>>57972640
Sure, but even taking into account the games suddenly becoming more plot focused and PokeSpe having to reflect this, there are still parts of the ORAS arc I think suits meddled with because they were just so completely "unnecessary". Namely Sapphire getting written out in favor of the male protagonists AGAIN. If the ORAS arc was purely just "PokeSpe's version of the Delta Episode" then based on the (early-middle) RS arc's template, the ORAS arc could have easily gone the path of least resistance and done something like this basic ass fanfic premise I just made up (which while predictable is probably in line with what most people expected anyway):
>Ruby is paired with Latias
>Sapphire is paired with Latios (because of the gender "complementary opposites" theme of their Pokemon teams, neither of them are troons)
>Ruby/Sapphire travel together a lot, if not most of the time
>They have relationship drama (trust issues) which complicates things
>But physical proximity forces them to slowly resolve it over time (represents their relationship maturing through hardship/responsibility/loyalty and the daily reality of "marriage" versus the unrealistically idyllic idea of relationships that shippers have)
>Ruby being an asshole affects his ability to truly bond with Latias (and thus mega evolve her), so he takes longer than Sapphire does with Latios because Sapphire's an empath
>Emerald's there as the reluctant mediator/marriage counselor (Rayquaza) between Ruby (Groudon) and Sapphire (Kyogre) while their drama is ongoing (mainly for the underutilized Weather Trio symbolism)