For over 25 years, people have had the chance to catch, train, battle, and trade Pokemon in a variety of different ways. Many memories have been forged along the way, and for many there will still be more to come. With Scarlet & Violet’s release as well as Ash’s journey in the anime ending, we figured that now would be a great time to look back on this long running series.
Similar to both the Mario 35th anniversary article from 2020 and Zelda 35th article from 2021, we asked our writers several questions to which they answered. For the Pokemon prompt, the questions were as follows:
- What is your favorite Pokemon game?
- What is your favorite Pokemon?
- What would you hope to see in the Pokemon franchise in the future?
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Sari
Favorite Game:
Heart Gold/Soul Silver
I don’t think I’ve ever been excited for a videogame in my entire life as I was for Heart Gold & Soul Silver in the months leading up to its release. As someone who never got to play the original Gold & Silver, I was thrilled that I would be able to experience the only Pokemon region I had never played yet at the time. I remember checking Serebii every day to see what kind of new stuff would be added to the game. A lot of the news that came in felt too good to be true, but thankfully it wasn’t.
Aside from being enhanced versions of already amazing games, HG/SS comes with a ton of well welcomed bonuses. Being able to walk with all 493 Pokemon at the time was such an amazing feature that really made it feel like you were truly journeying with your Pokemon. Then there’s a lot of stuffed content like the customizable Safari Zone, the Pokeathalon, the Battle Frontier from Platinum, the Pokewalker that was included in the game, and much much more. The DS era was probably my favorite time to be a Pokemon fan and HG/SS is probably the best game to showcase how fun that period was.
Favorite Pokemon:
Blaziken
No surprise, I bought Ruby and ended up picking Torchic as my starter. It eventually evolved into Blaziken who quickly became my most used Pokemon due to double kick being such a fun move to spam. That sounds like a dumb and simple reason to like Blaziken, but it was silly things like that which made me like Blaziken a lot as a kid. Even now I still really think its design is just cool.
Honorable mentions include Roserade, Decidueye, and Alolan Muk. All of these I grew close with throughout the games since I liked their designs and had memorable experiences with them (whether it was trying to track down a shiny stone or hatching hundreds of Grimer eggs for a shiny).
Hope to see in the future:
More time spent with each Gen
For a while I thought it was just me getting older, but the past couple of Gens seemed to go by pretty quickly (as in, the time between the first game of a Gen and then the following Gen’s first game). I checked the time period each Gen lasted while making this writeup and it seems I may have been onto something. Based on Bulbapedia’s day calcs, Gens III & IV lasted roughly 4 years while Gens V-VIII lasted roughly 3 years. I really do feel like the series benefitted more when they spent that extra year or so celebrating what they had rather than rushing out what main game releases.
Of course halting the mainline games may affect them moneywise, but I feel like some part of Pokemon was lost with what seems to be quicker releases. By spending more time with the latest Gen that is currently available, I feel a lot could get done. For starters, not pumping out the mainline games as quickly as they currently do would result in Game Freak having more time to polish them before release. Additionally, we could possibly see the release of more spin-off games that take advantage of what latest Pokemon are available (assuming Game Freak reaches out to other developers to make them since they’d have their hands full).
Granted we still do get Pokemon spin-offs today, but they are usually focused on the Pokemon series as a whole (like Pokemon Go) rather than with the latest Gen, and regardless we don’t get as many as we used to. Give us more stuff like Pokemon Stadium, Pokemon Battle Revolution, and of course more Pokemon Mystery Dungeon (they still contain past Gen Pokemon but still gave the newest ones more of the spotlight). If the mainline games are a giant roller coaster, then games like these are the other fun rides in the park. And honestly, I wouldn’t mind waiting a bit for that coaster to return if it means we can go on more amazing side trips like these.
