For me it’s not a design issue but more of a concept issue. The reason I like earlier gens more than newer gens, is due to IMO how ridiculous some of the Pokemon have become. Most of the earlier gen Pokemon were conceptually mons you could believably encounter in nature on a random walk through the woods. Most of the newer gen pokemon are so out there conceptually wise that there is no believability you could encounter them in nature. That alone kills some of the charm for me.
2 Likes
- Gen 3
- Gen 2
- Gen 1
Happy to see a lot of people putting Gen 3 as top 3 mostly top 2 from what I see thus far 
2 Likes
I’m only into Gen 1 and Gen 2 Pokemon. Everything after that just doesn’t click for me. It’s kind of like most great TV shows: the first one or two seasons are often magic, and then the later stuff can start to feel a bit forced or try-hard, not as creative and clever as the early seasons.
But hey, that might just be my nostalgia talking, haha.
2 Likes
- Gen 4
- Gen 1
3 = 4. Gen 3 & 2 - Gen 7
- Gen 8
- Gen 9
- Gen 5
- Gen 6
Gen 4 being top probably unwarranted, but has many of my favourite designs.
Gen 1 doesn’t feel over or under designed. It’s just good.
Gen 2 & 3 are probably the most consistent, with no bad designs.
Gen 7 introduced regional forms – Alolan Ninetales being one of the best to this day.
Gen 8 has the Galarian bird trio.
Gen 9 is creative, if nothing else. Regional forms & variants are cool.
Gen 5 has some of the worst designs imho, with a couple standouts that are particularly good.
Gen 6 has Greninja… and… ?? Yveltal & Xerneas I suppose
Edit: numbers broke above on list, cbf fixing
Yeah, I would at Gen 3 to that, just as in with shows. The third season is often quite good as well because they realised what they did wrong with the second, and still have some ideas.
1 Like
gen 3 is the best for sure.
People should vote on whether they play the games as well. Having only a sprite sheet as your reference skews opinions wildly.