Players control a Pokémon trainer, whose general goal is to traverse the Hoenn region and conquer a series of eight Pokémon gyms in order to challenge the Elite Four and its champion. Players capture creatures called Pokémon along the way using Poké Balls and use them to fight other trainers' Pokémon. It keeps Pokémon that debuted in Ruby and Sapphire while incorporating Pokémon from Pokémon Gold and Silver in the after-game, that were not featured in Ruby and Sapphire. It features the same plot of Ruby and Sapphire except it incorporates the Pokémon Rayquaza into the story and introduces the Battle Frontier, a tournament in which players' characters can participate after the game's credits.