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Are the pokemon generations getting worse as they go along?

Victreebong

Gives 'em the slip..
Gen V's story is the only game to have a legitimate story aside from some megalithic corporation trying to take over the Pokeworlds. Maybe VI will continue down this path if they TELL US MORE ABOUT THE LEGENDARIES AND AZ!!! (Seriously, why were any of these even in X and Y?) Although, I did like the Distortion World and Cyrus's plight against humanity in Platinum!

Regarding the topic of "have the games been getting worse?", just watching TwitchPlaysPokemon clearly reminds us of just how far we've come! Did anybody witness the disaster at the Pokémon Tower when Bird Jesus tried to take on all the Gastlys?! That would have never happened nowadays in Pokémon. The mechanics have really been fleshed out over the past 16 years. And the graphics, stories, characters, nearly everything has only been expanded upon. The only thing that's really changed is the novelty with the fan base. And to the Genwunners out there I say this; go watch Survivor or something!
 

Ohshi

Banned from Club Penguin
Gen VI didn't even introduce 100 Pokemon (including Mega Evolutions!)

It seems the Gens react to each other. Gen II is a direct sequel and introduced several evolutions that link with Gen I. Gen III tried to be different as it introduced even more Pokémon than Gen II and only has 2 evolution ties. But Gen III ended up having complaints because it was all new stuff and no old (not to mention fall of Pokemania, lack of old regions in the game when compared to Gen II, Misty's leave from the anime, trading disconnect from Gen I and II, and you literally couldn't "Catch them all" (not until introduction of FR/LG and Colloseum/XD)).

Gen IV's reaction was to close up loose ties. There is a considerable amount of evolutions of old Pokémon and the introduction of HG/SS really made the Pokémon timeline more coherent with Gen I+III > Gen II+IV. But still, I think people complained about these new evolutions as some considered them unnecessary or even ugly and maybe Pokémon has lost its way.

Gen V was supposed to mimic Gen I. Gen I obviously only had new Pokémon with no connections with a previous Gen and its game only consisted of said Pokémon (Gen I only had Gen I Pokémon (duh), while Gen II had Gen I+II, and Gen III (as a whole) had Gen I+II+III). That explains why Gen V's B/W pretty much only had Gen V Pokémon in beginning of the game and there were many of them so it became the Gen that introduced the most Pokémon. Obviously people complained so B2/W2 made it more varied. But if you look at just Gen V's Pokémon, the parallels are crazy with Gen I's Pokemon (Machamp/Conkeldurr, Golem/Gigalith, Hitmonchan+lee/Sawk+Throh, Electrode/Amoongus, Tauros/Buffoulant, and etc.)

In the end, people still complained about Gen V overall despite B2/W2's variety redemption. So Gen VI reacted to that again. They made a smaller number of Pokémon since many people were overwhelmed with the huge number of Gen V. Also, they still wanted to have that nostalgic feel that Gen V apparently failed at, so what could be better than letting you have the original starters again and Mega-Evolutions of old favorites (Hence their choice in picking who gets a mega or not. It was based on popularity, not who really needed/deserved it (Nintendo didn't care about balance/tiers))! Additionally, they really wanted to make up for B/W's lack of variety so thus X/Y have the most variety of Pokémon by far.

Some Pokemon in gen V don't even seem Pokemon-style!

Gens I-IV were supposed to be based off of Japan. But Gen V needed to be in a different style because Gen V was actually situated somewhere new, in a place based off of New York. Thus, they had to even get a different Pokémon designer. Thus, this was also another factor that people complained about Gen V. It also didn't help that Gen V had inanimate object Pokémon that people seemed to hate such as Trubbish and Vanilluxe. But ironically, to keep true to Gen V being parallel to Gen I, these object Pokémon were created because Gen I also had inanimate object Pokémon such as Electrode and Muk, and people seem to forget this the most.
 
