Which Games Have Your Favourite...

[Psychic]

With the Pokémon franchise approaching its 20th anniversary, I thought it would be fun to do a little retrospective and ask what members love about each of the games. I’ve put together a short list, but feel free to add any that you can think of!

So to get the ball rolling, which games had your favourite:

[B]Pokémon:[/B]
[B]Starters:[/B]
[B]Legendaries:[/B]
[B]Region:[/B]
[B]Protagonists:[/B]
[B]Rival:[/B]
[B]Professor:[/B]
[B]Gym Leaders:[/B]
[B]Elite Four:[/B]
[B]Champion:[/B]
[B]Evil Team/s:[/B]
[B]Plot:[/B]
[B]Music:[/B]
[B]New/Improved Mechanic:[/B]

Spoiler: My answers

Pokémon: Ruby/Sapphire - despite having started with Yellow and not actually playing a gen 3 main game until long after it had come out, I’ve always really loved the Hoenn Pokemon designs. Grovyle, Blaziken, Electrike, Breloom, Flygon, Zangoose and the Latis are some of my favourites

Starters: Ruby/Sapphire - see above, with Red/Blue and X/Y coming in second

Legendaries: Red/Blue - Mewtwo and Mew will always be my top favourite Pokemon, with a fascinating backstory, cool designs and epic abilities

Region: Johto - I think I’ve spent the most amount of time in Johto of any region. I love the lore, the cities, and the overall feel of the region

Protagonists: Colosseum - Wes is definitely the coolest protagonist, and his starters are unique and really darn rad

Rival: Smell ya later!

Professor: X/Y or Red/Blue - Syncamore is lovely and Oak is unforgettable

Gym Leaders: Red/Blue - an intense psychic and secret crime boss will always have my vote

Elite Four: Black/White - Caitlin has become one of my favourite characters, but I also love that one of the Unova E4 is a writer

Champion: Gold/Silver - Lance has always been my favourite, both because of his design and because he helps you out at the Lake of Rage

Evil Team/s: Colosseum - the while Cipher/Snagem thing and the success of Shadow Pokemon is way too cool

Plot: HG/SS - the story with Eusine and the legendary beasts, and Team Rocket’s revival, is really memorable to me, and I like how they built on G/S/C and added stuff like the Kimono girls

Music: Colosseum - if only because of Miror B’s theme!

New/Improved Mechanic: HG/SS or X/Y - I loved having Pokemon follow you in-game and via the Pokewalker, but X/Y’s Pokemon Amie and Wonder Trade are also great

Happy posting!
~Psychic

 

[Auraninja]

Pokémon: X and Y- Greninja

Starters: X and Y- It has Greninja

Legendaries:Ruby and Sapphire- Rayquaza and Deoxys

Region:Ruby and Sapphire- No place like Hoenn

Protagonists:Ruby and Sapphire- Brendan and May

Rival:Gold and Silver- He has a well developing character

Professor:X and Y- Froakie and a Kanto starter

Gym Leaders: Gold and Silver- Gym leaders like Jasmine and Janine

Elite Four:Gold and Silver- Will and Karen especially

Champion:Ruby and Sapphire- Steven is awesome

Evil Team/s:Ruby and Sapphire- It was interesting how they despise the other team *shrug*

Plot:Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire- It was a ruse.

Music:Ruby and Sapphire- Mainly the overworld themes

New/Improved Mechanic: Gold and Silver- I appreciate the Special Split

 

[Grey Wind]

Pokémon: Definitely Ruby and Sapphire. Sceptile is my all time favourite and I also love Gardevoir, Aggron, Salamence, Torkoal, Glalie, Metagross and a bunch of others I forget.

Starters: RS again, though DP are a close second.

Legendaries: I don't think any really stand out. Mewtwo, Kyogre, Darkrai and Zekrom are my favourite legendaries and they're all from different generations. DP had a lot of mythology going on, though, so I'll go with those.

Region: RS and DP (can you guess my favourite games?). Hoenn and Sinnoh are both large, non-linear regions with lots of pretty interesting places (Hoenn in particular - gotta love Fortree and Pacifidlog). None of the other regions can hold a candle to them IMO.

Protagonists: Prooobably GS or BW? I don't know, I like most of the protag designs.

Rival: Has to be Silver, although I like Gary, Barry and Hugh as well.

Professor: RB. Oak is probably the most memorable professor, but Rowan and Sycamore are both pretty cool too.

