My 5 Favourite Pokemon Games
Perhaps one of the most successful franchises in any media, Pokemon Red & Blue was first released 27th February 1996, just a couple of months after I was born. It wouldn’t be until the final month of 1999 that I would get my teeny hands on Pokemon Blue, which I still own to this day.
I absolutely LOVE Pokemon. Since Blue, I have played the vast majority of Pokemon games and own almost all of the main entries. The excitement I get whenever GAME FREAK announce a new Pokemon game has not changed since discovering that Pokemon Gold & Silver (the sequels) were coming out, whenever that was.
So, I wanted to celebrate my love for this franchise by talking about some of my favourite games in the series, which was very hard to do as my initial list just mentioned all of them!
I have managed to narrow it down to my favourite 5, as there are about 10 main entries anyway, give or take. As with other blogs that I have done, these are not in particular order or ranking, as I found it very difficult to think which one I prefer more, as each of them I love for various different reasons. There is one exception to that, which is my favourite Pokemon game, which I will mention last on this list.
1. Pokemon Soul Silver
Most people I know who I discuss Pokemon with often put this and the originals they are remastered versions of, as their personal favourites and I can understand why.
It is one of two proper Pokemon sequels for one thing, even though that is what a lot of people hate about Black & White 2.
Anyway, you are in the Johto region this time around, and the fate of the world is placed upon another eleven year old, who must tackle the remaining members and Admins of Team Rocket who try and get senpai — I mean, Leader Giovanni to notice them so they can resume their plan of taking over the world. That is only the main game though, as you are able to explore the Kanto region and fight the gym leaders of that region as well as Red, the silent protagonist of the previous games, once you defeat the Elite Four. To any Pokemon fan, that is a really cool feature that I would like implemented in other Pokemon games but I can understand why that may be difficult for various technical reasons as each main entry becomes bigger and bigger.
HGSS also has all the Pokemon that was made available at the time (Gen 4) and includes the features that were on Pokemon Crystal such as the Ruins of Alp and the ability to have rematches with the 16 Gym Leaders (8 per region). There was also the wonderful Pokéwalker, a pedometer shaped like a Poke Ball, that allowed you to dump a Pokemon in it. As you walked around, it would gain some levels. It could fight some Pokemon that were exclusive to the Pokéwalker (such as Spiritomb for example) that you could bring back into your own game. I think a Geodude of mine is trapped inside of it as the battery died…oops!
There were also some really cool new features that were implemented so players could get hold of the newer legendaries, such as Groudon, Kyogre and Rayquaza (depending on which versions you had) by obtaining the various orbs and finding them in a new (at the time) hidden cave. There was also this really creepy sequence that involves Arceus. I did not know about this until my final year of college and I thought it was a hack/mod of sorts, but apparently, it is real (see the video below), as well as the Celebi event that involves the backstory of your rival and Giovanni.
But my favourite feature, which I am glad they bought back for the Switch title, is the fact that the Pokemon at the front of your party can follow you around! Funny that with everything I have already mentioned, it is this one seemingly small detail that made me smile as I went on my journey across Johto and Kanto. It also means I have a good reason to buy a Switch soon…
2. Pokemon Pearl
Pokemon Pearl and Diamond came out (in Europe) in July 2007, which was the year I finished the worst six years of my life. As well as a load of personal family matters I dare not speak of, I was terribly bullied by both peers and teachers and didn’t really have anyone positive in my life, other than my family…well, the ones who weren’t complete shites.
At one point I was amazing with matches against other people in my class, back in the good ol’ days when you had to have a Link Cable or one of those ‘Wireless Adaptors’ (how many of you remember those?) but those matches didn’t happen very often and when they did, I would only be allowed one match with someone before they got all shitty with me because I was good at the game as they weren’t. I never gloated about my victories either, I just enjoyed connecting with people…when they weren’t bullying me that is. Then there was that phase in 2006 when Pokemon wasn’t cool anymore (in my primary school anyway) and that was something else I was teased for…
Roll forward to September 2007 and I have started my secondary school. I was frightened, lonely and had no self-esteem. I was incredibly shy and did not really speak much to these new kids (to begin with). I did, however, overhear a conversation about these new Pokemon games that were coming out on a Nintendo DS, whatever that was.