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@Ze Diglett
Favorite Game:
Platinum
If you’re asking me what the best Pokemon game is, I’d probably go with Legends: Arceus, but as for my favorite Pokemon game, it’s gotta be Platinum. This was my first mainline Pokemon game after getting hooked on the series with Gale of Darkness on the GameCube, and to this day it stands tall as one of the best in my opinion. Sinnoh feels incredibly real and lively with all its folklore and unique setpieces, and this may be the nostalgia talking, but Sinnoh’s roster of available Pokemon has always been one of my favorites. It’s hard for me to think of a Gen IV mon I don’t like at least a little bit, and the starters are especially likable. Turtwig, Chimchar, and Piplup are all great designs and each have good reasons to be used, making deciding which starter I want to use a genuine challenge each playthrough (I usually go for Chimchar, but they’re all great, really). Even in the face of some incredibly awesome starters that we’ve seen since, Gen IV’s remains the overall best set of starters we’ve seen in my book.
Generally, Platinum offers a stellar Pokemon adventure in spite of its more dated elements. Team Galactic in my opinion represents the peak of Pokemon villains, posing a high-stakes threat without taking themselves too seriously or debasing themselves to joke status. The Distortion World is super cool and provides the perfect backdrop for the final showdown with Cyrus, as well as the monstrous and incredibly awesome Giratina (be honest, it was always cooler than Dialga and Palkia). The level curve throughout the game is buttery smooth, never jumping ahead of the player or lagging behind. The final battle with Cynthia provides a genuine challenge that will test any player who hasn’t deliberately overleveled their team. All of this is accompanied by one of the most beautiful scores in all of Pokemon; even crunched through a DS’s speakers, the game’s sequenced tracks sound wonderful. My personal favorite would be Giratina’s battle theme, though I also have to give props to Eterna Forest, Mt. Coronet, Cynthia’s battle theme, and the incredibly slappin’ Frontier Brain theme (the BDSP remixes of these tracks are pretty good, too… except Frontier Brain, RIP). All in all, Platinum has stood the test of time and remained my favorite Pokemon adventure, and it’ll probably stay that way for a very long time.
Favorite Pokemon:
Mewtwo
Mewtwo’s been my favorite Pokemon pretty much as long as I can remember. It’s the reason why Psychic is my favorite type and telekinesis has always been my favorite superpower. I watched the hell out of the first Pokemon movie as a kid, and I remember being wowed by Mewtwo’s incredible psychic powers. I remember booting up Melee one day and being amazed to find that Mewtwo was an unlockable character, which made its leave in Brawl that much more painful. I remember finally catching Mewtwo myself in my copy of Heart Gold and training it up to level 100 just to wipe the floor with Red over and over. Mewtwo and I have shared a lot of bittersweet memories over the years, and even when other Pokemon (or Smash characters) caught my eye, I would always come back to Mewtwo. I will, however, give honorable mentions to Metagross, Dunsparce, Volcarona, and Quagsire - those guys are my homies.
Hope to see in the future:
Non-type-themed Gyms
I’ve challenged more Pokemon Gyms than I can count throughout my time with this series. While I think Pokemon is ripe for change in a variety of places, the one thing I’d like to see more than anything else is Gyms that aren’t themed around a specific type. Having Gyms be type-themed makes the act of taking on each Gym super boring and formulaic; if you know the Gym Leader’s only gonna have Grass-type Pokemon, just bring a Bug- or Fire-type in there to solo the whole Gym. At this point, we’ve seen so many Fighting Gyms and Rock Gyms and Bug Gyms that I just don’t wanna see them anymore. Show us a Gym themed around weather, or stat changes, or Double Battles. Maybe theme Gyms around concepts instead of types; if there was a Nature Gym, for instance, you could expect to find Grass-type Pokemon, Bug-type Pokemon, Rock- and Ground-type Pokemon, etc. Pokemon has actually dabbled in this sort of thing before: Tate & Liza’s Gym in Emerald, while filled entirely with Psychic-types, is also centered around Double Battles. Cress, Cilan, and Chili’s Gym in Black and White is themed around the three starter types and the Gym Leader you face is determined by your choice of starter. Raihan’s Gym in Sword and [Shield[/i], while officially branded as a Dragon-type Gym, is mainly based around weather, with Raihan himself only having two Dragon-types on his team. More stuff like this to add strategic and thematic variety to the Gyms rather than feeling like I’m fighting Brock for the fifth time would be appreciated.
