I was born October of '96, fairly young so I only started gen 3. For me; Hoen=Ruby red, Sinnoh=Pearl, [S-HIGHLIGHT]I skipped unova cause it looked dookie[/S-HIGHLIGHT] but kalos got my faith back. For kalos I want Y but the ds bundle that I'm getting only comes with x so whatever, that charizard X is the truth anyway. Which versions of each gen do you guys prefer?
ROFL at you calling that Unova is looking like "dookie". XD
As for me (scroll to the bottom of this post if you want the abridged version of my selected versions):
Generation 1 (Kanto): I was more into the
Pokemon anime TV show at the time, so I didn't really "pick" a version at the time. I loved the mechanics of
Yellow Version (vividly remember seeing a relative's Pikachu-edition Game Boy), though; I probably would've chosen
Pokemon Red Version (based on my Generation 3 Kanto choice).
Generation 2 (Johto): Again, I was more into the
Pokemon TV show at this point, so I didn't really pick a version, too. I'm honestly not sure what I would've picked - I'm more familiar with Lugia (what with the
Pokemon The Movie 2000: The Power of One and the "Pokemon X codename" hullabaloo surrounding it) and "
Pokemon Silver Version" seems like "the road not taken" to me (maybe something to do with silver being seen by society as lesser in value than gold..?), though I remember Ho-Oh strongly from a
Pokemon: Master Quest episode (Episode 227,
For Ho-Oh the Bells Toll!). And then
Pokemon Crystal Version just sounds intriguing and pretty and stuff whenever I read/hear its name (although Suicune isn't very version-mascot-ish for me). XD Based on my Generation 4 choice, I might've chosen
Pokemon Gold Version to start with.
Generation 3 (Hoenn)
: Ah yes, the generation that I'm familiar with! I began with
Pokemon Sapphire Version (later getting a second
Sapphire cartridge to replace the lost first
Sapphire cartridge, and then later getting
Emerald to replace the lost second
Sapphire cartridge) out of a love for Secret Bases! Even though I adamantly pick Fire-type starter Pokemon (with my first being a Torchic, cause fire is totally cool in battles),
Pokemon Sapphire Version just seemed more...soothing to me. Kyogre and the blue-hued designs accompanying it in the background visually looked interesting, all calm and placid on the color..and it was a whale, not "OMG!!!!111!! LOL_DINOSAURS_ROXXORZ" like Groudon seemed at the time. XD Also, I think the first time I experienced Hoenn, it was from someone's
Sapphire Version cartridge.
Later on, with two
Sapphire cartridges annoyingly getting lost, I resorted to getting
Pokemon Emerald Version (I was initially fearful of what the Pokemon sprites would look like, though... I saw the second frames of each sprite animation on Serebii.net (Blaziken comes to mind), so some were a little off-putting at first), due to all of the bonus content, with the Hoenn Battle Frontier comprising a good portion of it. Not to mention that the cool Pokemon Rayquaza took center stage in the game's plot! I'm more inclined to think of
Emerald as my now-definitive version of the Hoenn-based Generation 3 games, since it showcased Hoenn in the best light. As for my definitive Hoenn legendary version mascot Pokemon, Kyogre seems to be more my homie (I'm so used to its front and back sprites, as well as its Drizzle Ability!), with Rayquaza either tying or taking in a close second. Groudon is just that "other" Pokemon that took me ages to get traded to
Sapphire; it seems so foreign!
Pokemon Ruby Version, similarly, is seen as "that red-colored game I needed to get Groudon, Latios, and most
Ruby-exclusives before
Pokemon Emerald Version came along".
