So like most other people, my introduction to Pokemon was Red and Blue, and those games will forever hold a special place in my heart and have also retained replay value for me, but for some reason, nothing hits my nostalgia bone like Gen 2 (shoutout @dizzle24).
Over the years since the Gen 2 games (Gold, Silver, Crystal) came out, I have played through them numerous times, but as all Gen 2 lovers know, the save batteries ultimately burn out on those cartridges due to the internal clock. I remember picking up a copy of Crystal in 2016 (I had only played Gold and Silver up until that point). I played through it a couple of times and loved every second of it. I then did another playthrough last year, and surprisingly, the battery was still okay. But after nearly completing my Pokedex, the save battery finally went.
Fast forward to this year, and I was craving some Gen 2 again, so I decided to go online and see how to replace a save battery. I remember doing it with Gold years ago, but I also remember nearly breaking the cartridge in the process, so I wanted to find a cleaner way to do it with soldering rather than prying the battery out and putting a new one in. But then I discovered that the Gen 2 games were available for the 3DS. Luckily, I have two 3DS consoles, so I knew I would be able to trade back and forth to get trade evolutions like Scizor, Steelix, etc.
I felt like a little kid inside knowing that I would never, ever again lose my save file to a failed battery.
Well, I have been playing through Crystal, and the childhood memories of 10-year-old me have once again come flooding back. The vibrant colors, the awesome music, the fantastic (and criminally underrated) Gen 2 Pokemon designs. Sure, the games have a TON of problems (like with new Pokemon such as Houndour, Misdreavus, Murkrow, Larvitar, etc. not even being accessible until AFTER you beat the Elite Four), but that doesn’t change how incredible Gen 2 makes me feel.
There is just something about hearing this theme kick in once you get out of Ilex Forest and head to Goldenrod City:
I don’t know what it is about these games. Maybe it’s the fact that both Johto and Kanto are jammed into the same cartridge. Maybe it was the memories of hearing about Pikablu and seeing Snubbull and Donphan for the first time in the anime and the movie before Gold and Silver even came out. Whatever it is, Gen 2 just does it for me.
Just felt like sharing 
. Ill never forget that moment in finding out rocket was “back”, and i felt like such a boss running through that part and clearing the tower so I could go back to listening to Buenas Password to try and win points and prizes lol. Ugh, such good memories for sure.