It was the one generation where whatever you
might consider "old" and "contemporary" overlapped, explicitly so once you add HGSS. But it doesn't have all of contemporary Pokemon's benefits (subsequent moves/items/buffs and could have been added here as easily as anytime else, ease of online connectivity), and Sinnoh's map design always strikes me as a first attempt at better things to come (e.g, clever multi-lane and vertical routes WITHOUT the mud, fog, and snow slogs).