Gym Leaders: Gonna go with BW because they gave them all pretty cool roles in the story.

Elite Four: None of the E4 really stand out tbh, but I'm gonna go with XY because I like their designs.

Champion: RS and DP. Steven is awesome and Cynthia was always a challenge.

Evil Team/s: Even if they're kind of dumb I love Team Aqua, especially in Alpha Sapphire.

Plot: Definitely BW. Well developed characters, a tangible goal for the evil team, and gym leaders that actually have roles in the story. DP did pretty well too, though.

Music: Gonna go with RS because of nostalgia, but BW had pretty good music too.

New/Improved Mechanic: Hmm... BW2's repel prompt was life-changing, but the Dex Nav in ORAS kept me interested in the game for ages, so I'm gonna go with that.

 

[Requiem Aeternam]

Pokemon: I have to say DPPt. Weavile is my absolute fave Pokemon and Lucario is a close second. I love their designs and always have a Weavile on my ingame teams.

Starters: Kanto. Again based on one of my favourite Pokemon, Blastoise. Venusaur was also one of my second ever legitimate shiny Pokemon which I got randomly on my FireRed. Still have him and love him to pieces. Charizard I'm not too fond of anymore though.

Legendaries: I'm not really a fan of legendary Pokemon at all but if I had to pick I'd say Johto for Suicune.

Region: Hoenn. Emerald was my fave Pokemon game and I loved exploring all the hidden areas like the ruins you use to unlock the Regi trio.

Protagonist: Colosseum for the same reason as Psychic. Didn't like Rui though.

Rival: Blue. He was such a jerk it made beating him satisfying each time. The nice rivals just aren't fun to face.

Professor: I like Sycamore personally. Professor Oak is a close second.

Gym Leaders: Hoenn. I found them the most challenging on my first ever play of Ruby. They're also the only ones to offer double battles as opposed to single battles. Wallace is also my fave out of all the Gym Leaders.

Elite Four: Hoenn again for the same reason as the Gym Leaders. Easily the hardest challenge I've faced in any play through.

Champion: Cynthia. She had the best team and was a great way to end the DPPt games. Still prefer Wallace as a character but I chose Sceptile as my starter in Emerald and his team didn't last too long.

Evil Team/s: Team Galactic. Best music, goofy designs, and the best plot to take over the world. The anime's portrayal of them was awesome too. And Saturn is one of my fave characters.

Plot: I'm not sure what my fave is. Probably the part in Platinum with the Distirtion World.

Music: I like all the music so I don't really have a favourite. The Galactic Commander music, both of Miror B's themes, theXD Cipher Admin and Greevil's theme, and Zinnia's themes are probably my faves.

New/Improved Mechanics: If it counts, Emerald's Battle Frontier. Absolutely loved the challenges and was heartbroken when it didn't appear in ORAS. All those hints are cruel. Found a shiny Volbeat in the Battle Factory, a shiny Seaking in the Tower and my cousin found a shiny Lileep in the Pyramid so I have some good/bad shiny luck there too.

 

[SailorMiley]

Pokémon:DPPt because they introduced a lot of new evolutions and pre-evolutions. Porygon, my favorite Pokemon, got the third stage it deserved. Gallade, Mismagius, Honchkrow, Roserade, Froslass... Just a few Pokemon that gave their pre-evolved forms more justice. Gardevoir is just as nice as Gallade, but I liked the direction of a physical and special split for Ralts and Kirlia.
Starters: Hoenn. Blaziken is forever the original Fire/Fighting type. It was the first Pokemon I ever go to Level 100. (Back in Emerald). Who doesn't like Mudkipz?
Legendaries: Black and White 2. Splicing LEGENDARIES and Meloetta.
Region: Johto. I grew up playing Silver a lot, and it's basically my home region.
Protagonists: Platinum. Growing up in a place with a lot of snow, it really felt like home seeing them in coats and scarves.
Rival: Wally. No explanation why, he's just always been my favorite. Barry is my second favorite.
Professor: Sycamore 10/10 would bang
Gym Leaders: DPPt had more coverage on types, but my favorite is Emerald. Juan, you are definitely missed.
Elite Four: RSE ORAS. Best type coverage this late in the game, and Drake gives justice for Dragon types.
Champion: Cynthia. HOLY CRAP SHE'S HARD TO BEAT THE WHEN YOU FIRST PLAY IT.
Evil Team/s: Team Galactic from DPPt. Cyrus wants to destroy the universe and he doesn't even care. Damn.
Plot: Emerald. Trying to save the world from either too much land or too much water. EPIC RAYQUAZA ENTERANCE
Music: RSE. Trumpets.
New/Improved Mechanic: Emerald's Battle Frontier was one of the best mechanics that will truly be missed, but that special/physical split in DPPt... That was the greatest change.

