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Which games had the best story?

Leonhart

Imagineer
Black and White version had a fantastic storyline. I wasn't fond of most of the Pokemon designs in Gen V, but at the very least I can say that Black and White were enjoyable due to their plot.
 

SerGoldenhandtheJust

Deluded Dreamer
Honestly when it comes to SM vs USUM
SM definitely have the better story but USUM has the better conclusion imo, combine them and you get a perfect story
And also, as a game overall I prefer USUM. I mean holy heck that Necrozma fight was insane, the whole RR postgame plot felt like a dream come true, and the countless minigames were fun
It FELT Gamefreak went ALL out and maximised the 3DS capability as much as they can to deliver an insane game, and I hope the same happens with SV and the Switch
USUM is probably my second favourite pokemon game after Legends Arceus and tied with Platinum
 

mysticalglacia

Alola Shill
The second gen on a console really goes all out; 5 and 7 both proved this. Not just in the technical aspect but the story really shines through. Since there’s already a solid foundation they can focus on the world and narrative; I have high expectations for SV.
 

Ignition

We are so back Zygardebros
SM for me. Alola has the best thematic storytelling with themes of family, culture, generational change, and acceptance. You and the Aether family aren’t native to Alola yet end up being centered in the plot yet still accepted by the locals. The culture in general is extremely well executed with the Island Challenge. Characters like Guzma, Lillie, Gladion, and Hau are pressured to live up to their family’s reputation and despite dealing with it in different ways, all eventually learn to enjoy being themselves without feeling they have to satisfy anyone else. The Aether family in general was a near perfect story. There's other things like the boxart Legendary being with you for your entire journey, everyone having distinct relationships with each other, Kukui being the final boss, and a great ending showing how everyone's doing better for themselves. I could honestly write an essay on why I love this story. USUM kind of fumbles with this especially with the ending but I still like it (IMO USUM is the best 3D game as of now). PLA & BW are honorable mentions.
 

Divine Retribution

Conquistador de pan
PMD2 and it's not even close.

For main series games? Uh... I think Black/White came really close to being good, but I also think they would have been better if they didn't cop out by making Ghetsis be the one pulling the strings the entire time. The story pretends to tackle one of the most obvious issues in the series, but then pulls its punches at the last moment to spare the player from really having to consider whether or not they're fighting on the right side here. I think it would have been way better if that didn't happen, because then you'd have the one Pokemon game with a villainous team who's actually sort of right.

That being said, I honestly don't really consider the plot of any particular main series game to be all that strong.
 

MetaMantis

Offline until Ash vs Leon
Honestly when it comes to SM vs USUM
SM definitely have the better story but USUM has the better conclusion imo, combine them and you get a perfect story
And also, as a game overall I prefer USUM. I mean holy heck that Necrozma fight was insane, the whole RR postgame plot felt like a dream come true, and the countless minigames were fun
It FELT Gamefreak went ALL out and maximised the 3DS capability as much as they can to deliver an insane game, and I hope the same happens with SV and the Switch
USUM is probably my second favourite pokemon game after Legends Arceus and tied with Platinum
With U-Nec, I feel that thing has some sort of perfect AI, since it always knows what move to use against you.
 

Otto's

Well-Known Member
Explorers of Sky foes for my favorite for Pokémon games overall.

Mainline goes to SM. BW had the potential for a story, but the writers there had trouble with making N and Team Plasma overall had the slightest hint of a point; which is detrimental in a story that clearly attempts to have such a grey conflict and promises an outcome that would change the world (which doesn’t happens btw)
 

Ryker101

Well-Known Member
Gen 5 for sure. They pushed the story to a whole other level. It wasn’t just about being the champion, or defeating a particular trainer but proving a philosophy. At its core, is the idea of being a pokemon trainer ethical to begin with? Can humans and pokemon co-exist? This idea leads to the best villainous team and the ensuing conflict they bring resulting in interesting arcs for N, Alder, Cheren and even some gym leaders. I’m sure even some players might’ve second guessed themselves, ofc we know Ghetsis’ true intentions but N in particular had some merit to what he was saying imo. The fact that literally all the gym leaders had to band together at N’s castle, and you faced both N+Ghetsis after the league is just awesome to me. The sequels also followed up on this, exploring the ramifications and introducing fun characters like Hugh into the mix

Gen 7’s was pretty good too. I enjoyed more characters, like Guzma, Gladion, Lillie, Lusamine and even Hau and there is some great character development there. But you can’t top unova imo, it felt more personal and involved the player more
 

Otto's

Well-Known Member
At its core, is the idea of being a pokemon trainer ethical to begin with? Can humans and pokemon co-exist?This idea leads to the best villainous team
but N in particular had some merit to what he was saying imo
I have to digress. It's not that the idea is bad, it's that the series doesn’t gives any merit to what N is saying at all.

