Gen 1. Followed by Gen 2. Since that’s when I stopped playing the games, all other gens have a lot less to offer me. How about you?
I’m pretty attached to Gen 1 & 2, the games and the related cards/Pokemon. That’s where all my memories are embedded the most. GSC were such awesome sequels at the time, and especially late game when you take on Red which is probably my favourite thing from those games. I stopped at Gen 3 when I was a kid, and I only vaguely remember some of the Pokemon from that era. I honestly don’t even remember beating my Ruby game back then, but I did enjoy playing it still from what I remember. Fire Red was my last Pokemon game before I lost all interest in it, and that was of course just remake/enhanced Red version.
Anyway, I have no qualms or issues with later gens. I just haven’t found the time to explore them more. When I look at a lot of the more modern gens, I like how a lot of trainers and artworks look and there’s literally 100s more Pokemon I know very little about.
From a TCG perspective, I have to say I’ve enjoyed SWSH more than I thought so far. I think it’s done a good job of including new & old Pokemon across a variety of cards and as mentioned many times the Alt Arts are truly great cards. I plan to eventually explore more gens when I find the time, and I may also go back and watch more of the anime that I never watched when I was a kid.
Gen 2. Think I spent more time playing Gold/Silver/Crystal in my childhood than any other game on any platform. Always used Cyndaquil as my starter because I loved fire pokemon. Played a few of the others but never really got into them like those. I stopped playing after I got FireRed.
In terms of Pokemon designs and nostalgia, nothing beats Gen 2 for me. It was the height of the Poke-mania and it was just mind-blowing at the time that there were more than 151 Pokemon out there. Every kid was going crazy, playground rumours were everywhere and it was like we were collectively unraveling a whole new world between the games, anime and cards. Sadly, this was fairly short-lived as around a year or so after GSC hit the fad died down and nobody wanted anything to do with Pokemon anymore. I was still enamored with Pokemon and it was one of the main points of interest that helped me connect with other kids, but middle school social pressure all but guaranteed I lost interest completely by 2001.
In terms of games, Gen 5 (specifically Black 2 & White 2) are the cream of the crop and the best games Gamefreak has ever made. They are the pinnacle of 2D Pokemon game design with intricate maps, challenging battles, creative ideas, and just huge love letters to the franchise. Much like Skyridge being the end of the WOTC era, the Gen 5 games feel like the end of an era for Pokemon games.
I love Gen 1-4. With a slight bias to 1 and 2. But that bias has shrunk over time.
I need to revisit Gen V games as I remember being impressed when I played it in high school. Haven’t played it since though.
Gen 2, which I discussed at length in this thread months back.
While Gen 1 were the first games I ever played, there is just something magical about the nostalgia of Gen 2. No other game has ever topped it for me. I actually fondly remember that time of my life almost exclusively because of Pokemon Gold and Silver.
I’ll just leave this here:
For sure, I started listening to the soundtrack the other night and went and bought some more Neo era cards after.
So many good songs, this is one I totally forgot about until I heard it again and loved it just like when I first heard it:
Gen 1-3 with gen 5 on a not so distant 2nd place. But really, how is one even supposed to answer this question? 
Ok, how about this: My ultimate gen would be Gen 3 with the nostalgia of gen 1, the mystery of Gen 2 and the facility of Gen 5.
5/2 > 1 > 4 > 3 > 6/8 > 7
Would love to see an actual poll on this. Obviously, Gen 1 will be the most popular among people here but I’d be curious to see how Gen 2 and 3 compare to each other.
Personally, my preference/attachment order is: 3>1>2>4
And then the rest is just a blur for me; I grew out of Pokemon by the time that HG/SS came out – so right before Gen 5, basically.
So if we’re talking about the TCG, gen 2 by a landslide. Neo era was the peak of when I was collecting and even now so many of card arts and character designs hit home on another level. These were also the first cards I went through when I got back into collecting.
For the games, I have the most nostalgia for gen 3. I started collecting Pokemon at a younger age than most, so I have more core memories from my many hours spent playing Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald.
this is exactly my same thoughts.
Gen 1 were my first games and I loved and enjoyed them a lot, but when gen 2 came out it was something beyond to explain. The improvements over gen 1 games were huge for games on 2000 and i have great memories of me just playing the games, no pokemon game will ever match that feeling
Favourite gen
- Gen 1 - Kanto
- Gen 2 - Johto
- Gen 3 - Hoenn
- Gen 4 - Sinnoh
- Gen 5 - Unova
- Gen 6 - Kalos
- Gen 7 - Alola
- Gen 8 - Galar
- Gen 8 - Hisui
0 voters
Let us choose more than 1 please!
1/2 had the most memorable and iconic pokemon.
3/5 had the best games.
If i had to pick it would be gen 2!
I feel Gen 3 would be much more popular and remembered by more if the games had come out sooner. It was like 2-2.5 years after GSC releases, so many people spent the most time with Gen 1/Gen 2 as it was really during the hype of Pokemania as well. So I think a lot of people were sort burned out with Pokemon by the end of Gen 2 releases.
With all this said, I still enjoyed my time playing Ruby. I actually hope to give it another go in the near future, as it really was where I ended my childhood with Pokemon overall. I’m also going to explore more of the EX card sets at some point too.
I’d be more curious to know - how many people’s favorite generation isn’t the first or second one they experienced?
Also, funny memories that stick out… I remember the first day G/S came out… I got Gold, my best buddy got Silver, and we were sitting there playing together at my grandparent’s house (he lived across the street). And when nighttime rolled around, our minds were BLOWN that it also got dark on the game and you could catch different Pokemon at a night.
It’s hard because my experience is based on the TCG and games. I played Gen III the most but never bought a booster pack. Gen II is the easy pick because I was involved in both TCG and games. It’s not even like many Gen II Are my favorite. The game just has a vibe that’s good, a cerulean said.