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Blaze The Movie Fan

Reviewer and PokéFan
Gens I-IV were supposed to be based off of Japan. But Gen V needed to be in a different style because Gen V was actually situated somewhere new, in a place based off of New York. Thus, they had to even get a different Pokémon designer. Thus, this was also another factor that people complained about Gen V. It also didn't help that Gen V had inanimate object Pokémon that people seemed to hate such as Trubbish and Vanilluxe. But ironically, to keep true to Gen V being parallel to Gen I, these object Pokémon were created because Gen I also had inanimate object Pokémon such as Electrode and Muk, and people seem to forget this the most.

I think complaining about Pokémon based on inanimate objects is stupid to begin with.

I mean yeah, they look silly, but that's no reason to say that they're bad. And I would gladly say that Vanilluxe is a scary ice cream you don't wanna mess with, and that is a good thing since Pokémon are supposed to be scary.

As for Garbodor, I can't defend that one as I think it's the ugliest Pokémon ever.

And for the record Pokémon based on inanimate objects is way more creative than making Pokémon based on dogs, cats and butterflies over and over again.
 

Hexin' Wishes

Diva Extraordinaire
Not every Pokémon is made to be "cute", don't you guys remember the survey they ask? The options for "What type of Pokémon you like" were either cute, weird, cool or something else I forgot.
 

Ohshi

Banned from Club Penguin
As for Garbodor, I can't defend that one as I think it's the ugliest Pokémon ever.

Well, it's supposed to be "ugly" since it's literally a garbage Pokémon. But personally I like how derpy it looks (Trubbish is cute tho).

And for the record Pokémon based on inanimate objects is way more creative than making Pokémon based on dogs, cats and butterflies over and over again.

Thank you, exactly. It's not that GameFreak is "running out of ideas" or anything because they can easily do what you said. And besides how is Ice Cream and Garbage running out of ideas? Did anybody else think they could be possible Pokémon? I find them some of the most creative ones ever because I'm pretty sure no one ever thought such things could be Pokémon.
 

ShiningKnightXY

<----Newest Shiny
It seems the Gens react to each other. Gen II is a direct sequel and introduced several evolutions that link with Gen I. Gen III tried to be different as it introduced even more Pokémon than Gen II and only has 2 evolution ties. But Gen III ended up having complaints because it was all new stuff and no old (not to mention fall of Pokemania, lack of old regions in the game when compared to Gen II, Misty's leave from the anime, trading disconnect from Gen I and II, and you literally couldn't "Catch them all" (not until introduction of FR/LG and Colloseum/XD)).

Gen IV's reaction was to close up loose ties. There is a considerable amount of evolutions of old Pokémon and the introduction of HG/SS really made the Pokémon timeline more coherent with Gen I+III > Gen II+IV. But still, I think people complained about these new evolutions as some considered them unnecessary or even ugly and maybe Pokémon has lost its way.

Gen V was supposed to mimic Gen I. Gen I obviously only had new Pokémon with no connections with a previous Gen and its game only consisted of said Pokémon (Gen I only had Gen I Pokémon (duh), while Gen II had Gen I+II, and Gen III (as a whole) had Gen I+II+III). That explains why Gen V's B/W pretty much only had Gen V Pokémon in beginning of the game and there were many of them so it became the Gen that introduced the most Pokémon. Obviously people complained so B2/W2 made it more varied. But if you look at just Gen V's Pokémon, the parallels are crazy with Gen I's Pokemon (Machamp/Conkeldurr, Golem/Gigalith, Hitmonchan+lee/Sawk+Throh, Electrode/Amoongus, Tauros/Buffoulant, and etc.)