The game does anything but feature Team Plasma in a (rightfully) antagonistic side, even since it's very introduction about their whole thing they kept a creepy tune on it. It doesn’t helps that Team Plasma, in it's very first move for their cause, features the first time in the whole mainline games to directly show a human physically assaulting a Pokémon.

Like, whom is N fighting against, to being with? Nobody aside of the Team Plasma themselves in the entire Unova region appears to be anything close to a fraction of abusive they get to be. What point can you actually hold against the protagonist's truth/ideals?
 

Divine Retribution

Conquistador de pan
What point can you actually hold against the protagonist's truth/ideals?

Easy. Pokemon are sentient creatures (with some of them apparently being far more intelligent than humans), enslaving sentient creatures against their will and forcing them to dogfight is wrong. Even if you don't abuse them (besides forcing them to dogfight...). Even if "they don't mind it".
 

Autobot N

Well-Known Member
Honestly when it comes to SM vs USUM
SM definitely have the better story but USUM has the better conclusion imo, combine them and you get a perfect story
And also, as a game overall I prefer USUM. I mean holy heck that Necrozma fight was insane, the whole RR postgame plot felt like a dream come true, and the countless minigames were fun
It FELT Gamefreak went ALL out and maximised the 3DS capability as much as they can to deliver an insane game, and I hope the same happens with SV and the Switch
USUM is probably my second favourite pokemon game after Legends Arceus and tied with Platinum
I've been trying to come up with a headcanon where the game proceeds like USUM up until the Aether inflitration where Lusamine jebaits everyone and goes to the Ultra Deep Sea instead of helping the Recon Squad, then things proceed like SM until you get back from there (aside from fighting Hapu) then Necrozma shows up and the rest of it plays out like USUM. I haven't figured out all the little details though
 

jaden767

Amphetamine
From the core games Black/White had my favorite story because of N's character arc. Platinum's story was good too because I loved the inclusion of the Distortion World.

From the spin-offs I think Explorers of Sky had the best story.
 

Otto's

Well-Known Member
Pokemon are sentient creatures (with some of them apparently being far more intelligent than humans), enslaving sentient creatures against their will and forcing them to dogfight is wrong.
Your dilema is answered by bold and the reason why italic is a bad analogy. Pokémon aren’t animals, they have an agency which you are undervaluing. Pokémon are predisposed to appear in front humans to lend them their help as well as the same will as their trainers to get stronger, and that's why they work together in order to reach each other highest; which is why traveling and fighting with Pokémon strengths the relationship between them.
 

Ryker101

Well-Known Member
I have to digress. It's not that the idea is bad, it's that the series doesn’t gives any merit to what N is saying at all.

The game does anything but feature Team Plasma in a (rightfully) antagonistic side, even since it's very introduction about their whole thing they kept a creepy tune on it. It doesn’t helps that Team Plasma, in it's very first move for their cause, features the first time in the whole mainline games to directly show a human physically assaulting a Pokémon.

Like, whom is N fighting against, to being with? Nobody aside of the Team Plasma themselves in the entire Unova region appears to be anything close to a fraction of abusive they get to be. What point can you actually hold against the protagonist's truth/ideals?
I think team plasma are meant to be hypocritical on purpose, as Ghetsis was just using N’s ideals to further his own plans. He and a fair amount of grunts don’t actually care about N’s philosophy, but just use it as a shield to deflect criticism. But we see this divide in the sequels, like when some genuinely believe in what he’s saying and try to reform whilst the rest basically become terrorists. Like those grunts were always bad, they just quit trying to hide it
 

Palamon

Silence is Purple
Highest quality story would have to generation five as a whole. Had a pretty good story going on. But, Platinum had a great one, as well.

While Generation 7 was handholdy, I actually really liked US/UM's plot much more than S/M.

Also, I'm one of the odd ones out, but I actually liked Generation 8's story and lore with the legendaries. Until...the predictable twist with Chairman Rose, I thought the story was one of the more interesting ones. Especially since we had some great character development. The themes of family were pretty strong in this, too, so I'm a weird one, I guess, for thinking SW/SH had a good story. (Until the Chairman Rose stuff). Also thought the DLC had an interesting set of stories, too.
 

Sakuyamon

Well-Known Member
The original Black and White had the best story mostly due to N and Team Plasma. Black 2 and White 2 were disappointing though because the story turned Team Plasma into a shell of their former selves and N only showed up towards the end.
 
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