I think the older pokemon games (gens 1-5) are unironically good games by normal game standards, and feature nuanced gameplay that's easy to understand but hard to master, with a forgiving but serviceable level of difficulty that will likely give a less experienced player some trouble. Gens 6 and 7 aren't bad either, they're just worse in very specific ways that bother me, personally.

You may now tell me how wrong I am (cope) by angrily typing a paragraph pointing out "flaws" that no one ever gave a shit about (seethe)