In the end, people still complained about Gen V overall despite B2/W2's variety redemption. So Gen VI reacted to that again. They made the a smaller number of Pokémon since many people were overwhelmed with the huge number of Gen V. Also, they still wanted to have that nostalgic feel that Gen V apparently failed at, so what could be better than not just letting you have the original starters again and Mega-Evolutions of old favorites (Hence their choice in picking who gets a mega or not. It was based on popularity, not who really needed/deserved it (Nintendo didn't care about balance/tiers))! Additionally, they really wanted to make up for B/W's lack of variety so thus X/Y have the most variety of Pokémon by far.



Gens I-IV were supposed to be based off of Japan. But Gen V needed to be in a different style because Gen V was actually situated somewhere new, in a place based off of New York. Thus, they had to even get a different Pokémon designer. Thus, this was also another factor that people complained about Gen V. It also didn't help that Gen V had inanimate object Pokémon that people seemed to hate such as Trubbish and Vanilluxe. But ironically, to keep true to Gen V being parallel to Gen I, these object Pokémon were created because Gen I also had inanimate object Pokémon such as Electrode and Muk, and people seem to forget this the most.

This right here sums up all of the things I have ever wanted to point out, and for that I give you a thumbs up, but seriously you can't ignore all of the complaints between gens V and VI. Gen V had too much new Pokemon, while Gen VI had too little. I really think this is the point where I fear being criticized, but we as fans can't just complain about the amount of Pokemon they add in. I personally love when a lot of new pokemon are added because that can greatly change the competitive field.
 
- A lot more post game activities, it'd be great for two regions in a game again.

- Bring back the Elite 4 level increase after each time you beat them, they were very disappointing in gen 6.

- Let your Pokemon walk behind you again like HG/SS. A small touch but a nice one, I really don't get why they took it out at all, I've never known someone who didn't think it was cool.

- Like a few others have said, eliminate HM's. Make surf a TM and scrap the others completely. A flying type should be able to fly on it's own in the over world without having to learn a specific move, same for water Pokemon swimming and so on.

- Bring back a more healthy rivalry, it's fine having pals on the game, but I feel it leaves something missing when you don't have a Gary Oak mold of jerk testing you along the way.

- While the Looker side-quest was fun, there needed to be more to do after that. But then again, these were the first two games of a new generation, there's usually not much of a post-game in the first games.

- Yes, I agree. I like going back to challenge the E4 when they've gotten stronger. I was disappointed that they didn't do that this generation.

- They need to bring this back. I also don't know why they only had it in HG/SS, and not gens four or five.

- I'm not the only one who thinks HM move should get this treatment in a future installment. I agree with this.

- This. I want my main rival to be like in gens one and two: a huge condescending jerk. That way it feels so satisfying after you beat them.
 
I really don't hate any mainstream Pokémon game. They're all good in there own way.

The only generation I disliked a little was gen 3... THE MAP SUCKED!
 

Nyarlathotep

Eldritch Abomination
Not really. Yeah, Gen 6 is pretty disappointing so far, but Gen 4 was amazing (Platinum still the best Pokémon game IMO and the remakes were great) and Gen 5 was lovely. IMO Gens 1, 4 and 5 were the best ones, with 2 being decent and 3 being quite mediocre. 6 is the worst generation so far, but that might change with the "third version" or remakes (I only say that, because if not by Platinum, I wouldn't really like Gen 4 that much. Diamond & Pearl were a mess in various aspects).
 

Swagmander

Well-Known Member
Depends what you mean by "worse". I think at the start of each gen they put out a game that is better than the last game of the last gen in some respects, but weaker in others. This debate always seems to trail off to the Pokemon themselves, but it's really much deeper, involving gameplay experience and the like. Each gen's metagame changes slightly, with a steady power creep for each generation's Pokemon. I personally liked Gen V the best, it epitomized the 2D Pokemon gameplay and I loved the animated sprites.
 

