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 135 new Pokémon, the most added since Generation I, bringing the total to 386. Many new Pokémon have previously unseen type combinations, while only two of them are related by evolution to older Pokémon.
* The addition of 103 new moves, bringing the total to 354.
* Pokémon may now have one or two of 77 different abilities which can change the tide of battle.
* The Pokémon storage system has changed from a crude, 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).
* The introduction of Pokémon Contests, where Pokémon show off their style in one of five Contest categories, with Contest stats enhanced by Pokéblocks.
* A brand-new region, Hoenn, with its own set of eight Gym Leaders and Elite Four. Player characters are also different from before.
* Seven new Poké Ball variants, replacing those found in Johto.
* New villainous teams, Team Aqua and Team Magma, whose focus is on capturing the legendary Pokémon Kyogre and Groudon, respectively.
* Weather conditions, introduced before, can now be found on the field and activate at the start of battle, while one more, hail, has been added.
* Double battles, where both sides use two Pokémon at a time, 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.
* International linking is made possible. However, due to lack of popularity or knowledge of such capability, most players have the idea that it was only implemented in Generation IV.
Major alterations from Generation II include:
* A complete overhaul of the Pokémon data structure; Pokémon now have an individual personality value which can range up to a number above four billion. Abilities and natures, also newly introduced, are determined based on this value, while the IV system has been overhauled for greater variance (0-31 rather than 0-15 as it was before). Shininess is now based on a calculation between the personality value and Original Trainer's Trainer ID number and secret ID number with the same rarity.
* An overhaul of the Berry system introduced in Generation II: old Berries rejected in favor of Berries which grow individually as plants and can be picked and planted elsewhere. The effects of the first ten new Berries are similar to the ten Generation II Berries.
* Each Pokémon has its own status screen sprite, for ease of use in the party screen or PC.
Further additions in FireRed and LeafGreen include:
* Wireless communication between games (requires adapter boxed with FireRed and LeafGreen).
* The ability to move multiple Pokémon in the PC at once.
* The Sevii islands, a collection of nine islands that contain many Pokémon otherwise only found in the Johto Region.
Further additions in Emerald include:
* Tag battles, where two opponent Trainers encounter the player at once and battle in a double battle.
* A Battle Frontier, adding to the original Battle Tower, and featuring Trainers who head each facility.
Also, counterpoint [http://nerfnow.com/comic/302].
