>>41651367Absolutely the dark ages. Just compare 2000-2009 to 2010-2019.
>Gold and Silver came out overseas in 2000>Stadium 2 came out the same year>Crystal the next year>Ruby and Sapphire comes out overseas in 2003>followed up by Colosseum, FireRed and LeafGreen, Gale of Darkness and Emerald>Pinball R&S and Mystery Dungeon Red & Blue come out the same gen>Diamond and Pearl come out overseas in 2007>followed by Platinum, HeartGold and SoulSilver>ton of spinoffs - Battle Revolution, Ranger, Mystery Dungeon Explorers of Time/Darkness/Sky, Rumble, TrozeiThe games themselves kept building on themselves. Gen 2 added breeding, time of day encounters, weather, hold items, genders. Gen 3 added an all-new IV/EV system, abilities, contests, secret bases, more complex berries, ribbons, and the battle frontier. Gen 4 added Wi-Fi connectivity, the Physical/Special split, ball capsules, poke radar, while adding back in some beloved features like time of day encounters and following Pokemon. Gen 4 isn't my favorite, but it's where Pokemon culminated to its peak.
Then came 2010. Black and White come out. Half of what was added in gens 3 and 4 was removed for the sake of being a soft reboot. The games sold poorly, forcing them to just push B2W2 out and shelve the plan for a RS remake. Then came gen 6, 7, and 8, and we know how those went.
>>41651541>starting the 2010s at 2011Dumbo