Things that bother me in
Emerald, though, are:
-the absence of Lunatone in Meteor Falls
-the position of practically everyone on Hoenn Route 117,
especially Sr. & Jr. Anna and Meg - due to partaking in breeding and Contests, I got
really used to the orientation and positioning of everyone in
Sapphire's Route 117 variant, and to this day, I get slightly frustrated whenever I stare at
Emerald's Route 117 variant
-the sealing-up of Cave of Origin after the Super-ancient Pokemon (Weather Trio) crisis wraps up
In retrospect, I'm glad that I originally went with
Sapphire Version - Hoenn seems more like a marine/tropical/water-based region to me with hints of land/earthy terrain (evident with the multitude of boats and ships, as well as the abundance of required Surfing
and Diving). The trumpets of the music hammer this point home for me: "Title Screen: Main Theme" (
Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald Version) and "Battle! (Team Aqua/Team Magma Leaders)" both have an "underwater" vibe to them due to the trumpet usage, at least for me - the former of which meshes extremely well with
Sapphire's title screen.
Generation 3 (Kanto): Watching the anime and seeing Ash's Charizard wrecking stuff and generally being all-around cool any time it appeared made me always want a Charizard (being simplistic yet a ridiculously well-designed "dragon"), and
Pokemon FireRed Version finally gave me the opportunity to catch/receive one!
I think I made up my mind the instant that I discovered on Pokemon.com that these games were getting released! XD I know you can get a Charmander in
Pokemon LeafGreen Version, too, but it seems like if you're not choosing Squirtle, you should support the version of what starter Pokemon you're getting!
And red is a cool color, and fire is cool, so this was basically a no-brainer for me! XD
Generation 4 (Sinnoh): The pairing of "diamond and pearl" brought up beautiful imagery when I heard about them for the Nintendo DS.
Originally, I was going to go with
Pokemon Diamond Version because, in my opinion, "diamonds" seemed to fit better as a precious jewel/mineral along with rubies, sapphires, and emeralds compared to a pearl (which seemed...one-off-ish/set apart somehow). Furthermore, Dialga seemed cooler than Palkia to me, and I wasn't exactly a fan of
Pearl's pink color scheme. Fortunately (?), due to not having a Nintendo DS to even get
Diamond with, I waited a while in anticipation for a supposed "third version" to complement
Pokemon Diamond and Pearl, since I didn't have the wherewithal to get
Diamond, a DS, AND whatever potential third version was coming out. Lo and behold, I bided my time and patience paid off - cue
Pokemon Platinum Version, complete with Giratina looking all menacing (at the time, Giratina Origin Forme was
really off-putting to me) and a
stunning box art background color scheme of red, yellow, black, and "platinum". When I heard that
Platinum permitted the capture of Giratina
and Dialga and Palkia
and a Sinnoh Battle Frontier (enhancing Sinnoh's Battle Tower area),
Platinum switched to my game of choice (I was like "It's
Emerald all over again, except I didn't lose a Generation 4 game cartridge yet!"). Moreover, I later learned that
platinum is seen as top-tier and tends to surpass even the classic "numismatic trio" of the metals gold, silver, and bronze, so the use of that particular metal seemed to surpass the gemstones of "diamond and pearl" - being a quite refreshing instance in my eyes.
Generation 4 (Johto): Here's where the choice of "what version I would get" got harder. I thought the names of
Pokemon HeartGold Version and
Pokemon SoulSilver Version were just absolutely
wonderful.. The aforementioned arguments for "Lugia vs. Ho-Oh" during Generation 2 apply here, similarly (with the knowledge of Shadow Lugia being in
Pokemon XD and both Lugia and Ho-Oh starring in
Pokemon Stadium 2). The term
SoulSilver alone was just too intriguing, and the
SoulSilver box icon (that looks like a stylized silver Lugia raindrop/teardrop) reminded me of the "3D 'dark-hued'/'chess?' hologram Lugia thing" that Gelardan/Lawrence III used in the movie
Pokemon 2000. However, I figured that I aligned with phoenixes more (my favorite legendary mythological beast...you can't go wrong with fiery firebirds!), so Ho-Oh's
HeartGold was a little more compelling.. Of all things, the final deciding factor was the box art - I loved the incorporation of Johto's regional map on the front covers... The golden variant of it on
HeartGold's box art seemed more "warm" and soothing to me (and hearkens to a classic brown/yellow-hued treasure map of some sort), with Johto seeming more like a serene yellowish-gold (with faint traces of green sprinkled in) region than a "silver/gray region. At last, my decision was set -
Pokemon HeartGold Version!
