(Soul)Silver for nostalgia, Emerald for favourite to replay
Emerald it gave me the first taste of the battle tower and I’ve been hooked since
Crystal is very special to me. I always felt like I was “wrong” as a child for not liking “girl things.” It was the first game I ever played that offered a female protagonist. That was something that told me that I was okay the way I am. I know it’s kind of silly, but it really helped me become comfortable with myself.
I played Gen 1 as a kid and didn’t play Pokemon again til Black and White. It was an amazing leap to see the first and last pixel animated mainline Pokemon games, and both had their own unique set of 150 Pokemon. It’s like a showcase of how much the series had grown.
Incidentally, it was the last mainline Pokemon game I actually enjoyed.
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky
In terms of mainline games though, I’d probably have to go with Blue version, since it’s the one I’ve spent the most time with over the years
I put the most hours into soul silver, but god, I fucking loved Prism
I’ve always enjoyed Firered and Sapphire and recently found Polished Crystal which is fantastic
Puzzle League (N64)
Crystal (mostly nostalgia), Emerald, and Conquest
I have a soft spot for Crystal, in terms of the official series.
If we include rom hacks, Crystal Clear is great, and I’m really enjoying Pokemon Emerald Rogue these days.
For me i would say silver for the nostalgia factor, Also silver (and gold) were compatible with the original black/white gb so Even more nostagic than Crystal
Emerald holds a special place in my heart. Omega Ruby got me back into Pokemon and to this day is my favorite. I’m currently playing through every generation, but no other region hits harder that Hoenn
Um… one of the later ones for the 3DS. But I think these new ones coming out soon will be super awesome. I don’t play many Pokemon games though.
I’ve played Blue, emerald, black? For 3ds? And that’s it.
For Nostalgia? Red/Blue and Gold/Silver.
HG/SS and B/W are up there too for different reasons.
And funnily enough, I actually enjoyed S/V quite a bit. Aside from the lull between gens 6 through 8ish, there’s a lot to like throughout the series imo. A lot to dislike too, but still a lot to like.
Until Arceus came along and finally did what Pokemon should have been doing a long time ago, it was Pokemon Snap. Arceus is great, but it’s also the bare minimum of what I think the series should be. I would hope that Palworld has set a fire under Nintendo and GameFreak’s ass to get them to make something that actually brings the series forward instead of keeping it mired in game design from a bygone era.