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@TCT~Phantom
Favorite Game:
Pokemon Black 2 and Pokemon White 2
In terms of official games, Pokemon Black & White 2 are the peak of the series for me. One thing Pokemon had been doing for ages at this point was essentially releasing the ultimate version of these games. BW2 subverts this by giving a full sequel instead. Does it share plenty of DNA with the previous games? Sure, but the Unova region has changed substantially from your previous endeavors there.
There are many differences to the region both in terms of where you start and what areas you travel throughout the game, so you do not feel strictly like you are playing through “Black and White but better this time”. The entire early game is different from a BW playthrough.The regional changes alone are great, but they also tackle the story and Pokemon selection as well. Unova already is my pick for my overall favorite region in a Pokemon game, but the games get bonus points for showing off different areas between the games. Opelucid City is either this bustling growing metropolis or a slowly dying town rooted in tradition. Route 4 is either rapidly growing in infrastructure in Black 2 or the infrastructure is stalled and it is being overtaken by the sands in White 2. These tiny touches just give Unova so much life other regions don’t for me.
The original Black and White received a lot of praise for telling an engaging story, at least for a Pokemon game. I would be lying through my teeth if I said BW2’s story was on par with Black and White’s, but this certainly is a good follow up at least. Characters from the first game have their stories continued in interesting ways. Cheren and Bianca from the first games are now a Gym Leader and Pokemon Researcher respectively. Team Plasma has even gotten some major changes since N’s fall, having their outfits changed from chivalrous medieval outfits to more cold practical ones. All of these changes really show that we’re experiencing the next chapter of the Unova story and not just a story rehash with one or two differences.
The real cherry on top though is the post game. The Pokemon World Tournament is one of the best post game experiences out there for Pokemon. It is so satisfying to take down old gym leaders and champions again with competitive teams, having to plan out a team that can reasonably handle any bracket. You get to catch all of the Pokemon N used against you in BW. You can catch N’s Pokemon from Black and White and even have a super cool guaranteed shiny Haxorus if you see everything in the Unova Dex. And this is without touching on all the stellar bits from Black and White’s post game that carry over here.
Do I have gripes with the Generation V games? Sure. The moving sprites can sometimes look a little janky from behind, difficulty settings are locked behind versions and post game in BW2, and the gyms in Unova are very hit or miss. But I truly think that this is pound for pound the ultimate Pokemon experience.
Favorite Pokemon:
Lycanroc Dusk Form
This thing also is a blast to use in battle. It is a fantastic sweeper. Tough Claws is an amazing ability and it has the speed and power to abuse it. Its signature move Accelerock also lets it pick off faster targets with a priority Rock move. Sniping a Volcarona down despite it having a few quiver dances under its belt will never not be satisfying.
Hope to see in the future:
More Post Game Content
One of my biggest gripes with Sword and Shield upon release was its post game. Outside of a meager quest to get your Box Legendary, you only have the stock Pokemon quests to do. Sure there’s other activities like completing the Pokedex or taking on the Battle Tower, but these are not things exclusive to Pokemon Sword and Shield. I want more of a post game than what the original Ruby and Sapphire had.
One post-game option shown in other mainline Pokemon games is different battle facilities. The Battle Frontier is the most requested version of this, but I do not think it explicitly has to be that. Black/White 2 and Ultra Sun/Moon both made things work by adding an extra battle facility to their games. The Pokemon World Tournament and Battle Agency respectively do add a lot of replay value to both games. Both are quasi adaptations of previous battle facilities (the Battle Dome and Battle Factory respectively), but they just that extra facility offered more than Sword and Shield did in their base game. Imagine a Battle Facility with the Battle Tower variant, a tournament like the Pokemon World Tour, a Battle Factory replacement, the Battle Castle, the Battle Pyramid, the Battle Hall, and whatever new facilities they come up with! Sounds like a blast.
I also love to explore more of the game’s region after I beat the game. Platinum for instance has the Battle Zone, while the Gen V games have parts of Unova that are not available until you see the credits. Modern Pokemon however has had some issues with this, as Galar is essentially fully explored before you even challenge Leon while the Isle of Armor is able to be fully explored relatively quickly. The Crown Tundra was nice, but I would like for the vanilla games to offer something more in terms of exploration.