Generation 5 (Unova 1.0): At first, I was confused when "
Pokemon Black and White" were announced, essentially thinking "Huh? Why are we downgrading from minerals to grayscale colors?" Due to the odd phenomenon that adding a "black edition" or "black accents" somehow makes it exceedingly cool for some reason (ranging from computers, keyboards, and TVs to videogame consoles and
Power Rangers/
Super Sentai outfits..even Zekrom itself qualifies, as the black color scheme
really helped its design), I rapidly began more inclined to selecting
Pokemon Black Version. However, that decision was originally made with the belief that Zekrom was going to be
Pokemon Black's mascot (although Reshiram and Zekrom are both well designed, Zekrom just looked
boss when its black color scheme graced me). As we later found out, Game Freak decided to pull a
"LOL YIN-YANG" pattern break, relegating Zekrom to the mascot of
Pokemon White Version. Consequently, I was in a bind regarding my version choice, as now I
really couldn't choose based on version mascot and name alone. So, for the first time, I actually delved into other minor version differences, two of the key ones being the Opelucid City Gym Leader and the overworld design. Since New York City (which primarily inspired Unova's design) is more of an urban area to me, I decided to go with
Pokemon Black Version (which features more urban/technological/futuristic aesthetics, whereas
Pokemon White Version has more rural/natural/ancient aesthetics). Iris seemed more apprentice-like than Gym Leader-ish at the time, so I was fine with Drayden heading Opelucid Gym in
Black (little did I know that she would methodically and beautifully ascend, rising to the position of Unova League Champion in
Pokemon Black and White Versions 2!)
. The
Black box art also pushed my decision - the grids looked
much better and ominous with the black hue as opposed to the white hue (which is somewhat hard to see).
Generation 5 (Unova 2.0): Cue Generation 5 being the first generation without a third version to force my picking. T_T I was initially more inclined towards
Pokemon White 2 solely because of the awesome box art (practically "red-hot" in box art form, even with the fiery red-hued, icy, encroaching crystals in the logo!), despite White Kyurem looking a little more frumpy in design than Black Kyurem. Then I learned about how the storyline went -
Black 2 correlates with
Black,
White 2 correlates with
White, resulting in
White 2 only having Kyurem and Reshiram. I was hoping that
White 2 would let me catch Zekrom too, but to no avail. Since I didn't want to redundantly get
two Reshiram (along with a spare Kyurem and no Zekrom to speak of), I settled for
Pokemon Black Version 2 (which has menacing box artwork in its own right)
, in order to fit my "Unova 1.0" choice
. Originally, glancing at Zekrom made me think "Wow, I wouldn't want to run across that Pokemon in a dead-end dark alley!".
Black Version is me catching Reshiram while hearing mutterings about Zekrom across Unova, while
Black Version 2 is me finally facing and confronting Zekrom in battle within said "dark dead-end alley" (either N's Castle or Dragonspiral Tower). The Shiny Garchomp Gift Pokemon of
Black 2 slightly factored into the choice, although after seeing the pink Shiny Mega Garchomp, I think I'll just stick with a non-Shiny Garchomp.
Additionally, the fact that I can get a Latios in
Black 2 helps, since I can get a Latias in
HeartGold and I'm unsure whether I'll be able to get a Nintendo DS Lite to migrate a Latios from
Emerald.
So, for Generation 5:
-ideally, my choices are
Black and
White 2
-however, due to game mechanics/storyline/set-ups for
Black 2 and
White 2, my choices in practice will be
Black and
Black 2.
Generation 6 (Kalos): When I first heard of
Pokemon X and Y, I instantly decided on
Pokemon X Version simply because
X Makes Anything Cool. And then I saw
Yveltal. And months after finding out about "Mewtwo Awakened Forme", I learned that it was Mewtwo's "Y" Mega Evolution and would be exclusive to
Pokemon Y. Similarly, I learned that the first Mega Evolution of Charizard that was revealed (the orange one, Mega Charizard Y) would also be exclusive to
Y. As a result,
Pokemon Y became my version of choice (but
Pokemon X as a name still sounds
so much cooler), being the first game where version-exclusive Pokemon drove my decision and managed to help the game override the "cool name" factor.