I did my research and was terribly excited by this new handheld and look for future Pokemon games, as well as the concept of the Touch Screen, which is still something that baffles me today.
For my birthday that year, I received a Limited Edition Silver DS (which I still own and probably still has some charge left in it) with the gamesNew Super Mario Bros. and Pokemon Pearl, as I preferred the look of Palkia on the box than I did Dialga on Pokemon Diamond. I can remember falling in love with its opening titles that still gives me little goosebumps to this day.
So I charged on through with the main game over the Christmas Holidays and I was somewhere in Pastoria City dicking about in the Safari Zone when the New Year arrived. A load of people in my year group also had DS Lites and almost all of them had Pokemon Diamond. The main differences between each Pokemon pair are the Pokemon available, which encourages people/friends to meet up and trade. For example, I can remember a load of people wanting me to capture a load of Bagons, Glameows and Slowpokes, because they were only available in Pokemon Pearl. I also was able to have battles with people who not only didn’t suck at Pokemon, but they didn’t pick on me because I won (or lost for that matter) From this, I felt more comfortable around my year group AND made some really good friends from them as well, which for a long time was great.
Alongside my academic improvements, Pokemon Pearl helped me gain confidence in myself, which seems totally daft to most people, but it is small things like that that can make a huge difference.
As for the game itself, I love everything new they (GAME FREAK) bought to the franchise, my personal favourite feature was the Global Trade Station (which would become the Global Terminal in HGSS), which was this cool-ass building found in Jubilife City. In newer titles, you can connect online with anyone at most points in the game to trade and battle with anyone across the world. Pearl, Diamond & Platinum did not have such abilities as but had a building for such features. This was when I first discovered a thing called ‘WiFi’ and realised how amazing the internet is. I could, for example, send up a Bidoof in the UK, ask for a Chatot and someone in Uzbekistan could send over theirs. It still amazes me, to be honest.
What helped me visualise this was the supporting website, which shut down a good 8 years ago. It allowed players to see trades all over the world and to view statistics relating to trades on the GTS, among several other features such as the ability to read information on the countries of the world and the most popular Pokémon traded per country. It also featured a daily “GTS Journal”, a printable newspaper article which reported an analysis on a Pokemon that had recently become prominent within the trading network in some way, as well as a comparison with a different Pokemon that has experienced similar success on the network. It also hosted small polls. At the start of a new month, a V.I.P. Pokémon would be chosen, specifically one that had been traded across the world most within the previous month.
To me, this was the tits! Especially so because it had music from the game…not on the game, but on a website! Sounds strange I know, but this blew my little head. I wish there were some videos of it on YouTube so I could show you, like how your grandad may show you ye olde pictures of yesteryear. Kids these days are very much use to wireless exchange, but I was a kid who had grown up with Link Cables and any form of multiplayer had to be with someone in the same room, and previous generations didn’t really have that This ‘wireless’ idea still amazes me which just furthers my argument that I am far, far older inside than I am actually (22 at the time of typing…Jesus Christ I am beginning to sound really old!).
3. Pokemon Ruby
The main reason why I love Pokemon Ruby (and then Emerald) is that I realised that I didn’t just like Pokemon, but I loved it. Up until then, I simply liked the original game and its sequel. Now, I felt I was a fan of the franchise proper. It had begun to mature (if only by a little) and so had I…sort of.
Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire did something with its story that no other main entry has yet to repeat, which is to have not one, but two evil factions. In Pokemon Ruby, it was Maxie’s Team Magma who wanted to use the powers of Groudon to rule the lands, whilst in Pokemon Sapphire, it was Archie’s Team Aqua who wish to conquer the seas with Kyogre.