Golden_Latias

#SlayQueenSlay
6 is the worst generation so far, but that might change with the "third version" or remakes (I only say that, because if not by Platinum, I wouldn't really like Gen 4 that much. Diamond & Pearl were a mess in various aspects).
You know, that's something that really bothers me about Gens III and IV. They're too dependent on the "third version," and not everyone has played the "third version." Without Emerald, Gen III is garbage. Without Platinum, Gen IV is garbage. Without B/W2, Gen V is not garbage, though some may disagree. I mean, how many people do you see say they like Ruby or Sapphire more than Emerald or Diamond and Pearl more than Platinum?

Exactly. On the other hand, though it's not popular opinion, I have seen people say they prefer B/W over B/W2, and I can understand why they would think that, especially if they consider story important to video games.

In retrospect, that might be why Gens III and IV are my least favorite: I never played Emerald or Platinum. My entire opinion on those two generations are based on the games I have played (Sapphire, LG, Pearl, and SS). But I shouldn't have to in order to like those generations. The first two games should be able to be good by themselves, and I feel like that's where Gens III and IV failed.
 

TheEliteEmpoleon

Well-Known Member
They get better with each game and generation. There is rarely anything that doesn't improve with each game, and I only see them getting better still!
 

Emperor Empoleon

Honor of Kalos
Without Emerald, Gen III is garbage.
Without Platinum, Gen IV is garbage.

FRLG/HGSS tho :<

But I mostly agree with the point.

Platinum & Emerald are great, but each of them is a slightly expanded re-release of their initial pair. The main adventures are largely the same as RS/DP, but with a few tweaks to the story, and the Battle Frontier area that comes with your post-game. Oh, and Platinum gives us the other chunk of Pokemon that went missing in DP for some reason..

The fact that we've moved beyond that is another reason why I'd say that they're making progress overall.

In BW2 they decided to continue the story of the region and its characters, expand upon the map for more locations, populate Unova with more Pokemon, and give us the usual Gym Leader rematches/Move Tutors/Battle Facility inclusion. Along with a few other enhancements, like polishing the Entralink/Black City/White Forest so that they can be more useful in single-player, or introducing the Medal system.
 
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Bolt the Cat

Bringing the Thunder
Without B/W2, Gen V is not garbage

Nah, Gen V is garbage even with BW2. :p.

Okay, but seriously, every third version have some sort of enhancement, so it's not really fair to throw the game out. It's better to compare each first game within a generation, and then each third version, that gives you a better idea of how each generation stacks up.
 

Hexin' Wishes

Diva Extraordinaire
I have to agree with Golden_Latias. The third version fleshed out the mythos so much better than the original paired versions of the core games for III and IV. I was shocked to find that the general consensus is that the third version "didn't count" canonically because, IMHO, the third version seems like the definitive version.

And BW were fine as standalone games. While B2W2 were good, they weren't great and I'd even call them a bit of a mediocre sequel (improvements aside). In saying that, they certainly elevate V in my eyes because it was not simply the same thing over again, it was a new adventure in the same place fleshing out the rest of the mythos (though a bit clunky considering the original box legendary was completely not in the region at all).
 

randomspot555

Well-Known Member
I have to agree with Golden_Latias. The third version fleshed out the mythos so much better than the original paired versions of the core games for III and IV. I was shocked to find that the general consensus is that the third version "didn't count" canonically because, IMHO, the third version seems like the definitive version.

As far as I'm concerned, the third version is the canonical version of what happened. For the most part, the differences between it and the initial pair are too minor to really care all that much about.
 

Hexin' Wishes

Diva Extraordinaire
As far as I'm concerned, the third version is the canonical version of what happened. For the most part, the differences between it and the initial pair are too minor to really care all that much about.

I don't know about that. Plot-wise, it fleshes the story of the game out and has it make better sense in terms of the mythos.
 

randomspot555

Well-Known Member
I don't know about that. Plot-wise, it fleshes the story of the game out and has it make better sense in terms of the mythos.

For the most part, the stuff that fleshes out the plot flat out isn't there in the previous game. Cyurs' speech to Team Galactic in the HQ in Plat, for example, didn't happen in DP.
 
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