Gen 2
Gen 1
Gen 5
Gen 4
Gen 3
Gen 6
Gen 8
Gen 7
Gen 9
Gen 2 & 1 were the ones I grew up with so they hold a special place in my heart. The Poke-craze was absolutely insane back then and you could befriend just about anyone if you both liked Pokemon. I also really enjoyed all the creative liberties TPC took back then when they were still establishing the franchise, down to different artistic depictions of Pokemon and teasing new species. It felt very mystical and fresh.
Gens 5 & 4 were what got me back into Pokemon after the fad died down. While I didn’t collect cards during these eras, the games and competitive battling were a huge draw for me. I personally still feel the Gen 4 & 5 games are the best in the series, especially HGSS, Platinum and B2W2. Also really liked how Gen 5 was a “soft reboot” of the franchise and they really tried to do something different.
I have a more positive opinion of Gen 3 these days but for the longest time I was never that fond of it. I do think the games are solid and many of the Pokemon designs in this generation are the best in the franchise. However, this was also the period of time where you’d be committing social sudoku if you were found collecting Pokemon at school so perhaps that’s why I don’t have many fond memories from this generation during its heyday.
Gens 6 onward I have a lot less of an attachment to. XY were novel at the time for being the first full 3D mainline games, but they haven’t aged that well. Everything afterwards just felt like a step in the wrong direction with increased handholding in the games to more sterile & corporate handling over the Pokemon IP. At least there’s some nice card art.
Gen 4 is my favorite, but I also realize there’s a lot of sentimentality there. Platinum was the first game I owned and got to play through completely (and didn’t have to borrow from someone). Piplup is my favorite Pokémon, and I spent hours upon hours just wandering around the game enjoying the music and taking it all in.
Gen 5 I also have massive nostalgia for. It was a whole new region with completely different Pokémon, and I absolutely loved it. I didn’t get into the anime as much as I did the gens before it, but I loved the games so much.
I didn’t interact with gen 6 at all, since I was too busy in school and couldn’t afford a 3DS at the time, which is why it’s the lowest for me. I did end up buying a used 3DS at the beginning of gen 7, and I’ve never gone back to play the Kalos games. I’ve been meaning to do that though, and I realize that would likely affect my ranking here.
For me, the overall ranking would be: 4, 5, 3, 7, 2, 9, 8, 1, 6
Really difficult ranking for me, but if I had to decide I’d probably rate them by this:
Gen 3: Emerald is my favorite game of all time (tied with HGSS), Hoenn has the best region design of them all (yes, there is a lot of water). Firered and Leafgreen are in my opinion the most underrated Pokemon games of all time. Really enjoyed them and also the additional content compared to Gen 1.
Gen 4: Solely due to HGSS. Johto is my favorite region when it comes to lore and traditions. Gold was the game I played the most as a kid and HGSS perfected the Johto games. I am actually not the biggest fan of DPP. Platinum is okay as it fixed some stuff from Diamond and Pearl but in general those games are so slow and I do not like the region design at all (although Hokkaido is my favorite region in Japan).
Gen 2: Gold was my most played game as a kid, the soundtrack still makes me super nostalgic. Goldenrod City and Ecruteak City are some of the best tracks of the entire franchise. Also peak of the Pokemon TCG franchise in my opinion with VS Series, Town on no Map, Wind from the Sea and Neo 4.
Gen 5: Just some great games and finished of the 2D era in style. Especially B2 and W2 are really good with all the amazing content they have. I also really like the region design.
Gen 1: I started with Pokemon Blue as kid and still play through one of the Kanto games once a year. Obviously they have plenty of flaws and I can finish them blind but they are still great fun.
All the other Gens I did not play as much, so it would be unfair to rate them. I really enjoyed Legends Arceus though (probably in my Top 5 Pokemon games). Currently started playing through Brilliant Diamond which I got really cheap in Japan but I cannot bring myself up to really sit down and enjoy it.
I started collecting the TCG since the beginning (gen 1)
I started watching the cartoon/anime since the beginning (gen 1 - the end of episode 3 of the first season to be exact )
I never played any of the Pokémon games, so my favorites are mostly based on the above two categories
As for my favorites Pokémon gen order, I’d go with: 3, 1, 2, 4, 9, 5, 8, 7, 6.
Gen 3 contains my favorite Pokémon, which is a big plus. And overall I also remember I’ve enjoyed collecting the TCG during the ex era, even though a lot of classmates already stopped collecting Pokémon all-together at the time. At the time I was around 12-15, so it’s therefore also more memorable than nostalgic compared to for example gen 1 (age 7-9).
Gen 1 and 2 are roughly equal for me. Gen 1 tops 2 since it’s more nostalgic and the beginning of Pokémon, but I personally liked the gen 2 anime season more than gen 1.
Gen 4 is defintely fourth place for me, since it got a lot of memorable and well-designed Pokémon as well, and I liked the anime as well.
The order of the other gens (5 through 9) can possibly change in the future. Although there have defintely been some bangers, I feel as if the Pokémon designs have gone slightly downhill since gen 5 (for me personally), and some of the anime seasons as well. Although tbf, the more Pokémon there are released and the more Pokémon anime episodes there are, the harder it is for the creators to think of something new and original.
Just some random notes regarding the seasons 5 through 9:
The XY and especially XYZ seasons of the anime were pretty solid.
I also like the current Pokémon Horizons season, which is the first without Ash as protagonist.
I liked the Alolan Hawaiian setting of gen 7 of the anime, but the change in animation was defintely getting used to in the first couple episodes, and I also dislike both the designs of and appearances of the Ultra Beasts in the anime for that season…
Gen 6 is defintely at the end for me. Although there are some solid Pokémon designs and there were some good episodes that season, overall it was rather lackluster.
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