PC strategies. When he's not playing or writing, he can usually be found supporting his beloved Brentford FC.

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Pokémon is certainly going through an exciting time right now, with the 30th Anniversary proving to be a real landmark for the franchise, particularly in the seemingly impossible-to-stop TCG. We got the announcement that Winds and Waves is going to be the first video game of the tenth generation, though we are still waiting on a full reveal of everything that will contain.

Before the launch of that in 2027, many out there will certainly be looking for something to do, and the older games have been thrust back into relevance during this gap in official releases from Game Freak. Of those, Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald remain some of the most popular, and they're about to be immortalized further, in the form of a new physical release that should appeal to the games' most dedicated fans.

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As first reported by GameRant, Bandai Namco has confirmed the upcoming release of three Pokémon figures based on Hoenn's Legendary trio of Groudon, Kyogre, and Rayquaza next year. Currently only available for pre-order, this latest run of figures is part of Bandai Namco's Pokemon Scale World line, which started in 2021 and realizes several of the games' most notable 'mons in physical form.

The full list of specs and features for the three upcoming figures is as follows:

• 1/20 Scale
• Made of PVC
• Based on the Pokemon series
• Part of Bandai's Pokemon Scale World
• Highly detailed
• Non-articulated
• Price:
  • Groudon – $164.99
  • Kyogre – $129.99
  • Rayquaza – $107.99

The only place to order them right now is via BigBadToyStore, though it's worth noting the price difference in the figures above, as the additional material required in manufacturing does raise the cost to the consumer significantly. The other caveat is that each of these figures also requires a non-refundable down payment, that varies from $10.80 to $16.50, or 10% of the figure's full price.

It will be interesting to see if these new releases tied to the classic titles has anything to do with Game Freak and The Pokémon Company's plans moving forward. Rumors continue to swirl of potential ports being brought over to the Nintendo Switch 2, and they would certainly draw in a huge audience if they did.

The official Japanese Pokémon account on Twitter/X also previously shared a short clip of the Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire protagonist chasing an NPC and their Wingull on an unknown console. The real kicker is that it is very high fidelity and without the usual cropping, which could me Switch and Switch 2 versions are on the way in short order.

Other than waiting for the older games to arrive, it's just going to be a case of sitting tight and waiting to hear more about Pokémon Winds and Waves from Game Freak. That game looks like it could be a huge upgrade when it does eventually arrive, so let's hope the first game of the tenth generation can deliver in spades.