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Are you a Pokémon Purist?

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MOD NOTE: Yes, this is originally from 2012, but we've decided to leave this thread open (see post 46), so feel free to continue posting here!

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A Pokémon Purist is someone who typically holds the belief that the first generation is the best because it was the first, and usually hold that belief based on nostalgia and sentimentality. They believe they had the best towns, they had the best Pokémon, they had the best story line, they had the best gym leaders, they had the best replay value, etc. Some refuse to buy games of later generations because of this, some continue to buy them and play though them (thoroughly enjoying them), but still hold the belief that Gen I was better and they'll usually never change their opinion.

Are you a Pokémon Purist? If so, how much of one are you? If not, what is your opinion of Pokémon Purists?
 
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Oryx

CoquettishCat
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Nooo I honestly can't stand Pokemon purists. Even if they're not the type to argue it with you, it still just...gets on my nerves. Yes, I do love the first generation out of nostalgia, I admit. I honestly don't like going back and playing it but I still love it because of the memories. But I wouldn't argue that the first is objectively the best in any way. Its graphics were terrible, its storyline was simplistic even compared to the rest of the games, its gameplay was flawed in ways that were fixed in later generations, it was full of bugs. I may be judgmental in that I hate when people claim it's the best even if they don't argue it with me but I can't help it because I just dislike that claim so much haha.
 

-ty-

Don't Ask, Just Tell
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When I saw the thread title, the first thought that came to mind was team typing.
In the anime, some main protagonists always have the conventional Grass, Fire, and Water type-pokemon in their teams. Some examples of Purists would be Ash/Red, Gary/Blue, Cynthia, Bianca, Barry, and Cheren.

So I would say that I HAVE to include a Grass, Fire, and Water type Pokemon. So in that respect that is what I think of as sticking to that standard and nostalgic conventions of a protagonist/champion team.

But as a GEN 1 Purist, I would say I am not at all. I love GEN 1, but I love the other GEN's as well.
 
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I am definitely not a pursit. Most of the 'purists' haven't even tried the games of latter generations.
 

Yoshikko

the princess has awoken while the prince sleeps on
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Well, I think I kind of am, only except that I do like some Pokémon of the newer gens and it's not like I am so stubborn that no one can change my mind on it. It's just yeah, for all the reasons why purists are what they are. But I still don't like to refer to myself as one haha, if I could even be considered one.
 

Elite Overlord LeSabre™

On that 'Non stop road'
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Not at all. There are good and bad Pokemon from all generations and each region has its ups and downs. As for the games themselves, they're full of problems like glitches and sprites that look nothing like the real thing. Not to mention that you were forced to play as a boy back in those days.

Even the graphical and gameplay advancements from 1st to 2nd gen were astounding and if I feel like returning to Kanto, I'll just play Leaf Green, thanks. But one thing I miss from 1st gen was Persian's Slash going critical almost every time.

Overall however, the advances made since the original games outweighs any sense of "nostalgia" for the 1st gen. People who are 1st gen purists don't usually bother me unless they're trying to push their beliefs on me.
 

psyanic

pop a wheelie on a zeitgeist
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Oh no... I am not a Pokemon purist. I think saying the first gen is the best in every single aspect of the games themselves is pretty darn stubborn. Graphically, it's probably the worst. It was decent for its time, when it was released, but nowadays it's got nothing on Gen V.
 

Zeffy

g'day
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I think of Pokemon purists as people with a limited mindset, they only consider one thing and don't care for the others.

As for me, no, I am not a ppurist. I love the whole franchise so much, I can't even imagine how one could be so hateful of the other generations.
 
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Considering that I've never even beaten the Elite Four in Kanto - at all - I would say that I'm most definitely not a purist. Even so, I enjoy many Pokemon from the older generations. Each generation have their ups-and-downs and I notice that, though it did take me a while to warm up to the fourth generation, and the fifth generation was okay, but not something I was hooked on for a long time. When I see purists who don't care about anything but the first generation, it bothers me. I'm fine with the purists that I least acknowledge that the other generations exist, and have favorites from other generations. However, they just favor the first generation more Like many things, it depends on the level of purism and how much they act on it depends on how much I'm bothered by it. I'm talking in more of a general level, than just a game level, as there are purists when it comes to the anime, and just the designs on the Pokemon as well.
 

BeliVuk

Pokemon Stadium 64 Player
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I prefer the original generation of Pokemon, but I don't hate the rest.
 
