>>48477161This here. Read up to RS so far. If I had read it as a kid I'm sure I would have thought it was totally rad with only the anime to compete with. Definitely worth a check.
The best part is probably simply seeing how Kusaka fleshes out no-name characters and game mechanics that you never expect will be that important going in. The lead characters never have repeating personality types so a new lead is always a new start. The trainer's Pokemon have very little presence most of the time (Red and Gold each have chapters that wordless Pokemon shenanigans that bring this immediately to light), and the switch from episodic chapters to the big climax sometimes felt abrupt, or at least that more elements should have been laid out sooner. Ruby/Sapphire outright chokes in the last leg because Hoenn just has too elements (by the numbers) to flesh out in that way. I'm sure the later games having more complete stories would make the later chapters feel more redundant, versus the near-revamp it the earlier arcs can be.