Finally, you have the parts of Pokemon not about battling. Things like Contests, the Pokeathalon, Pokestar Studios, or even Pokemon Musicals all add a little extra life into the Pokemon world that I miss. Features like these could be explored in the future, as it adds something refreshing to do beyond just battling and catching Pokemon.
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Zerp
Favorite Game:
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky
Figuring out which Pokémon game is the best would be a pretty difficult task. Luckily, deciding my personal favorite is a completely different story. Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky is easily my favorite Pokémon title, and one of my favorite games in general. There’s really a lot I love about this game! For starters, the game features an immensely likable cast of characters and a very memorable world. It’s got a good story with some genuinely brilliant moments. I’d also be crazy not to mention the soundtrack, it’s one of my absolute favorites! The soundtrack is so good, that it even makes the one part of the game I’d say has objectively dreadful design somewhat bearable (looking at you, Aegis Cave!). And, I adore the gameplay!
That last part might sound a little weird to some people. And I get it, Explorers of Sky tends to be one of those games that people either love or hate the gameplay of. Personally though, I’m in the camp that loves it for what it is. First thing you’ll notice is that you’re playing as a Pokémon instead of a trainer. Instead of getting a starter, you have yourself and a partner character. These two are who you’ll be working with for the first half of the game. Unlike the main series, until you’re done with the main story, you’ve got to work with them and can’t swap them out.
The next thing you’ll notice is traditional routes and encounters are gone. In their place, you’ve got a bunch of randomized dungeons. These dungeons force players to approach them very differently from anything in the main series. All the Pokémon are out at the same time and can move around the map, which brings about a lot of things. If you just run aimlessly without thinking you’ll quickly end up in a logistical nightmare. The kind where you’re either running low on items or say, surrounded from all sides fighting like six Pokémon at once. Quite frankly, I love the heavy emphasis on keeping track of things like hunger, your items, power points and where everybody is. It results in a unique Pokémon experience that isn’t truly replicated in the mainline games. Given that, it’s no wonder at all to me that Explorers of Sky has a dedicated modding scene despite being a spin-off. Again, not going to be everyone’s cup of tea, but if you like it, you’ll probably like it a lot. As for me, I really love it!
Favorite Pokémon:
Celebi
There’s a lot of Pokémon I really love, having to pick just one is hard. I love Togetic, Jigglypuff, Jirachi, Whimsicott, Shaymin, Togekiss, and the list goes on and on and on. But, all things considered, for my favorite I’d go with Celebi. Over the years I’ve noticed a lot of my favorites tend to be pretty similar to each other. I mean, for starters, most of my favorites are really cutesy. Celebi absolutely fits the bill there. Secondly, it’s become obvious that I have a massive bias for Pokémon that happen to have plant or fairy themes. And yeah, while Celebi isn’t a Fairy type, they definitely have both of those themes going on in their design. It’s pretty much a forest sprite, but with time travel powers on top of that. How could I not love that!?
The games are also a big factor in why Celebi’s my favorite. First things first, I really like their role in Explorers of Sky, so that helps a lot. I’m also fond of competitive singles, and while Celebi isn’t some superstar, they’re very useful in some metagames. They’re usable in Gens 3-5 OU to varying degrees of viability. And despite falling out of favor in OU for more modern generations, they’re absolutely relevant in lower tiers like Gen 7 UU or Gen 8 RU. I use Celebi pretty frequently, and I’ve had a ton of fun building teams around it.
Hope to see in the future:
Major changes to the release schedule
Honestly, I like a lot of what I’m seeing from Game Freak’s latest titles. Unfortunately, they’re also significantly lacking in polish and feel extremely rushed. The near-yearly release schedule doesn’t seem sustainable without major sacrifices, and that sucks. Put bluntly, I wouldn’t mind waiting much longer for the games to come out. I’m sure a lot of fans will be upset if the mainline games slow down, however, in the long term I think it’d be a good thing. I’m also certain The Pokémon Company could get a lot of spin-offs going if Game Freak isn’t releasing something for a year. So like, even if we’re missing out on a mainline title we could see some neat things like a Pokémon platform fighter or farming game.
