>>40291739There wasn't an actual simulator (Netbattle) until Gen 3. The alternative before that was using IRC with a completely text-based client (RSbot), but even that was a Gen 3 thing (and the players on RSbot were damn good).
Gen 1 and 2 competitive was still a thing though in the Netbattle days, but Gen 1 was something people didn't take seriously (it's all about maximizing your hax), and Gen 2 wasn't really accessible (everything was stall so battles took long and needed planning ahead, as opposed to Gen 4-nowadays where casuals can just go ungabunga and beat randoms). Gen 3 was the best balance of that, in that the power ceiling was low enough that new players didn't feel overwhelmed, but there was enough depth for good players to take advantage of their knowledge.
>>40291765No, there was a sim like showdown back then. Unless you mean like during the days that Gen 1/2 came out, then yeah, I guess. But Gen 3 throughout its lifetime was pretty accessible for online play through a simulator, and around then is when official company-supported competitive got its legs to draw interest with real-life players battling (look up Journey Across America).