 

[Tepig Pignite Emboar 969]

Sorry if I didn't do this the right way but,

Pokemon: Black/White. These were the games that introduced my favorite pokemon line, the Tepig line. I have liked them ever since, and I will always like them. I thought they also had cool designs and I was glad when I played as Tepig in the last two Mystery Dungeon games.

Starters: The Unova Starters. See above.

Legendaries: To be honest, I don't really have a favorite legendary Pokemon.


Region: Unova. Not only because my favorite pokemon line was from Unova, but Unova is also based off New York City, the first time a region is based off a city in the United States of America.

Protagonist: I don't know If this even counts, but each main protagonist from each of the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon games. It is because I love the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon games so much, and I like that you play as Pokemon.

Rival: Serena. She is my favorite not because she is a rival, but because I like her in the anime, just because she chose a fire starter pokemon, and I like her design. Followed by May a close 2nd because of the same reason. Yeah, it is a silly reason, I'll admit, but still.

Professor: I don't really have a favorite professor either.

Gym Leaders: The Hoenn gym leaders just because I think the gym leader music is awesome. Followed by the Kalos ones a close 2nd because of the same thing.

Elite Four: The Kalos elite four once again for the music. I thought the Kalos elite four music was the best elite four music.

Champion: Diantha. I like her design and the music that plays when you fight her of course.

Evil Team: Team Plasma. I like Team Rocket, but Team Plasma is my favorite Evil team, because I like the way they were portrayed in the games. They are the reason why the plot in Black and White was so great. Plus I liked the way they looked in Black 2 and White 2.

Plot: Black and White. See above.

Music: Every Mystery Dungeon game. I loved the music so much. Every single track was awesome.

New/Improved Mechanic: The Jump to 3D. The new 3D games makes them look more real, and I like that Gamefreak/ Nintendo/The Pokemon Company did this.

 

[Hasty]

Pokémon: I love many Pokemon, but I guess the most of my favorites come from Red/Green/Blue.
Starters: R/G/B, Squirtle and Bulbasaur are some of my favorite starters.
Legendaries: My favorites are scattered over all games, but I'll go with Johto because I love the Japanese-style places that are relevant to its Legendaries.
Region: Johto and Kalos. They're beautiful.
Protagonists: Calem and Serena. I like that you can customize them.
Rival: Silver. Loving his development.
Professor: Sycamore (I love his music theme :d)
Gym Leaders: Can't decide.
Elite Four: Kanto, Johto, Kalos. I like their designs the most, I guess.
Champion: Diantha is pretty cool, though she doesn't do much. So, Kalos.
Evil Team/s: Team Aqua in Alpha Sapphire.
Plot: AS and BW, I guess.
Music: They're all great. I'll go with XY, it has really cool music like the PokeBall Factory theme, AZ's theme, Snowbelle City theme, Anistar City theme and more.
New/Improved Mechanic: Shiny Pokemon, introduced in Gold/Silver.

 

[SlowPokeBroKing]

I went with generations instead of specific games.

Pokémon: 1 and 6. My two absolute favorites are Slowpoke and Hawlucha.

Starters: 4 and 6. I'm saying 6 specifically because of Chespin, but I think 4 has the best group of starters.

Legendaries: I guess 3, 5, and 6. I love Kyogre. But I also love Terrakion, Zekrom, and Kyurem. Buuuut I also love Xerneas and Yveltal.

Region: 3, hands down. Hoenn til I die.

Protagonists: I'm just gonna say 5 because we actually got character development with sequels.

Rival: 3. I'm a big fan of Wally's story.

Professor: 1. C'mon. It's Oak.

Gym Leaders: 4 and 5. I like Crasher Wake and Marlon a lot.

Elite Four: Probably 3 with the rematch teams. I hope Z brings us cool rematch teams for the Kalos E4 with megas.

Champion: 5. I think Iris becoming Champion was pretty cool.

Evil Team/s: 3. Aqua and Magma, babyyy.

Plot: 3. Can't take away from the majesty of the weather story.

Music: 2 and 6. The music from Ecruteak City rules and I can't not mention the fun music in the gates between cities/routes in Kalos.

