GBA Pokemon gets July release

Pokemon will make its European GameBoy Advance debut on July 25th, as the Ruby and Sapphire flavours that have proven so popular in Japan and the US finally hit store shelves. Between them, Ruby and Sapphire have sold more than 4.4 million copies in Japan, and more than 2.2 million in North America. Nintendo is expecting a similar success story over here, and we reckon they're probably right to.

The new Pokemon titles take place in the brand new Pokemon world of Hoenn with over 100 new Pokemon to collect, each with differing characteristics and special skills for budding trainers to look after. There's even a Pokemon Crufts type show, with options to groom the little critters so they can top the Cool, Beauty, Cute, Smart and Tough categories. A slightly less ridiculous inclusion is the new two-on-two battle mode, allowing players to take advantage of the GBA's four-way link-up.

Nintendo is also planning a new TV series and a new film, "Pokemon 4ever", to back the release of the new games.