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Oh no, I'm not one at all. I can't stand the purists. They rave and rant about all of the newer generations and how awesome the first is. I honestly don't like the first generation games very much. The only reason that they're in love with it all is because the feeling that their nostalgia gives them makes them feel better than their life makes them feel. They call the newest gen "the worst yet" saying nothing looks original. Really? No originality? What about Voltorb or Electrode? Their Pokedex entries even say that they're Pokeballs. Diglett? Dugtrio? Over designed? What about Rhyhorn? I agree that each generation has its ups and downs, but not so much to where I cant hate any of them. I loved them all, and always will. Being a fan of ONLY the first generation doesn't make you a Pokemon fan, it makes you a fan of nostalgia.
 
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I would say I am a purist to an extent ...
GEN1 holds a lot fo sentimentality, It gave the first concept of pokemon and sold it for soo many people

I have played later gens and didnt find that I wanted to play through them again

However I much prefer FireRed to the Original Red the updated graphics etc made it even more enjoyable

I also feel the amount of pokemon taht were added started getting a bit obscure..
In particular the legend/spirit/w.e pokemon and thing like the oen based on rubbish?

I did however enjoy Ruby quite a lot, and I like the viewpoint in black/white..

I'll always feel for me that the original is best, It was the seed that spawned so it cant be rivaled

But that doesnt mean i hate the rest of them.. haha
 

TwiDragon

The fun shawl be doubled!
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I'm not.
I got into Pokemon at Gen III, and so far Gen III, and V have been my favorites.

Gen I and FR/LG were the most boring Pokemon games I've played. There felt like there was a lot more to do and a lot more involvement with in the later generations. The only generation I didn't like was the new Pokemon and the anime oof D/P/Pt. It felt simple, easy, and very dumbed down for kids. I also felt the pokemon were an excuse for evolution and legendary concepts.
 
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I don't think I am a Poke'mon purist because even though I have loved Poke'mon since the launch date but I still love the new ones they are making. (Every generation has the good and bad Poke'mon I personally think :) ) As you can see my favorite Poke'mon is Pachirisu so I am not a Poke'mon purist. =D
 

Mentalii

Back
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I really love first generation, and it's my favourite. But I'm not a purist.
I think any new generation won't make us dreaming as the first one did, because it was the very beginning of Pokémon. We all feel this awesome nostalgia when thinking of it. But that doesn't prevent us from liking the other generations !
Ok, for me first Pokémons were badass, that's for sure, but, there has been a lot of improvement since RBY, about the plot, the towns, so we can't say that 1st gen is the best of the best, just because it's the first. That doesn't mean that we can't prefer it, but let's be a little objective.
Pokémon ultra purists are too much stubborn.
 

arbok

cobra pokemon
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first gen is my fav. and yes in my order it does go
gen 1 = 1st place
gen 2 = 2nd place
gen 3 = 3rd place
gen 4 = 4th place
gen 5 = 5th place

so yeah... but I'll agree that the story line in gen 1 was the most basic. I'll prefer playing fire red and leaf green to red and blue anyday though so I'm not sure if that makes me a gen one fan or kanto fan.
I don't see how anyone can argue that blue and red had the best graphics though :/
 
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I wouldn't say I'm a Pokémon Purist. Why you may ask?

Well, each generation brings with it many different Pokémon. And within those Pokémon, some I love, some I hate, and some I just can't fathom why. It doesn't matter which generation it is or was, it's the same with each to me.

And example would be with Generation 1, I loved Dragonite, but I could not stand Weezing. In the current Generation, I can't stand Crustle, but I love the look of Krookodile.

GibbyGibson
 

Whistle A Tune

Keep breathing
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I don't exactly fit your description of a Pokemon Purist but I think I'm kind of one? The first mon game I played was Ruby back when I was like 11, and to this day third Gen is still the best IMO. So I'm partial to my sentimentalities of my first Pokemon game, but it's not the first, "pure" generation.. I've still played a game from each generation though (well, if we can count HG as 2nd gen) which has allowed me to properly make my assessment.
 

Briar

how do you make coffee sexy?
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i don't believe i'm one, personally. in the first place, i'm not even a huge fan of the first generation games (cue audience gasp). although, i've observed that my interest in pokemon has the tendency to decrease as the generations progress, but i don't necessarily believe that the earlier generations were the better ones.
 
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