>>48828673i'll do you one better- here's something I like about every single generation
Gen 1- set the bar for what was to come with absolutely iconic designs and a fuck ton of soul. they may be horribly buggy games with a mediocre roster in comparison to what comes after, but stuff like the old anime and the hype that used to surround this damned franchise make up for it tenfold
Gen 2- kept up that old (and long-dead) aesthetic of watercolor art with hard edges and a comfy vibe throughout, which is hilarious considering how round and squishy most of its roster is. the mainline games were super impressive for the system (at least in my opinion), especially crystal's DLC content, and are still fun to this day (if a little outdated). also brought along some killer designs like Scizor, Houndoom, Ho-Oh, Tyranitar, etc
Gen 3- has my personal favorite roster, with a near-flawless starter trio and stellar legendaries combined with beautiful and memorable mons like Altaria, Milotic, Metagross, etc etc. Also brought us the fifth movie (in my opinion the last good one lmao), as well as being the last hurrah of that old water color style in official art and the like. gba games look fucking gorgeous, some of my favorites in the series if not my favorites, and I replay them every time I get the chance! also, I know this part is weird, but this era also has my favorite design template for the TCG cards, tied with gen 1
Gen 4- the peak of "old pokemon" in my opinion- took the great starts many spin-off series had with gen 3 and perfected them, with games like Shadows of Almia in the Ranger series and Explorers of Sky in the PMD one! If only the Gamecube games got such a treatment, hah. also brought us the best remakes to date, Heart Gold and Soul Silver, as well as my favorite soundtrack in Platinum and some more pretty killer designs (not my favorite roster, but mon like Froslass and Electivire are personal favorites)
ctd. sorry for being so long-winded
