In 2002, Game Freak and Nintendo released Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire. The games came out three years after the release of Pokemon Gold and Silver and introduced the third generation of the world-famous creatures. It also happened to be the first game released on Game Boy Advance and introduced a new set of fans to the franchise.
At the time of the games' development, there was a sense that the Pokemon fad was over. In fact, Game Freak co-founder Junichi Masuda called Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire the most difficult game in the franchise to make because of this perception. As it turned out, however, the naysayers were wrong. All three versions of the game ultimately went on to sell very well and have reached the list of the top 50 best-selling video games of all time.
Despite having been released nearly 20 years ago, Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire fans are still creating art alongside their first and second-generation counterparts. One fan, for example, recently imagined what Sceptile would look like as a ghost Pokemon with some disturbing results. More recently a fan under the username jennybead revealed an impressive stained-glass portrait of Spheal on the Pokemon Reddit page.
The stained-glass Spheal is a faithful recreation of the third-generation Pokemon. The colors on the Spheal are accurate to the original design with the light allowing the piece to almost glisten in the sun. The piece of art was also held up by a chain that hooks onto its tail and head. The Reddit user was, in particular, very happy about the way the teeth looked.
Overall, Spheal is one of the third-generation Pokemon that gets a lot of love. Recently, one artist, for example, imagined Spheal as different ice cream flavors. Another made an impressive animation of the Pokemon character using the Blender 3.1 animation program. The character was also prominently featured in Pokemon Legends: Arceus where capturing a Spheal was part of a quest. Since the game was released fans have also caught the water/ice type Pokemon behaving in bizarre ways that range from socially awkward to buggy.
Ultimately Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire may not reach as far as Red and Blue or Gold and Silver, but it is an important part of the series all the same. The success of the games showed that the franchise wasn't just a fad that was going away. Both games were eventually remade as Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, allowing new fans to experience the games and for old ones to re-experience them. If artwork like this piece of Spheal stained-glass is any indication, the games and their characters won't be forgotten anytime soon.
Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire are available now for the Game Boy Advance.