Obviously though, there are reasons the schedule hasn’t slowed down significantly. Firstly, mainline Pokémon games make a lot of money. Secondly, Pokémon as a brand has a lot more going on than just the games. Pokémon gets a new generation going on every three or so years. Delaying a game is understandably harder when there’s a mountain of merchandise and an anime studio depending on said new generation to begin. So, from a pure business standpoint, I get it, I honestly do get why things are this way. That said, I do think that with careful planning, it’s possible for it to change. Is it realistic to expect this to change? Absolutely not, I think The Pokémon Company is happy with things the way they are. I’d just really like to see things change personally.
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@DanganZilla5
Favorite Game:
Pokemon Platinum
Even though my passion for Pokemon has waned in recent years due to burnout, there is one thing that will never change: the memories that I made with Platinum. This was the first Pokemon game I played and it made a lasting impression on me. For one, the locales were memorable and varied. Examples include the atmospheric chateau haunted by ghost Pokemon, Solaceon Ruins which is the home to the mysterious Unown, and of course the eerie and challenging Distortion World. I was also fascinated by the mythology of the legendary Pokemon. Their cameos throughout the game kept me intrigued and the first encounter with Giratina filled me with dread. All in all, exploring Sinnoh was a delight and uncovering its secrets made the region feel like a fully-realized location.
Another memorable aspect of Platinum were the gyms. Each one contained puzzles you had to solve to get to the gym leader. Not only were they fun, but it built up anticipation of the big fight coming up. While gyms in other Pokemon games follow the same formula, the fact that this was my first time experiencing them makes Platinum’s gyms stand out in my mind. They were also challenging. I remember having a tough time against Fantina due to the mistake of only sticking with my starter, Torterra, for a large portion of the game. Candice also posed a threat toward my team which was vulnerable to ice. But when I beat them the sense of accomplishment was amazing. And to top all of this off, the soundtrack is a banger. Platinum has a mix of peaceful, ominous and epic tunes and is very nostalgic to me. It also has the best gym leader fight music in the whole series in my opinion.
Overall, I could gush about Pokemon Platinum all day. It set the standard for what I expect out of a Pokemon game. While Pokemon Sun contains my favorite story and cast of characters in the entire series, as a whole no other Pokemon game has made a lasting impact on me as much as Platinum did.
Favorite Pokemon:
Snorlax
Despite each Pokemon game having a large selection of Pokemon to choose for your team, there was just one that I consistently wanted in my party: Snorlax. While choosing a single Pokemon out of hundreds is a herculean task, Snorlax stands out to me for multiple reasons. First, I’ve always enjoyed tanky characters in video games. Being able to dish out a ton of damage while withstanding a lot of abuse myself makes me feel powerful and Snorlax fits that bill perfectly. Also, they are a well-rounded fighter in terms of moveset. Not only does Snorlax learn devastating attacks like hyper beam, they can also learn moves from different types such as surf, blizzard, and thunderbolt thanks to HMs and TMs. This allows Snorlax to have the advantage over multiple types while only being weak against one type. To conclude, Snorlax fits my playstyle as a powerhouse and they always felt like a vital member of my parties.
Hope to see in the future:
Pokemon Warriors
For a while I’ve dreamed of what a Pokemon game would play like with the over the top gameplay of Dynasty Warriors. We already have Hyrule Warriors and Fire Emblem Warriors so it makes sense for another Nintendo property to get the Warriors treatment. Pokemon feels like the next best choice due to the wide range of characters. There are hundreds of potential Pokemon to make fighters out of and games like Pokken Tournament provide an example of how Pokemon can work in an action game. Imagine Blaziken using blaze kick to knock over a row of enemies, or Tauros charging into a group of Pokemon and sending them flying. Recent Warriors games have also added giant characters, so we could play as Groudon, for example, to create earthquakes and use eruption for a massive area of effect attack. There is so much potential with the movesets and as a fan of Pokemon and an avid Dynasty Warriors player, I’d be rushing to get Pokemon Warriors day one.
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We all hope you enjoyed this collaborative piece on the Pokemon series. Here's hoping we continue to see fun times ahead for the series.
Credits
Editing:
Sari
Thumbnail Graphic:
Zerp
Special Thanks: Serebii.net and Bulbapedia for most of the pictures used
Author's Note: What is YOUR favorite game and Pokemon in the series? Also, what would you like to see in the franchise's future? Let us know in the comments below!
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