>>39261686(you)
But yeah, nah. Been playing since I was 6 when Blue came out in the UK. Gen 2 was peak Pokemon until Gen 5 came around. I sometimes feel I was the only person that was hyped as fuck about there only being Gen 5 pokemon to catch in BW - to the point I thought it was a detriment to retcon other species into BW2 (tbf I was wrong there tho, was a great idea for the sequel). I particularly liked the fact that for the first time since RSE, the protags were the same age as I was at the time.
I think what makes Gen 5 special was the fact that it was the first time Pokemon seemed to be "maturing". The plot line questioning whether or not it was right to be catching these creatures and making them fight was actually a pretty interesting thing to look at (as opposed to the previous two "imma destroy the world" plots).
It was a sign that the franchise was going to start taking itself a bit more seriously and reflecting upon itself, and the results were very interseting. I can totally see why Masuda saw it as his magnum opus.
And then, well, the casuals didn't get it, and the autistic fanbase didn't like change, and it broke Masuda, and ultimately, Pokemon as a franchise.
Gen 5 was the gen that, despite being the best games the franchise has produced, broke Pokemon. Now we just have KANTOOOO.