New/Improved Mechanic: 2 and 3 and 4 and 6. Adding Dark and Steel type ruled, adding abilities ruled, the physical/special split ruled, and the Fairy type rules.

 

[Kalosian]

Let's go.

Pokémon: This is difficult. I like almost all Pokemon (there are only two that I actually dislike), so quantity is actually the thing that matters the most to me. I'll go with Gen 5 / Black and White since that is when the largest amount of new Pokemon was introduced. 156 new and awesome Pokemon, more than any other generation to date.

Starters: This is also very hard. I really like the ones from Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova and Kalos, but I'm not sure which of them I like the best. If I have to pick one, I'm going to give this to... Kalos, actually. All three were really cool.

Legendaries: Again, not very easy. I'm giving this to Unova because bias, all of the Unova legendaries were really cool.

Region: Unova, no contest. I love everything about it. It was well designed with fantastic variation in environments, including seasons and bridges, which no other region to date has. It had an extensive post-game and the Pokemon distribution was fantastic. It also had a great layout, being perfectly linear with all the benefits that comes with that.

Protagonists: Black 2 and White 2. Nate and Rosa are my favorites. They were very well designed in every aspect. Several others are good too, but none are better than these two.

Rival: Bianca is my favorite because I... liked her. Don't know if I need to say more than that. Runner-ups are Cheren, Hugh and Barry. I prefer the nicer rivals that also have character development, so that's why my top four looks like that.

Professor: Not sure. Maybe I should give this to something else than Unova just once. what am I saying you can't get rid of the bias Juniper for the win. Both of them, even.

Gym Leaders: The Unova Gym Leaders. They were well designed in terms of how they looked, all were well created characters with personalities and they had an important part in the story too, which was wonderful to witness.

Elite Four: Unova because I liked the Unova E4 members the best. They felt different from the other E4s in a positive way.

Champion: Black 2 and White 2. Iris is my favorite Champion in the series. Alder and Cynthia are runner-ups.

Evil Team/s: Team Plasma. The best team ever. They were daring and surprising. They had a goal that was different compared to the other teams. They questioned something nobody else did. And they had cool suits.

Plot: Black and White. No contest again. Everything was extremely well done. A lot of time was put into the story for these games, and it shows. It was different and out of the ordinary. Runner-ups are Platinum, OR/AS and B2/W2 as these games also did very well in the story department.

Music: B/W and B2/W2. Fantastic soundtrack overall with many memorable and epic tracks.

New/Improved Mechanic: Tricky again... But I'm giving this to X/Y for Mega Evolution and Fairy Types. Runner-ups are R/S for reworking the game mechanics and making the games more playable, as well as D/P for the P/S Split.

I'm extremely biased towards my favorite generation, and I guess it shows.

Edit: Adding our own questions? Okay. I really wanted this question to be in there, and now it is.

Overall favorite Game(s) / Generation: It should be obvious, but mine is Generation 5. B/W and B2/W2 are my favorite games in the series. Not going to go into any lengthy explanation so I'll put it very shortly. The generation and the games are my favorites because I found them to be the most fun to play out of all games in the entire series. That is all.

 

[Nockturne]

Pokémon: G/S/C, I like Pokémon more for nostalgia and design rather than anything competitive so I really like the Gen 2 babies. And Scizor, Heracross and Sneasel are among my all time faves

Starters: Gonna have to be a bit Genwunner again and say R/B/Y because its the only Gen where I'd happily use any starter. I find Chikorita a bit useless. I'm really not a fan of Sceptile, or Delphox's designs. I don't really care for any of the Gen 5 starters. I like all the D/P/Pt starters but I guess nostalgia and the fact they don't have Mega's yet screws them a bit in my mind.

Legendaries: D/P/Pt, I really like Darkrai and I always thought the way you had to play through Ranger to get Manaphy (whilst being a shameless cash in) was really interesting and cool.

Region: Johto has always been my favorite and the visual over haul it got in HG/SS only adds to that. The autumnal look around the tower in Ecruteak City was a personal highlight. I know the level progression was all over the place but I've never been averse to a bit of grinding.

Protagonists:Gen 6 I guess because you can actually do a bit of customizing

Rival: Toss up between Silver or Blue but I think Silver wins just because of his connection to Team Rocket and Giovanni.

