Pokémon Favorite Generation?

[huuussein]

i always differentiate games and the generation itself when talking about my favorite generation. for example, i don't think that XY are the strongest pokemon games at all, however i'm a really big fan of what the generation introduced and what a massive turning point it was for the pokemon franchise. the visual difference between generations 5 and 6 were truly groundbreaking for us pokemon fans, granted they don't really hold up today but back then the graphics were really stunning for the 3ds. sure, they didn't introduce many new pokemon and the legendaries were kinda lackluster too, but introducing the fairy type and arguablly the best new battle mechanic aka mega evolutions truly solidifies generation 6 as being one of the best. also kalos itself is such a pretty region with so much to see and so much to still be discovered, shame gamefreak didn't use it to its full potential yet!! can't wait for gen 6 remakes in 10 years LOL

 

[IonicKarma]

I have a soft spot for gen 6 since its such a cool world even if the games never really showed it off to its full potential. However gen 2 is my favorite, it was so cool having two regions in one and the overall theme of Johto was very neat!

 

[Halloqueen]

Generation 6 makes a strong case for me, despite some downsides, and it's the one I've most consistently said has been my favorite over the years.

The quality of life improvements to breeding that made it simpler, faster and less of a hassle (Destiny Knot passing on at least 5 IVs, Everstone 100% passing on the Nature of the holder) are greatly appreciated, as is the fact that X & Y started the trend of Move Relearners being able to reteach egg moves you might've bred onto a Pokémon but had replaced whether intentionally or accidentally. I really love the Super Training as a method of EV training and found it easier and more convenient to keep track of as opposed to having to battle Pokémon individually. The Player Search System was more preferable than what has come afterward. The abandonment of Mega Evolution is a tragedy, it's the best gimmick they've had for a while. It also introduced trainer customization, which is great, though it's a shame that they didn't have it in ORAS. Finally, a relatively minor thing, I wish we'd get the option to have some other characters call us by a nickname like they had in X & Y (even if the defaults were god awful and I came up with my own).

I prefer Generation 6 over 7, which retains a number of things, because of the traditional gym format and because of the PSS and Super Training. Generation 7 is still great and I love it nearly as much, just personal preference. I will say that X & Y is dragged down by the fact that the Elite 4 doesn't raise their levels upon rematch, so ORAS does a lot of the heavy lifting. I've seen some people criticize ORAS for being different from original Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald, but I had initially skipped the original Gen III (stopped playing after Crystal, returned with HGSS) so ORAS was my introduction to the Hoenn region and I really like it. I've since played the original Gen III, and it does suck that the Battle Frontier is missing, but it is what it is.

--

Generation 7 is probably second because I'm a creature of convenience and I like the gradual improvements made to the series with each game, so Generation 7 enjoys a lot of quality of life features from past games all rolled into one, plus it has the most Pokémon we have ever and will ever be able to choose from since the National Pokédex and Pokémon Bank allowed you to transfer in any Pokémon you wanted. Original Sun & Moon has the better story, while Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon have the more engaging gameplay and features.

Finally, I'll give Generation 5 the third place spot. They're the final installments with sprites, which were delightfully animated. The Unova region is fun, the plot is probably the best, the music is great. The Pokémon World Tournament in Black 2 & White 2 is also a really neat feature. I really enjoy the Unova region's selection of Pokémon (I even like Trubbish and Garbodor and don't hate the Vanillish line) and I was totally open to just having entirely new Pokémon in the initial playthrough. I feel like people really missed out on great games if they skipped out on Generation 5.

 

[-Daydream-]

Gen 7 is my favorite because it had a bunch of cute Pokémon!

 

[Vanida]

Gen 5. Pokémon black was the first Pokémon game I ever played and I fell in love with it. I got all the Pokémon games passed done to me from my older cousins who got bored of it so I actually always thought no one else really liked gen 5 because they never played it. Also I became obsessed with Audino it’s adorable

I’ve never played diamond and pearl so I was excited to try shining pearl and brilliant diamond. I did really enjoy it and honestly it made me miss the old school layout, whereas sword and shield are sort of more 3D I guess. I do want to try arceus legends but I’ve had a bit of a break from Pokémon so now I’m trying to finish sword before the new ones come out so maybe I’ll play it after.

 

[Foreverfox]

I have a hard time with this one - I voted Gen 2 in the poll, but I also loved Gen 1, because OG. My first game was Pokemon Yellow for my GBC, which i still have the game and GameBoy…followed by Silver, Gold, then Crystal. I took quite a break between Pokémon Crystal and SwSh when I got back into it. SOO MUCH had happened between then and so many new Pokemon, good lord. I remember when I used to know the name of every Pokemon, ha. Not a chance I’ll know them all now.