The main entry Generation 3 Pokemon games introduced the Pokemon Contests, which I use to love when I was little. I can remember having a Muk, or some other hideous looking Pokemon that won the Master Cute contest. Even as a 10-year-old, I had a brilliant sense of humour. I also loved the ability to make your own Secret Bases, which fed my desires to have a tree house (I lacked a tree in my garden you see) and I have always loved to customise stuff I own in games.
The Hoenn region is home to my favourite Gym Leaders, Elite Four & Champion, as well as my favourite starter Pokemon, which is Torchic. I also really like the story and the music still gets me all excited, especially when either Maxie or Archie cock up and lose control of their respective Legendary and the weather and music changes, depending on which game you owned.
It is from this point onwards the games become more lore based, which at that point is what the franchise needed (in my opinion). That said, I am still looking forward to that day when there is a more mature/adult Pokemon game, but I can understand why that entry will probably never happen. I live in hope. And by ‘adult’, I don’t mean sexual, but a title that caters to their older audience, like me who have grown up with the franchise and are still being taught how to catch a Pokemon, even though we have been doing it for 20 years now!
I was never supposed to get Ruby. I wanted Sapphire as I initially wanted the ‘blue’ legendary and it was a mistake on my mother’s part, but I have grown to love Ruby and Groudon, who I will argue till the end of time that Groudon is a considerably more useful member in one’s party than Kyogre. Future games would feature these two legendaries, as post-game events and in all these cases Groudon would appear, which would remind me how great my original Groudon was. I find it really hard to pinpoint exactly why I love Generation 3 so much and as I read back this little section to proofread, it seems very scatter-gun in it’s writing, but I just loved that particular Generation growing up.
You can also imagine how I felt when it was announced that GAME FREAK was remaking Ruby and Sapphire on the 3DS. The revised storyline, the new mysterious Zinnia (her themes are pretty amazing in my opinion) who they definitely should have included more in the story, the newly introduced Mega Evolutions (that GAME FREAK sadly abandoned, for now at least) and they bought back the original Pokemon Contests and Secret Bases! I was also uberly ecstatic when I reached Episode Delta as GAME FREAK did something incredibly at its climax, which is something I will not spoil for you. Go and play for yourself!
4. Pokemon X
The only Pokemon game where I felt I chose the wrong one (I wish I got Pokemon Y), this was Generation 6, which had sod all new Pokemon in it which was rather odd to me at first, as Kalos (the region that these two games are set in) is one of the largest Pokemon maps and one of my favourite regions to explore in a Pokemon game, mainly because it was mainly designed for its rollerskating feature, which is so much fun!
Pokemon X was the main reason why I got a 2DS and I loved seeing my favourite Pokemon (as well as some new ones) in 3D at long last. I also loved being able to customise my trainer. I eventually ended up getting the most expensive clothes for this interpretation of me by the end of a good 200 hours. I had a lot of money to spare.
I feel this is the closest GAME FREAK will get to a mature Pokemon game (Black and White are pretty close to that as well I think), as I feel it is darker than the games that had come before it. This time, Team Flare want to start a brand new world, similar to the motives of Team Galatic’s Cyrus. Unlike Cyrus, Lysandre (Team Flare’s leader) is a more obvious psychopath. He wants to start the whole world again, which involves using the power of a certain legendary (depending on which game you bought, X or Y) and killing everyone with a 1000-year-old cannon (called the Ultimate Weapon) buried beneath Vaniville Town, which adds a whole new layer of deep lore. Right up until the very end, he is very calm about the whole thing. When he realises that he has lost it all, he just snaps (I feel I may have imagined that, but I am sure he lost it at some point). Cyrus and Lysandre are very similar characters, the former is depressed with it all and Lysandre hates it all. That is how I like to separate the two anyway. Sure, all of the Pokemon game villains are a bit loopy, but Lysandre and Lusamine (of Pokemon Sun and Moon) are the most deranged, in my opinion.
