I'd prefer they combine the first two games into one and have it be one big adventure. After you defeat the elite four you get a ticket to go to johto and have another adventure. Like Gold and silver did but in reverse and with no content cut from the second world.
That might be cool 10y down the line, but we've had two main series games (three/four if you count the Japanese releases) for the game story, and two for the anime one (Yellow/Let's Go). That's why I didn't mind so much they changed the catching and stuff, at least it was different.
That was Gen 4.
Cheren fights you about 4 times. I know that Bel stops before the 4th Gym.
Platinum and B2W2 were possibly the very peak of the series, and I say this as an unapologetic Gen2/HGSS stan and Gen 1 finisher in its heyday. There's been a good amount of slow progress since then; the GTS, raids, easier EV and IV tracking and training, the Fairy type. But I haven't felt any game has been quite so immensely full as those mid-era games. I didn't finish the Gen 8 or 9 DLCs, so I don't know exactly how much they tacked onto their games, but I get the feeling it doesn't make up for being very lean throughout.
Those I have the least interest in, I think just cos I went GBA --> 3DS. I haven't even done Platinum but I have done Pearl (I haven't done both ultra moon either, only the one.
I like Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire more than Ruby and Sapphire.
When D&P were not released yet, I was looking up info on new 'mons at that serebii site, seeing the move "Thunder Fang", and thinking "more Electric moves?", not knowing it was gonna be a Physical Electric move. Also the serebii site hasn't really changed since then.
I've noticed this too. Gen 3 was my favorite for a long time, and it was also the first game I played all the way through. I had exposure to the other games from the movies and pokemon stadium, but Gen 3 was the first one I got really into, and the other two seemed less interesting when I played through them later. I've played silver, sapphire, diamond, moon and ultra sun all the way through, and red/fire red, black 2, X and violet maybe halfway through (currently playing through X for the first time). I guess some I just really like, and the others I lose interest in pretty quickly. A lot of people like gen 5 the most nowadays.
I find this odd, because you're not wrong... but I started with 5, finished Black all the way through, then played through both Y and X fully (and can remember doing so with clarity) before Alpha Sapphire and Omega Ruby... only to greatly prefer Emerald to all of ORAS, have little-to-no affection for Kalos outside of its shockingly useful Nuzlocke setup, and rank every single Unova game behind the original 3 Hoenn ones.
)
I started with Red/Blue, but love Black/WhiteWhatever generation they started with, whatever region they played through first, is probably their favorite. (Relevant:)
But does this still apply to hardcores?
They're not as terrible as people claim, but they're still a big downgrade. Play the originals if you can.
I've suspected that the Pokemon fandom's complete 180º on gen 5 is related to this. The fandom didn't suddenly change their minds, it's the people who grew up with it finally reaching an age where they can have an internet presence and defend the childhood games they loved. I suspect this because I'm guilty as fuck of defending Black and White for being my first and favorite games, and because I've seen it happen to other games in long-running franchises like Sonic Unleashed, which was considered divisive when it released in 2008 but started being seen as a classic around 2018 or so.
