>>53094076>AgeLate 20s.
>First gameYellow.
>Favorite generationGen IV. Platinum + HGSS together are a wonderful showcase of Pokémon as a series.
>Skipped gamesNone.>Favorite 'monPorygon. Whole line is fantastic. Volcarona and Tyrantrum are up there too!
>Least Favorite 'monThe Unova monkey trio. I used to exaggerate my dislike of them, but they're basically fine. I just find them boring as hell since they're basically a second set of much more generic "starters".
>Gen Ranking4 > 5 > 7 > 3 > 6 > 2 > 1 > 9 > 8
Having replayed every mainline game over the past 5 years:
Gens 4, 5, and 7 are pinnacles of the series. I would recommend newcomers start with one of those games. Gen 3 is great, but hard carried by Emerald, since FRLG is a bit awkward feeling. The Sevii Islands weren't as cool as I remembered, that's for sure. Gen 6 is fine, if generic. ORAS is underrated IMO, even though Emerald is still the superior Hoenn experience overall.
Gens 1 and 2 are still fun to revisit. The formula, though, has been improved in significant ways over the years- playing them all this close together really shows that fact. Still, it's where it all started! I enjoyed my recent replays.
Gen 9 has a lot of heart (plus solid ideas) and could be up there with Gen 3 if they actually fucking fix the glaring problems (they probably won't). Gen 8 is probably the most "okay" gen. Rather forgettable, to the point of the good parts of Gen 9 vastly outshining Gen 8 in comparison, despite its flaws.
LGPE is okay. PLA is one of the best games of the series. I know they're technically Gen 8, but they feel so different from other mainline games I have a hard time sticking them in that tier. Maybe such "different" games in each gen will become the standard, though.