 

[Groovycat64]

Gen 2 by a long shot for me. I'm partially biased since Pokemon Gold was my first Pokemon game followed by Crystal (Gen 2 as well), Blue (Gen 1), Ruby (Gen 3), and so on. Had a lot going for it and as others said, being able to travel back to Kanto was incredible. I really liked all the new Pokemon introduced in this generation, liked pretty much everything about this generation. Was cool how they casually introduced shiny Pokemon with the red shiny Gyrados at the Lake of Rage. The kid in me always thought that red Gyrados was the coolest thing ever and the fact you could catch it was sooo awesome. I always really liked the fact that the rival (Silver) was a huge jerk throughout the game and kind of learns the error of his ways the very last time you fight him at Mt. Moon (before getting rematches with him at Indigo Plateau). Not as iconic as other rivals, but always found him to be the most interesting.

Big fan of gens 1 to 5 though after 5, was kind of worn out from Pokemon, and wasn't caring much about the direction they were going in.

If I had to rank the 5 gens I played through from favourite to least favourite, it would probably be; 2, 3, 1, 5, 4. All are fantastic games though, 4 is only at the bottom because I played Platinum & Pearl so much I OD'ed on gen 4 LOL.

Pokemon Crystal is still my favourite Pokemon game of all time. Always wanted to play Heartgold and Soulsilver, but with how expensive they're right now, forget it.

 

[junebuggy.99]

I voted for Gen 6 bc Omega Ruby is probably my all-time favorite pokemon game, plus I believe it was the last game where you could truly complete a national dex (I know gen 7 had all the pokemon but it didn't have an actual national dex) and it was so satisfying to collect all 721 available pokemon

 

[Millysaurusrexjr]

I voted for the first generation, it gives me so much nostalgia!! I had the poster of all 150 Pokémon on my wall and woke up every morning before school to watch Indigo League... and my favorite ever toys were the Tomy Pokémon figurines.

I do love a lot of the other generations, but I think the first few are my most favorite because of the nostalgia factor.

 

[LoyalDragonfly]

I find modern Pokemon to be too bogged down with power creep and other frustrations, even in spite of the massive QOL updates throughout the generations. I've decided to replay from Gen 1 on, and one thing I've discovered is that I just plain hate abilities. Being free from the burden of encountering any Pokemon with Intimidate, Sturdy, Static, etc. is just amazing. I was additionally surprised at how easily I got over the more primitive aspects of the older games, such as no running shoes and more limited inventory space. As I'm playing through Crystal now, I think I can safely say that Gen 2 is my favorite. It hits that sweet spot of featuring some much improved QOL features from Gen 1, while still keeping me safe from those dreaded abilities that irritate me so much... plus no weather! No trick room! No overly obtrusive cutscenes! It's just so lovely in so many ways. Plus, I just love the animated sprites of Crystal.

 

[FrostyAlmonds]

I'm so happy to see all the gen 5 love! That is my pick too. I know the poll is asking us to consider spin offs as well as the main games, but I haven't really played any since the gen 1 days (er, the only exception is the first two PMD games and Legends if that counts as a spinoff??? Oh, and I guess the Dream World for BW and Pokemon Go). Considering that, gen 1 would possibly be my second choice considering the pure nostalgia (though I am lowkey really tired of all the fanfare and special treatment the og 151 Pokemon get so that does lower gen 1's score considerably). But anyway, the BW/2 games are just too good that no spin off content can change my mind. Introduced my favourite Pokemon ever (Oshawott), other Pokemon designs I love, had an actual decent story for a Pokemon game, I really liked how the gym leaders had an active role in the story, a nice extra bit of postgame exploration, animated sprites, instead of a third, extra content game, we actually got a real sequel...I can go on but I'll stop.

I am eagerly awaiting the gen 5 remakes and have been years before the gen 4 ones were even announced, haha.

 

[-Raven-]

I normally wouldn’t post here but I was already looking for Pokémon threads to check if there were any new ones about the designs, I was curious-
here’s my ranking from best to worst. Only game I played after 7 was PLA

4 > 6 > 7 = 3 >> 1 > 2 >> 5

I know this is a really atypical ranking. I hate gen 5 more every time I give it a chance sadly. 4 is definitely the best, but 6 follows closely behind because of how fun collecting was and quality QoL + ORAS is one of the best. 7 had the best story by a country mile and while it’s hard to replay was one of the best the first run through, while gen 3 games are awesome on paper they’re dated in really annoying ways and definitely not my first choice. 1 and 2 go squarely above 5 because while they don’t hold up the nostalgia from them is irreplaceable and breaking those games is part of the fun, they’re from a different era and it’s still fascinating and a lot of fun to go back to, nothing else is really like how you can break the gen 1 games in particular and they’re ugly and weird and charming