I know why I like pokemon. I grew up in a Pokemon wonderland where it was in every store, on every channel, the sky was the limit, the mystery of the setting seemed endless, and I was directly experiencing the works of Satoshi Tajiri and Takeshi Shudo before their ousting and the compromise of their visions for the series.

But why do y'all niggas born AFTER gen 2 like this shit???? I can't imagine anyone playing RSE, DPPt, or BW1/2 getting attached to the extent Pokemania attached me and yet here you are. And that's not even getting into the fact that there are people who started with 3D entries.
Even though I fucking LOVE many of the later games, especially in mechanics, I love them even more than my experiences with RBY/GSC, however stylistically and setting wise I have many caveats and asterisks tied to my enjoyment where I wish the games I mechanically love so much tread closer to the series roots in design philosophy of the monsters and stories.

Not shitposting, not intended as genwun superiority. I'm genuinely curious to hear why your first era of Pokemon attached you to the series