>>51226225100% agree.
Poliwag at the time of gym 2 along with Horsea in the game corner gives you options for water types, which Kanto is sorely lacking in the midgame (in the other games, you only get Squirtle, Magikarp and Vaporeon up until this point). Kangaskhan and Tauros are traded for evolutions of pokemon that are easy to get, so you just got to train something a bit and trade it away instead of waiting for RNG bullshit in the Safari Zone. Japanese Blue is also the only game where you get TWO (2) trade evolutions without needing a link cable and another game.
Blue has the best in game trades and it's not even close.