Professor: Juniper. I know its silly to like her more than the others just because she's a woman and she added a bit of diversity, but I've always found Proffesors to be a bit to background to really form an opinion on them. I guess I also like Sycamore because he actually battles you

Gym Leaders: Stand outs for me have always been Misty and Brock becuase of the anime. Morty because he think he's the hero thats gonna summon Ho-Oh or whatever he thinks he "foreseen" and Tate and Liza for shaking things up a bit with a double battle.

Elite Four: I guess Johto's E4 just because it was nice seeing some old faces and Koga's progression through the ranks from Gym Leader to E4 member

Champion:Alder purely on his design and kind of good guy personality

Evil Team/s:Team Plasma's plan was pretty refreshing and it spanned two games better than Team Rockets did.

Plot:OR/AS hands down. With the new visuals to accompany the old story and the whole alternate dimension thing with the Delta Episode really handled the concept of remakes in a coherent universe well.

Music:I never play with the volume up because I've usually got the TV on in the back ground tbh...

New/Improved Mechanic:Gen 4 adding the physical/special split. I really helped some Pokémon actually become usable. Or least let them take advantage of their STABs. Also I'm not sure if it counts but I like how every new gen brings new moves because of how much it diversifies the movesets. In the earlier games you could be stuck with something like Water Gun into Level 50's or never learn a STAB move through level up.

 

[Bguy7]

Pokémon: Ruby and Sapphire. I've always said that on average, Hoenn put out my favorite Pokemon. It has great dragons like Rayquaza, Salamence, and Flygon and awesome space Pokemon like Lunatone, Solrock, and Deoxys. Space and dragons are two of my favorite things.

Starters: Either Red and Blue or Ruby and Sapphire. Red and Blue has Charamabder, my all time favorite starter, while Ruby and Sapphire is the only games where I like all three starters decently enough, making it the best on average.

Legendaries:: Diamond and Pearl. Not only did it have the most legendaries, but having the gods of time and space as well as just flat out God itself cannot be beaten. It also has Giratina, my all time favorite Pokemon.

Region: Ruby and Sapphire. I don't care what people say about Hoenn, it does not have too much water. Hoenn is one of the largest regions, and certainly the most unique. The water helps to change things up too.

Protagonists: Probably a three way tie between Red and Blue, Ruby and Sapphire, and Diamond and Pearl. Lucas was the first character I played as, Brendan practically has my name, so I've always felt connected to him, and Red is just awesome.

Rival: Either Red and Blue or Gold and Silver. I'm more of a fan of the antagonistic rival. Rivals have been to friendly since Hoenn if you ask me.

Professor: Red and Blue. Oak, enough said.

Gym Leaders:: Probably Ruby and Sapphire, but it's hard to say. Honestly, I've never really thought about who my favorite gym leaders are

Elite Four:: Same as above, Ruby and Sapphire, but not for any major reason

Champion: Gold and Silver. Lance, the original Dragon Master.

Evil Team/s: Diamond and Pearl. Team Galactic was just so great. Just think about it, they actually where trying to control gods. How cool is that?

Plot: Diamond and Pearl (more specifically, Platinum). Basically see above for my comments of Team Galactic.

Music:: Ruby and Sapphire. Hoenn definitely had the best music across the board. This is especially true when counting the stellar remixes of themes such as Frontier Brain battle and Deoxys Battle in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, and the amazing add on that was Zinnia's battle theme.

New/Improved Mechanic: Hmm...I was going to say X and Y for Mega Evolution and 3D models, but then I remembered it introduced the wretched abomination that is the Fairy-Type. So instead I'll go with Ruby and Sapphire.

That was fun to think about.

 

[Tsukuyomi56]

Pokémon: Gen 4 as it is when Darkrai and Roserade were introduced.
Starters: Gen 3 and 6, Gen 6 has Greninja and I like all the starters from Gen 3.
Legendaries: Gen 2 and 4 though I also like Reshiram and Yveltal.
Region: Gen 3, I really like Hoenn's tropical feel.
Protagonists: Gen 2 and 3 mostly due to their appearance. I also like the main characters from BW2 (Nate and Rosa).
Rival: Gen 1 and 4, Blue/Gary seems like the most serious rival and Barry is humourous.
Professor: Gen 1, it is hard to top Professor Oak as the best professor.
Gym Leaders: Gen 4, honourable mention to Gen 6 for introducing the first female Bug-type Gym Leader.
Elite Four: Gen 5, the unique way of bringing you to each member was a nice touch.
Champion: Gen 4, Cynthia is pretty much one of the Champions that can give a good challenge. Also like Iris and Steven as well.
Evil Team/s: Team Galactic for the cool battle themes with Team Aqua/Magma being a close second.
Plot: Gen 5 particularly regarding the plot twist regarding the true goal of Team Plasma in BW.
Music: Gen 3, there is too many music tracks I like from that generation to list.
New/Improved Mechanic: Gen 4, definitely like the new physical/special split for attacks with Gen 6 a close second for the improved breeding mechanics.

