For me it is easily gen two when combining everything together. Gen 1 and 3 are very close to me, but I think the original gen 1 anime breaks the tie in gen 1’s favor.
I really like a lot of Pokemon designs in Gen II, and Gold/Silver were the last games I remember playing before going on hiatus with Pokemon. And I also remember getting sucked into the mystery of Gen II as a kid–like all the rumors of Pikablu!
Gen 1 had the best merch & period of the anime; Gen 2 had the best games & the best cards…
So I chose Gen 3 because the poor Ex Era was the little generation that could, and managed to keep everything going on life support through those dark years.
The results make perfectly sense, with the previous generation always being a little more popular then the following one. However gen 2 is capable of surpassing even that simple rule, this really speaks for how great it was.
Gen 2 without a doubt. The remakes are my favorite games ever, my favorite Pokemon is from that Generation (actually, most of my favorites are from Gen 2), the TCG sets during that generation were incredible.
Gen1 will always hold a very special place in my heart. I worked at a Gamestop when 6th gen came out and really enjoyed that one too. The amount of people who came into the store and just wanted to talk Pokemon was great back then. It was also the same gen that got me back into Pokemon after a huge break