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The DS games are the best mechanically and it's possible for good Pokemon content to exist outside of the 90s. HOWEVER;
Pokemon's identity was at it's best in the series youth.
Between visionaries like Shudo and Satoshi Tajiri's direct involvement. The direct involvement of talented Nintendo heads like Miyamoto and Iwata. And the then-still youthful and motivated Gamefreak employees of today. The talent working on the Pokemon series was pretty much objectively superior and more in touch with Pokemon's initial philosophy and vision. While Pokemon was the untamed and unrestricted wild west that went off-canon in official materials pretty much constantly and series guidelines were pretty much non-existent it somehow was still infinitely more in touch with what Pokemon as a series is than the curated and controlled image Pokemon has in the world today.
While the series main draw has and obviously always will be the creature designs, there is a reason "The Pokemon World" was always emphasized and it's because the Pokemon in conjuncture with the world around them and the themes of the series elevates the whole package.
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