 

[Mega Altaria]

Pokémon:
Gen 3, because a lot of my favourite Pokémon are from that generation.

Starters:
Again, Gen 3. Since all of the Gen 3 starters are my favourites.

Legendaries:
Gen 3 for the third time. Still, they're my favourite Legendaries.

Region:
Gen 3 for the fourth time around. Hoenn has many things including a forest, islands, jungle, caves and even a rocket launch centre.

Protagonists:
Gen 3 for the fifth time. I admire their designs.

Rival:
This time, Gen 4. Barry's fining quotes make me laugh.

Professor:
Always Gen 1. Oak is so memorable.

Gym Leaders:
Gen 3. Most of my favourite Gym Leaders are from this generation, particularly Winona and Juan.

Elite Four:
Gen 3. My favourite Elite Four is from this generation. I particularly admire Pheobe and Drake.

Champion:
Gen 3. Steven is just too cool for me. And Wallace is yet too beautiful.

Evil Team/s:
Gen 5. Like Team Plasma's B2W2 uniforms look very cool and how well developed they were in BW.

Plot:
Gen 5. How well developed BW was.

Music:
Gen 3. The trumpets always fascinates me.

New/Improved Mechanic:
Gen 6. I liked new features that are Pokémon beneficial such as Pokémon-Amie and Super Training. Even Mega Evolution appeals to me.

 

[Kuvario]

Pokémon: R/S/E, I can't think of a single Hoenn 'Mon I dislike, and there's a lot I could name for ones I do like.
Starters: R/S/E, I like all of the starters, and Sceptile is one of my favorite Pokemon.
Legendaries: R/S/E, Lati@s, the Weather Trio, and the Golems were all awesome.
Region: R/S/E, I liked the layout and the water routes a lot, actually.
Protagonists: B2/W2, Nate and Rosa both have nice designs. Usually I end up disliking the male protagonists' designs, but Nate's an exception.
Rival: B2/W2, Hugh.
Professor: X/Y, Sycamore had a pretty cool theme, at the very least.
Gym Leaders: B/W, overall, they were all pretty neat.
Elite Four: DPPt's E4 was pretty good.
Champion: R/S/e, Steven was decently challenging and had a great battle theme.
Evil Team/s: B/W's Team Plasma, at least their plans could be taken somewhat seriously.
Plot: B/W's, again, at least it could be taken somewhat seriously.
Music: R/S/E, the trumpets were just too good.
New/Improved Mechanic: DP's special/physical split, was probably the best change in the series in the last ten years.

 

[Rakurai]

Pokémon: B/W. The Deino line is my favorite overall, and the Snivy line isn't too far off. I also just like a lot of the fifth gen Pokemon in general.

Starters: R/S. It's only the game where I'm at least slightly fond of all of the starters, where all of the others had at least one I wasn't too keen on.

Legendaries: B/W.

Region: X/Y

Protagonists: B/W2. Having older protagonists for a change was nice.

Rival: B/W2. Hotblooded, slightly dumb rival characters aren't too original, but I found Hugh the most likable regardless.

Professor: R/B. Can't beat the original.

Gym Leaders: B/W 2.

Elite Four: B/W

Champion: D/P. Cynthia's team was the toughest of them to me, because it has an extremely varied type composition with few shared weaknesses. She's just a good character in general.

Evil Team/s: X/Y. Team Flare's theme, snazzy outfits, and goofy posing won me over. Their plan was also pretty twisted overall, considering that it was basically genocide.

Plot: B/W. They really threw me for a loop by having the final boss not be the champion for once.

Music: B/W 2. R/S honestly wasn't that memorable to me.

New/Improved Mechanic: The breeding changes in X/Y. Making flawless/nearly flawless Pokemon a lot more accessible to people who aren't cheaters was a huge step in the right direction. Still waiting for the day they simply allow IVs to be increased/decreased, though. Mega Evolution was also a good way to make some previously mediocre Pokemon stand out more. I'm kind of neutral about the Fairy type, because I still feel as though it's too strong defensively, the Poison and Steel weakness being extremely inconsequential for what you gain. It also really hurt the viability of two of my favorite Pokemon by giving them a quadruple weakness.

