>>40467661It's hard to get that sense now years later with their marketing decreasing in favor of newer games, and remakes but when gen 4 was new it was a nice rebound for the franchise. The movies were doing well, the merchandise sales were high, the games sold incredibly well, and Lucario and Piplup were standing toe to toe with Pikachu in a way no one else ever had. Gen 4 also had Cynthia, arguably one of the most popular Champion, and Dawn, one of Japan's favorite trainer characters.
