Favorite main series game?

Another HeartGold lover here! The game was so extensive, and honestly, there's little to dislike about it (if anything). There was just a ton of things to do, and the main story was great as well.

It also helps that Johto is my favorite region, haha. So I'm biased, but the exclusive features (Apricorn balls, Pokeathlon, follow me, etc) keep me coming back to the game, which is more than I can say for the other main series games. Don't get me wrong, I love Platinum/BW/B2W2, but HG/SS were just super special.

Ugh, this is a hard one! I'd say either HG/SS or B2/W2. Definitely both amazing games. But I think I'm going to have to go with HG/SS. I really loved these games. They had so many stuff added from other games, and even going as far as pretty much implementing Crystal into both. I'm also going to mention the obvious; walking Pokémon! Really though, walking Pokémon was an amazing addition. It gave a different level of emotion to your Pokémon, and I'm sure it must've been hard for Gamefreak to implement so many sprites, plus the shiny editions! There's also the Bug-Catching Contest. Definitely an original idea I haven't really seen in any other regions besides Johto. The concept of capturing a Pokémon for a contest and winning depending on what Pokémon you caught + level would've been worn out if it was done in other games, but it wasn't! That is purely what makes it original.

I'm pretty sure the Pokéathlon was great too! I enjoyed this far too much. It's slightly similar to the Bug-Catching Contest, but also very different! I like how they implemented an olympics for Pokémon, it was definitely time! The fact that there was quite a few minigames made it better. I don't exactly remember, but I believe you could even challenge some Gym Leaders in the tournaments! I really liked this. It made it all the more intimadating to enter the olympics, and when you outwon the person by just a speck, it definitely made you feel accomplished. I'd call it the counterpart of Contests.

I could keep going on about this. I do know that they implemented the Battle Frontier from Platinum into HG/SS, but I wasn't to keen on the battle streak stuff as I could NEVER reach a Frontier Brain. Never got to hear that awesome music in-game. :( But nevertheless, it was an amazing addition as it was purely an add-on, and most people seemed to be delighted with it!

And there's 2 regions! I am going to admit Kanto was slightly confusing and bland, but when you just find out you can explore a whole new bunch of cities and routes after thinking you've completed the game, you get a rush of hype and excitedly, enter Kanto! I remember doing that the first time, but I did know about the Kanto post-game lol.

But that's pretty much it! I don't want to keep blabbering on, I think I've wrote enough. :)

i'm sure you can guess mine. And yes, it's mainly nostalgia. Next to skyrim and Warcraft 3(rts) i can't think of another game i invested as much time, energy and effort into.

close second would be Black/White 2. I really like the pacing and the abundant (interesting) pkm available to choose from for people that haven't been heavily into trading and DS linking. There's also quite a bit of post game hobbies to take part in. Even the gameplay is noticeably smoother than previous versions. Also, not too heavy on the HMs which was appreciated.

pretty close to that i'd say XY. Roller skates are awesome. I didn't even use my bike til postgame when i started breeding. I'm a sucker for character customization in any game so that's a huge plus. The 3d models are a welcomed upgrade, and the amount of available wild pkm is insane.

Lots of people go with HG/SS and i did enjoy my Gold version when i first got it. But, The pokemon selection pre-elite 4 was a bit underwhelming. especially since i didn't like a good chunk of them. Also i was a little disappointed with How short the region is and how quickly you get pushed through it. I went to the Pkm league with a team in their late 30s which was unheard of. So i was relieved when i found out i could go to Kanto post game. Then disappointed again with how limited it was. There are several trainers to fight and u can get the additional badges but that's pretty much it.. rival is gone, evil team faction is gone, Poke-Prof is pretty much done with you.. etc. It's kind of like Kanto was a type of Battle tower spread out over the kanto map. Which is nice but hardly praiseworthy..

But the pkm walking behind you and pokathelon are very nice redeeming touches :)

Platinum is the best. It had a great variety of Pokemon (a lot of my favorites come from Gen 4, and the expanded dex is so much better than the disappointment that was the D/P Sinnoh dex), Sinnoh is an underrated region, and it was nice to actually have some challenge in the game. The second gym leader having two fully evolved Pokemon, Fantina's Mismagius at the third gym, Lucario at the fourth, both Wake and Cyrus' Gyarados, etc. and that's before you even get to Cynthia.

My favorite Pokemon experiences, however, come from the Drayano hacks (Sacred Gold/Storm Silver and Blaze Black/Volt White and their sequels). SG/SS fixed HGSS's biggest issue (level curve) and expanded the plot of those games, and BB/VW simply made the fifth gen live up to its true potential - plot was by far its strong point, but the actual game never got very challenging, Pokemon variety was eh (at least in B/W), and the level curve/challenge was pretty disappointing.

Keeping remakes in mind.
1: X & Y
2: Gold & Silver
3: Black & White
4: Ruby & Sapphire
5: Diamond & Pearl (might change after I play them more)
6: Red & Blue

Yeah, even with the remakes that were about fifty times better, the gen 1 games still come in dead last.

Diamond. It was the first game that really, REALLY engaged me, and really solidified my love for the game. It holds so many precious memories for me, not just in game but out of the game with my friends and when I was just getting into competitive. I'll defend gen 4 to the death.

As for an overall ranking it would have to be:
1. DPPt
2. GSC
3. XY
4. RBY(Well, FRLG, really)
5. RSE
6. BW