 

[Archangel Azazel]

Pokémon: Black and White. Most of my favorites come from that generation. I was quite saddened that I kept hearing that most people didn't like the games because the Pokemon "didn't look" like Pokemon at the time. I actually had a hard time making my team involving my favorites since I wasn't used to rotating my team to use them all. ._.

Starters: It's a tie between Fire Red/Leaf Green and Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald. I actually can't pick between them whenever I re-started my games. Even though I always went with Grass starters I always questioned why not used the others? They are pretty cool looking. And I did once or twice which pretty much cemented my fond for all three of them in their respective generations/games.

Legendaries: Fire Red/Leaf Green. Can't really dislike the Birds nor the Mews.

Region: Black and White. Love the seasons change. Loved the graphic evolving from Diamond/Pearl/Platinum.

Protagonists: Black and White, Fire Red/Leaf Green, Gale of Darkness and Shadows of Almia. Although I didn't like Hilda as a name :c

Rival: Fire Red/Leaf Green and Black and White.

Professor: X and Y and Gale of Darkness.

Gym Leaders: Black and White. I enjoyed that they got in on the whole story. Interactive.

Elite Four: Black and White and Fire Red and Leaf Green. Tough Elite Four and the most memorable going through soft resets or many a Full Restore and Revives.

Champion:Diamond/Pearl/Platinum, Black2/White 2, XY. I'll admit all three of those were difficult. Had to soft reset a few-too many times to defeat them. Besides Diantha even though I love her design and her theme.

Evil Team/s: Team Rocket, Cipher, Team Flare

Plot: Black and White.

Music: Gale of Darkness, Black/White, Fire Red/Leaf Green, and XY. I always find myself looking for remixes or the originals on Youtube.

New/Improved Mechanic: Xy's WonderTrade. Always go in the game to Wonder Trade. Also Seasons in Black/White.

 

[Emperor Empoleon]

Spoiler: Spoilered for length!

Pokémon: Including Megas, then XY. With Mega Charizard X at the top spot. I love the amount of EDGE in it's design, that glorious new Dragon typing, and its physical capacity is a-lot to fun to play with. My own Charmander from Professor Sycamore in X just so happened to be Adamant, and Proud of its Power when I picked him up. A really fitting personality for this kind of species, and it works wonders for battles too. I've had an absolute ball with him.

Starters: XY. I thought the whole RPG classes concept was really neat, and I've had a-lot of fun playing with them all in battles.

Legendaries: Collectively, I really like the Legends of Diamond/Pearl/Platinum in Sinnoh for how they expanded on the lore of the universe.

Although Reshiram is my favorite as an individual Pokemon. Immediately fell in love with the design from the moment i discovered it in the pre-release days, and I've become a big fan of its lore and battle capability as well.

Region: XY. I found myself really liking the Kalos Region’s architecture and geography. The cities and buildings are charming if not grand, while the natural world is just brimming with beauty and variety.

Protagonists: I guess I connected to the BW characters the most, since they were the oldest and had the most engaging journey to me.

Rival: Black & White. Cheren and Bianca were both characters that I could personally identify with, and I loved that they were so involved with the player's journey as traveling companions. It was really easy to care about them, and great to see where they eventually ended up as young adults in Black & White 2.

Professor: DP/Platinum. I love Professor Rowan's upstanding and stern demeanor.

Gym Leaders: Black & White. The Unova League Gym Leaders are the most active and most characterized group so far, taking on Team Plasma alongside the player, and having their own respective working lives in addition to running their Gyms. I thought that was a really interesting angle, and I'll always remember them for it.

Elite Four: Don't really have a favorite...Hmm...I like them all about the same.

Champion: XY. Diantha. Unpopular opinion. And I wish she were a more active character (with a more competent team for Battles!), but for what we're given I still like her. In all of her dialogue and minor post-game interactions, she just strikes me as a very simple, yet radiant sort of person...Her approach to acting, wanting to find common ground with all of her character roles. The way she gets choked up and teary after losing the Championship, out of gratitude for her life's opportunities. Or her going to the Battle Chateau very casually to show off her Pokemon every once in a while. The Ralts that she gives you even has a memory of Diantha trying to win the Lottery! Imagine that.

