There was a Gen discussion thread a few weeks ago, and I thought it summed up the two generations quite well:
"I rather liked the newness introduced in Gen V. I find it rather incredible that the one single generation that introduced essentially nothing big mechanically managed to feel singularly unique in a way no other games before or after them were. It wasn't just "Pokemon: Now With New Feature;" it was "Pokemon: Reloaded." Virtually identical on a mechanical level to gen IV, not all that different graphically, but ENTIRELY different at a base level. As I said before, I found it refreshing, and I liked the changes. Others may not have, and that's likely why Gen V is such a point of contention on this board.
I also hope, by the way, that Gen VI serves as the DP to Gen VII's Platinum. It's not as though it was a BAD set of games-- it was just an extremely weak set of entries in a great series with far too much wasted potential."
"Agreed on all accounts. It's just that massive feeling of difference between itself and the last Gen that made BW so unique. It was an entirely new level in what the Pokemon series could accomplish in both its environments, story, and general aesthetic. But that level of unfamiliarity is what made me avoid it at first, and probably what made it so controversial on the board.
By that same token, Gen VI could be considered Gen V's opposite, in a way. Kalos' regional pokedex is absolutely MASSIVE, the biggest one to date. It also had an equally big impact mechanically, what with new breeding mechanics, the fairy type, and Megas. Aesthetically, however, all it did was update sprites to models, and added a camera for cutscenes. X and Y were huge improvements to the series, but didn't really put on much of a show. Again, it just was like, "Look! Pokemon in 3D!" - which is by no means a bad thing, I mean, take a look at Pokemon Stadium - it just didn't have a lot of stuff to present other than mechanics."
