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V > VII > IX > IV > III > VI > I > VIII > II
I know this is just opinions but god damn, every time I try to play G/S or HG/SS I get bored and think "I could be playing R/B or Platinum and having more fun." Once you get past Whitney the challenge level falls off of a fucking cliff and the new mons you have access to outside of your starter [unless you're a retard who picked Chikorita] suck in battle. If the plot was engaging, I might be able to overlook some of that but no. It's just simps for Giovanni retreading the last game.
Postgame is also not a defense. If you have to go 25+ hours into a game just to get to the "fun part," you've failed as a game designer.