We're coming up on the big tenth generation of Pokemon so I figured I'd do a top 5 list for what I think are the best generations the franchise has had.
Honorable Mentions
The 7th Generation of Pokemon that took place in its Hawaii-inspired region wasn't really all that impressive from the outset. However Nintendo did create the first RPG-like creature set that was a significant departure from what we'd seen previously. The new creatures called the Ultra Beasts act more like major boss enemies for the franchise even moreso than the legendary Pokemon of the past. On top of that, though it's not really directly about the Pokemon themselves, this was the first generation to do away with HMs and provide Pokemon "mounts" to perform the same activities. Actually HM02 Fly for example was greatly enhanced by being able to ride on a Latios/Latias and actually roam around in the sky. You could even find portals which might let you encounter those Ultra Beasts I brought up before.
Generation VIII's Pokemon weren't really all that special either. The most notable part about this generation isn't really about the Pokemon themselves but rather how the capture system was upgraded. One of the Generation VIII games was Pokemon Legends Arceus an "open-world" rendition of the traditional series where players actively engaged in combat with their Pokemon out in the wild. Combat didn't move into a battle stage and instead remained in the environment which meant environmental obstacles like hills and trees played a factor in gameplay as had been seen for decades in the anime and manga.
No. 5 - Generation VI
But as for actual Pokemon and their merits we start off with the Generation VI games X and Y. Some previously Normal Type Pokemon were changed to the new Fairy typing which was effective against Dragon Type. This generation also introduced the very popular Pokemon Greninja who would eventually make its way to Super Smash Brothers. The fire starter Fennekin also evolved into the first Fire Psychic Type Delphox and became a competitive Pokemon used in tournaments. But of course the big thing that Gen VI introduced are the Mega Evolutions and some of them are incredible! Recently Pokemon Go even used Mega Rayquaza as an event exclusive capture to drum up more interest in the old game.
No. 4 - Generation IV
Some suggest that Generation IV was when Nintendo jumped the shark. Previously the franchise had been purely sci-fi in its explanations for the Pokemon. They were just normal animals of the world and Pokedex entries talked about their natural evolutions, interactions with each other and with humanity. Then came Gen IV and we received god-like Pokemon for the first time. Dialga who controlled time, Palkia who ruled over space and finally Giratina who commanded the dark realm of the Distortion World. On top of them the creator god of the Pokemon World would be revealed as Arceus who molded everything into being with its thousand arms and gave rise to the Pokemon types through its plates. On the flip side Gen IV also explained in detail the connection between humans and Pokemon, directly stating that humans were once Pokemon themselves and that the line between them and other species of Pokemon was blurred not even all that long ago. Previously we'd only had scattered hearsay like the Kadabra entry that said a person woke up as one once.
This additional lore was incredible to me. The humanity inclusion was a step deeper into Pokemon's flirtation with real world evolution and biology and I think it inspired many young people to become more interested in the sciences. The mythology then expanded the franchise's lore to become more than itself, dipping its toes into destiny and the multiverse which future entries would continue to expand upon.
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No. 3 - Generation I
Of course no top generation list would be complete without the one that started it all. Some of the most popular Pokemon have come from this generation. Charmander's line, specifically its final evolution Charizard is to this day one of the most popular Pokemon even earning it two Mega Evolutions in Gen VI and a unique Gigantamax form in Gen VIII before the Isle of Armor DLC gave its counterparts their own Gigantamax forms. Mewtwo is the defacto legendary Pokemon, still the ruler by which other legendaries are judged and just like Charizard earned itself two Mega Evolutions.
Mew is probably still known as the biggest surprise to the franchise, the 151st Pokemon that could not be found in the game normally and was actually the Pokemon that Mewtwo was born from. It could learn all Pokemon moves because it had a genome that encompassed all Pokemon. It would turn out that Mew was the common ancestor to all extant Pokemon which was where the lore had previously gone before Arceus became the creator.
No. 2 - Generation III
Gen III gave Pokemon its first major facelift. Unlike before all Pokemon were given abilities that activated as soon as they took the field. This dramatically changed the gameplay and advanced the franchise for a new generation of players. In fact this is also when Pokemon came out with its first remade games, updating the original generation with the new mechanics. To this day FireRed and LeafGreen have been used as a basis for fanmade Pokemon games.
In terms of the Pokemon themselves this was when we got Rayquaza who as previously mentioned became so popular that versions of itself can be used at promotional events. The Gen III remakes for example introduced an entire postgame story Delta Episode where the player needs to partner with Rayquaza in order to defeat Deoxys. In the process this is when Rayquaza awakens its Mega Evolution for the first time. The fire starter for this generation was the first and still one of the only to give Charizard a run for its money. Blaziken was the first Fire Fighting Type and one that could naturally learn Flying Type moves that are strong against other Fighting Types. Swampert's beefy stats made it competitive in tournaments as well and finally Sceptile would grow in popularity too once it received its Mega Evolution and gained Dragon typing. This then made it the first time all starters of a single generation were favored by the playerbase.
No. 1 - Generation II
It is next to impossible to top a popular first entry in any franchise. Final Fantasy VIII had a hard time leaving VII's shadow and Zelda Windwaker initially failed to receive praise in the wake of Ocarina of Time.
Pokemon could have gone the same way as many of the surprises that impressed fans were exhausted and even today there are the infamous "Gen Wunners" who laud the original series as the best while criticizing all modern generations. However Gen II greatly expanded on the lore and also expanded on the culture of the world. Gen II took place in a region inspired by Japan's own Kansai area, a more traditional part of the country compared to the modernized east or Kanto. This additional lore also gave rise to myths about the Pokemon and greatly expanded on its legendaries. Ho-oh was so rare that only the select few could ever encounter it. It had the powers of rebirth and gave new life to three Pokemon that died in a fire, creating new legendaries out of them. One of those legendaries, Suicune would go on to become the mascot for its own game and Entei starred in one of the anime movies. Lugia's lore made it so popular the anime turned to it for the sequel to its first movie, not exactly the easiest act to follow. People had lined up around theaters just to be able to watch the movie. I was among those people back in 1998. Lugia's would be called Pokemon the Movie 2000 and it reached equal levels of fanfare. The anime would go on to add a Lugia subplot into the Whirl Islands section of the show as well. The games would then eventually release Pokemon XD Gale of Darkness with Dark Lugia as its final boss. There are just so many popular Pokemon in this generation.
Another thing Gen II did was to create Shiny Pokemon for the first time, a feature of the franchise that's been going on strong ever since. Shiny hunting is a favorite passtime for many Pokemon players and strategies on how to encounter more Shinies is one of the most common topics for Poketubers.
Finally Gen II introduced the day/night cycle to the games which opened up two new ways to evolve Pokemon. Some Pokemon would only evolve during specific times of day. Others evolved based on their stats at the time and finally some Pokemon only evolved once their relationship with their trainer was strong enough. Eevee for example actually received two new evolution branches Espeon and Umbreon which were unlocked by having high friendship with the Eevee when it leveled up. Then it would evolve into one of the two based on the time of day.
Did you agree with my list? What do you think is the best generation of Pokemon?
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