I have not felt so involved with a Pokemon story like this one, as I actually felt like something terrible was going to happen, which may sound daft as something terrible potentially does happen in each title. I thought the delivery of its climax was spot on, especially the ‘Red of Blue Button’ sequence.
I thought the map, world and characters of this title were far more engaging than previous titles and I, like many of the games’ fanbase, am very disappointed that a Pokemon Z never happened as, as we never got the same story with new lore about Zygarde, who got dumped in the Alola region for the promotion of Pokemon Sun and Moon, which is just wrong in my opinion as it felt very slapped on (in my opinion). Coincidently, their sequels are my least favourite in the franchise, with Sun and Moon not being too far off.
I also loved the introduction of the Mega Evolution as it added another level of tactics to battles. I just wish there was more of this region and more of these characters! Well, except for the Champion, Diantha…she was the easiest Champion to date and given most Champions usually have a prominent part in the story, I was incredibly disappointed with her character overall. She is definitely no Cynthia! Or Iris for that matter!
I love the music for this game as well, most notably the Pokemon League. It really fits its grand castle-like building…but much grander than the pathetically easy Elite Four…
5. Pokemon Battle Revolution
And last, but not at all least, my favourite Pokemon game to date! A spin-off title, exclusive to the Nintendo Wii. How many of you were expecting this?
I said at the beginning of this blog that I have played the vast majority of Pokemon games, which is not to say I got them all (see what I did there?). I never owned the home console games, with this one being the only exception.
Some of the reasons why I love this title most of all is connected with my love for Pokemon Pearl, most notably the technology. I cannot remember when I bought it, but I can remember seeing it on a shelf and was a bit sceptical that I was able to put my DS Pokemon team on the Wii, as I was expecting a special cable of sorts to connect the two up. Intrigued, I bought the game.
I can remember the look on my face when I went through the correct settings on Battle Revolution that allowed the two consoles to ‘speak’ to each other. I saw that a new option on the main menu on my Pokemon Pearl game was present. I chose that and there was the Pokemon Battle Revolution logo! With a few selections and a minute (if that) of waiting, all of my Pokemon Pearl Pokemon were on this new profile. I couldn’t believe my eyes! There was no WiFi present here, and I am still not sure whether this was standard DS Wireless Communications at work but that didn’t matter as MY Pokemon was on the TV! It was a mini dream come true at this point, and that was before I knew you could customise your trainer not only with cool outfits but you could actually type what phrases they say during, before and after battles. I can remember that this avatar of me wore a suit of sorts with a top hat and was a sarcastic badass…so not much different from the individual that is typing this blog ten years on from 😜. Combined with the voice-over guy from the anime accompanied me across my playthrough, I felt like I had my own series in the TV show, which was 120% better than any of Ash Ketchum’s adventures.
You could also connect up with a friend and use your DS’ as controllers as you fought each on the big screen. That was also loads of fun, as was the cool bouncy music that accompanied you across Pokétopia, the location that Pokemon Battle Revolution is set.
That is not to say that the game is perfect. When you boil it down, Pokemon Battle Revolution is basically The Battle Frontier reimagined on the Wii and that may seem, to some, a bit lazy. Being the Pokemon addict I am, that really doesn’t bother me, for the techy wizardry mentioned above with a pinch of nostalgia and childhood dreams being accomplished was far greater than any of its pitfalls. Sure, GAME FREAK will no doubt do something like this again on the Switch or some future console and when that happens, I am going to snort, inject and smoke every bit of it all. Pardon the drug references, but I did say I was an addict after all! 😉
As I stated earlier in this blog, narrowing this down to five Pokemon was a particular mammoth task, and I would like to talk more Pokemon sometime in the future.
What are your favourite Pokemon games? Do you have a favourite Pokemon, if so, what is it? What is your favourite generation of Pokemon? You looking forward to the new Switch titles?
Let’s start a conversation, people!