I dunno, to me it kinda paints a picture of a woman who is sensitive, warm, and high class, and yet also pretty chill at the same time. I like her.

At the same time, I also really liked both Alder and Iris from the BW games. Alder for dedicating his life to spreading wisdom after a personal tragedy, and Iris for working to become a worthy successor to both he and Drayden.

Evil Team/s: Black & White. From N's characterization to the scheming of Ghetsis' in the background, Team Plasma felt like the most well thought out group of criminals. At least in the first game...

Plot: Black & White. I liked that the game brought the whole idea of Pokemon being "bound" to the forefront. It's kinda hard to put into words, but something about that makes it feel really relevant to the world of the series at large...Catching and battling Pokemon is the crux of the series, and bringing it into question with a dedicated plot and well developed characters all across the board was just something special.

Music: X & Y. Kalos has this great sense of grandeur and class to it, and the music accompanies each and every location perfectly.

New/Improved Mechanic: I guess I'd say Mega Evolution from X & Y. I really like the idea of a Pokemon's connection to its human companion giving birth to this explosive level of power. Mechanically, I love the potential that it has to bring older Pokemon back to relevance in grand fashion with new strengths and strategic potential.

 

[SilverChiko]

Pokémon: Gold/Silver/Crystal - See: Username

Starters: Gold/Silver/Crystal - See: Above

Legendaries: Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald - Jirachi and Kyogre, need I say more?

Region: Johto - See: Pokemon

Protagonists: Colosseum - Wes will forever be the coolest.

Rival: Gold/Silver/Crystal/HG/SS - Silver and his neglect of Pokemon ends up with him caring for them.

Professor: Red/Blue/Yellow/Green - Oak is OG.

Gym Leaders: Pearl/Diamond/Platinum - I just like them, I guess.

Elite Four: See: Above

Champion: See: Above

Evil Team/s: Colosseum/XD - Cipher will forever be best villain team.

Plot: Colosseum - A nice change from the generic kid beats evil team.

Music: Colosseum/XD - Let the music play!

New/Improved Mechanic: XY - 3D models.

 

[Flamer]

Pokémon: Very tough. Depends if we're talking about the Pokemon introduced in the game, or just those generally available. If its the former, gotta go with R/B/Y. The latter, either HG/SS or OR/AS. ORAS probably nicks it because of the extra starters and legendaries.
Starters: FR/LG. Hands down. Big fan of Typlosion, and more recently Swampert though.
Legendaries: Johto. Hoenn in a close second. Lugia is my favourite legendary of all time, and the Beasts are awesome
Region: I've actually really come to love Hoenn after playing AS. Slightly unfair perhaps because its helped by the modern visuals, but it is really very beautiful.
Protagonists: B/W. Nice to be a little older for a change.
Rival: Silver.
Professor: Oak.
Gym Leaders: Probably going to go with FR/LG. Mostly because I watched the anime back in those days so their personalities were brought to life much more. Still remember how creepy Sabrina was...
Elite Four: S/G
Champion: S/G. Lance is such a cool champion. Never really had much love for Cynthia
Evil Team/s: Team Rocket. Again, I think this is more from watching them in the anime than the games, cause I don't really remember them doing much in S/G or FR/LG. The Aqua vs Magma storyline in Emerald was pretty good, so maybe them actually.
Plot: B/W. Only time in the series that advancing the story became my main aim for doing stuff. Normally its just something in the background getting in the way of doing more interesting stuff, but the plot in B/W was genuinely engaging.
Music: Er, I tend to play with the sound off...
New/Improved Mechanic: GTS, (and wifi trading in general). Its poorly implemented, but being able to trade over the internet really did revolutionise the series for me

 

[Bananarama]

Pokémon: D/P, the games that introduced great Pokémon like Lucario and Darkrai.
Starters: R/S were the ones I've played the most, and I've played great games with all 3 starters.
Legendaries: B/W has the most legendaries, and all of them were great.
Region: Johto, because nostalgia.
Protagonists: Red, because I'm old-fashioned like that.
Rival: Bianca; I can relate to her, and her BGM is fantastic.
Professor: Juniper from B/W
Gym Leaders: The original 8 from R/B.
Elite Four: Johto's Elite Four from G/S.
Champion: Lance from G/S.
Evil Team/s: Team Rocket from R/B, for nostalgia.
Plot: B/W's questioning the morality of battles.
Music: HG/SS for improving on G/S's fantastic BGM.
New/Improved Mechanic: Walking Pokémon in HG/SS.