Since the jury is still out on whether a
Pokemon Z Version will exist, I plan to get
Y for now, but it'll likely change to
Z (provided that
Z has bonus content and has Xerneas, Yveltal, Zygarde, and Mega Mewtwo Y all obtainable within one game file). I prefer Yveltal over Zygarde heavily, but if Yveltal can be obtained in
Z, I really don't mind.
Generation 6+ (Hoenn): Although this entry is speculative, on the chance that
Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire remakes get announced, I'm getting
Super!Sapphire without a doubt (unless something else happens, like a
Emerald remake coming in as a solo/third installment). The one thing that could possibly push me towards
Super!Ruby is something like Mega Blaziken (I know its corresponding Mega Stone is currently available event-only, but still) being exclusive (which would be unfathomably stupid, IMO).
In general, my version choices are based on version mascot and game name. Box art can be a deciding factor, along with how a region's thematic elements are presented within a given version. Aside from the version mascot, version-exclusive Pokemon themselves are generally a non-factor save for
Pokemon X and Y's Mega Evolutions. From Generation 3 onwards, I'm willing to intentionally resign/force myself to getting the third versions (due to enhancements, fixes, better presentation, and bonus content), regardless of whether I like one of the third version's predecessor paired versions better.
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So, TL;DR ("own" means that I have the game; "intent" means that I plan to get the game):
Generation 1 (Kanto): N/A, but most likely
Pokemon Red Version, because of Generation 3 choice.
Generation 2 (Johto): N/A, but most likely
Pokemon Gold Version, due to Generation 4 choice.
Generation 3 (Hoenn):
Pokemon Sapphire Version (originally, owned but lost 2 cartridges; due to Kyogre's serenity, blue color scheme of box art, Hoenn being more watery due to water routes and music's trumpets)
Pokemon Emerald Version (own; chosen due to Rayquaza's dominance and bonus content; seems more definitive for a Hoenn game)
Generation 3 (Kanto):
Pokemon FireRed Version, because fire and dragons are cool (own).
Generation 4 (Sinnoh):
Pokemon Diamond Version (intended originally, due to: diamonds as a precious gem fitting "rubies, sapphires, and emeralds" better than pearls; Dialga's color scheme and design being better than Palkia's design and color scheme)
Pokemon Platinum Version (own; chosen due to epic box art, Giratina's presence, being a third version with bonus content in the vein of
Emerald)
Generation 4 (Johto):
Pokemon HeartGold Version, because of a phoenix's presence and box-art being more fitting.
SoulSilver has the better name and boxart icon, though. (own)
Generation 5 (Unova 1.0):
Pokemon Black Version, chosen due to the color black making everything look cool, grids on box art looking better, Drayden's presence as Opelucid Gym Leader, Unova looking more urban like New York City usually does. Originally chosen in belief that Zekrom was the mascot. (intent)
Generation 5 (Unova 2.0):
Pokemon Black Version 2, because of epic box art and how it follows the storyline of
Black Version 1, allows the acquisition of Zekrom and Dreamyard Latios
. (intent)
-ideally, my choices are
Black and
White 2
-however, due to game mechanics/storyline/set-ups for
Black 2 and
White 2, my choices in practice will be
Black and
Black 2.
Generation 6 (Kalos):
Pokemon Y (intent), because of Yveltal, Mega Charizard Y, and Mega Mewtwo Y (Mewtwo Awakened Forme).
Pokemon X has the cooler name, though.
Pokemon Z (true intent due to being a potential third version with bonus content, but I'd prefer it if it had Xerneas, Yvetal, Zygarde, Mega Charizard Y, and Mega Mewtwo Y)
Generation 6+? (Hoenn):
Pokemon Super!Sapphire Version, since
Pokemon Sapphire was my first
Pokemon game ever, (insert "Generation 3 Hoenn" reasons here), and because Kyogre.
