Board 8 > Post Your Hot Takes Regarding Pokemon

(+) Yeah! (+)

Chespin line is the best starter line in its gen.

Best Pokemon game is New Pokemon Snap and it isn't close

Blue/Red is the only game in the main series really worth playing

Geodude is awesome and deserves to show up in every game

Trubbish is adorable

Black/White is the worst mainline game, and an outright bad game altogether.

Every Mystery Dungeon game is better than every other game in the series.
Yes that includes Gates to Infinity

Gold/Silver is the worst mainline game in the series

PLA Wild Battle theme is by FAR the best wild battle theme in the series.

Arceus was one of the most boring games in the series

Arbok evolves into Seviper

oh wait

Underleveled posted...

Black/White is the worst mainline game, and an outright bad game altogether.

ok maybe we can't be friends

(The only outright bad Pokemon games I've played are Channel and Moon.)

RSE is top 2 in terms of new Pokmon and Hoenn is the best region

Rockruff and Lycanroc suck

Fuck Ludicolo, what an annoying little bastard

Gen 2 is best, and Gen 3 is second best

Gen 3 is sub-par and the Too Much Water complaint was entirely valid

HG/SS aren't that great.

Gardevoir is kind of ugly.

Kenri posted...

Rockruff and Lycanroc suck

Also I'll fight you.

RBY are easily the worst games in the series and basically unplayable in 2023
GSC aren't very good either
SV are far and away the best mainline games and Arceus is better than all the other mainline games
Gen 5 has the best Pokemon. Gen 1 is pretty mid overall
SwSh are pretty good

MZero posted...

Gen 5 has the best Pokemon.

I find this a complicated discussion. I think Gen 5 probably has the best selection of fully evolved Pokemon. Like it's just a parade of winners. Samurott, Galvantula, Krookodile, Bisharp, Volcarona, and of course, Theman, and that's far from all of them. Just A+ after A+, they really did a good job there.

But it's also an incredibly bloated generation. There are a lot of unnecessary 3-stage lines and just outright unnecessary Pokemon. I think they wanted to make it the biggest gen ever so they added stuff that wasn't necessary. There are a lot there I not only don't give a shit about, I can't imagine anyone giving a shit about.

XIII_Rocks posted...

I find this a complicated discussion. I think Gen 5 probably has the best selection of fully evolved Pokemon. Like it's just a parade of winners. Samurott, Galvantula, Krookodile, Bisharp, Volcarona, and of course, Theman, and that's far from all of them. Just A+ after A+, they really did a good job there.

For me those are all pretty uninteresting Pokemon compared to the other gens. I might just be biased against Gen 5.

Gen V is indeed the best batch of games AND Pokemon, but over the years, that first part seems like it's become less and less of a hot take.

My other hot take is that Gen I is just middle of the road for Pokemon rosters. Firmly ahead of 2, 3, and 7, and battling it out with 6, 8, and 9 for 4th or 5th best generation.

5 > 4 > 6 > 1 > 8 > 9 > 7 > 3 > 2

Maybe.

Yeah

The second game in a console generation is always better (BW, SM and SV are better than DP, XY and SS respectively), but they just so clearly nailed BW in particular. It's also the last time the games carried some challenge, and the increase in the difficulty of trainers in BW's postgame was really welcome.

Do not care for Gardevoir or Lopunny.

Scarlet/Violet are awesome.

I really liked SV too, such a clear improvement on SwSh. I liked traversing the world and felt so rewarded for going in unspoiled on the new Pokemon. It helped that it was a good generation of Pokemon too.

The series peaked at Black and White 2.

Lillie is a great character

Most legendaries are bad both conceptually and design-wise and going beyond 5-6 in a generation is one of the biggest reasons for the bloated dex, people growing tired of newer designs, and unmanageable competitive power creep.

Banette has needed an evolution or a move coverage overhaul forever and all it got was a mega and some identity disorder with it (GIVE MY FAVORITE SOME LOVE, DAMNIT.)

X/Y was an irredeemable dumpster fire save for it blessing us with the Greninja line.

Black White 2 was the last great mainline Pokmon game

5 and 3 are the two best gens by a lot

Gen 1 and 2 arent very good. I can respect 1 for starting it all though

There hasnt been a great Pokmon game since Gold/Silver

swordz9 posted...

Black White 2 was the last great mainline Pokmon game

Would have agreed until Arceus, which I love to death

Echoing Hoenn is the best region and that New Pokemon Snap is easily the best Pokemon game.

Gen 2 has the best set of Pokemon. They also have the best set of legendaries by a significant margin.

Does PLA count as mainline? I havent played it since I wasnt sure Id be into it

Pokemon Go is dumb

Gen 7 has the best Pokemon designs

Cute Pokemon are better than cool ones.

Empoleon is lame and ruins Piplup

Oh yeah I have the hot take I said in the eshop thread

Pokemon Ranger is the best Pokemon spin off series
And I am tired of people caring so much about Mystery Dungeon instead
Because no matter how good the story and music are (and they are) their gameplay sucks so much ass

gen 1 still unmatched

swordz9 posted...

Does PLA count as mainline? I havent played it since I wasnt sure Id be into it

Not sure but given it added new Pokemon and was a direct prequel, I'd argue it is

KamikazePotato posted...

Gen 3 is sub-par and the Too Much Water complaint was entirely valid

Agree with this one.

Also, the Chikorita line is awesome and easily among the best starters overall.

Hot take: People don't clarify enough when they say a pokemon is "good" whether they mean design or battle viability and not enough people realize that when they debate

MZero posted...

RBY are easily the worst games in the series and basically unplayable in 2023

Yep.

I dunno if this constitutes a "hot take" but the reason I held out on Sword/Shield for so long - regional form-exclusive evolutions and Dexit bother my OCD.

Sun/Moon were good

cynthia is a mediocre champion and character