How to stop being a "Genwunner"

[Elements1]

I don't find genwunners bad because they like the Red/Blue and the original generation the best, I find it bad that they don't have an opened mind. They are too stubborn to see the greatness of new and refreshing looks.

 

[BasedNate]

To me, a "genwunner" is never a true Pokemon fan to begin with. They stopped after a certain gen and complain about the ones after because they think it's cool to do that because it's "new." Truth is, all generations of Pokemon has their good/bad side like in my opinion, Generation V Pokemon has the worst starters to date. Generation 1 had a plethora of problems being balanced.

Now, if they stop at a certain gen because they're tired of Pokemon, that's fine as long you don't complain. The problem with people constantly whining about the new Pokemon is that they're so smug up & thinks that they're right; ignorance is a bliss in which this case, they never tried the new Pokemon game. Their opinion on the product whatsoever are completely invalid.

 

[Azire]

Oh did somebody called my name!? I actually just recently changed my user title from "Genwunner". It's who I am. A correction I would like to make though, I have played EVERY Generation of Pokémon. My list from best to worst, remakes not included:

-Gen 1 (Obviously)
-Gen 6 (Oh yes I love it!! Almost like being a kid again!!)
-Gen 4 (Great games, one of the best stories)
-Gen 2 (Sequel to Gen 1? I'll take it)
-Gen 5 (Pretty bad, boring, tough to play through, can't stay focused)
-Gen 3 (The bane of my existence)

I have noticed a significant group that annoys me to all hell, the Gen'three'ers. Can't think of a better word.

These people are constantly preaching and praising Gen 3. They assault the internet worse than any Genwunner. Constantly talking about how great it is and how it's the best. Usually the first people to insult a Genwunner.

Hoenn is Pokémon during it's awkward teen years. Doesn't have the appeal of the first Gens and not as good as the Gens that come after. I've noticed most people that would classify started with Gen 3. They like it because it was their first. Sadly that puts them in the same boat as us Genwunners.

 

[Burakki Tsuki]

I personally like certain things in each of the generations. Until about a month ago I had only played up to Gen 3 and then left the series and Gameboy/DS gaming for more console/PC gaming. Now that I'm back to Pokemon I love the additions and the changes brought in each generation. Of course there are things in each of the generations that are great but I don't think one is better than the other. I loved some things about Platinum, possibly because was first Pokemon game I played in years. I played White 2 right after that and enjoyed as well but not as much as Platinum.

Now I just started Y this Monday and today I got the 5th badge. Definatly a different approach to the series with the amount of time between 1st and 2nd badges. But I like it because it sort of keeps the game fresh. If Every generation was the same except for new pokemon and trainer names that would be a bore. Don't know how anyone can think one generation is "the best", the first generation at that, but everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I enjoy what I like and never let other people and their opinions bother me.

 

[Silri]

I have noticed a significant group that annoys me to all hell, the Gen'three'ers. Can't think of a better word.

These people are constantly preaching and praising Gen 3. They assault the internet worse than any Genwunner. Constantly talking about how great it is and how it's the best. Usually the first people to insult a Genwunner.

Hoenn is Pokémon during it's awkward teen years. Doesn't have the appeal of the first Gens and not as good as the Gens that come after. I've noticed most people that would classify started with Gen 3. They like it because it was their first. Sadly that puts them in the same boat as us Genwunners.

I find myself usually feeling like this. I notice more people complaining about the constant pandering to Gen 1 than any actual praise for Gen 1. I'm not sure where people hang out to find these genwunners. As has been said, most of them are not current Pokemon players. I think during my experience with various Pokemon fans I've only run into one notable 'genwunner', and that wasn't on the Internet. I feel it's just the trending thing right now to bash Gen 1 and its fans.

I find more praise for gen 3 and Hoenn than anything I've seen for Kanto. The constant nagging for a R/S/E remake is just as annoying as any praise for Charizard or Kanto would be. I played Sapphire and Emerald to death back in the day, and I'm not sure why people are so enamored by it. But I understand to each their own.

No one complains about the constant praise for Gen 3 or wanting remakes for it. There's no genwunner equivalent for Gen 3, even though I feel like they're the louder presence on the Internet. It makes no logical sense to complain about one but not the other. If one bothers you, so should the other. So why no complaints about Gen 3 fanboys?

 

[Zorogami]

I might be wrong here, but i think there is a difference between loving Hoenn to death and hoping for a remake of the 3rd Gen games and being a so called "Genwunner". I do love Hoenn and RSE myself, a lot, and of course i would be happy with a remake. That said, im not going to spam every forum or conversation about how great these games were and so on. Praising a certain Gen is one thing, as everyone has their favorite. The difference between this and a "Genwunner", at least to me, is that a Genwunner wont even see one Pokemon past the number 151. Its not the fact that they love Kanto more than any other region, its the fact that they constantly attack and criticize everything past Pokemon Red and Blue, with comments like "GF is running out of ideas" and "the only real Pokemon are the "original" 151". Its fine to like one Gen or Region more than the others, its not cool to bash on things other people enjoy because they dont agree with your opinion. That said, here is my recipe for how to stop being a genwunner:

1) Try for just one second not to be blinded by nostalgia
2) Assume an objective point of view
3) Play any Game that came after Red/Blue - To make things easier, why not FR/LG?
4) Realize that the gameplay has come a long way and its a lot more balanced than in the first games
5) Start to accept that although RBY were good games, they had their flaws
6) Rejoice with other Pokefans and try to have fun instead of spreading hate (:

 

[Silri]

Zorogami, I also think people should just let each other love whatever generations they love. Pokemon games are for having fun, right?

I guess I just haven't experienced these genwunners everyone talks about, while I have experienced a lot of pleas for Gen 3 remakes and praise for those games across many different forums. No other rabid generation fan group has gotten a label like those for gen 1.

So back to genwunners. I would guess people that aren't willing to even try the new games are going to be hard to convince otherwise. A genwunner is someone whose mind is most likely already made up. They're going to be stuck in the 90's, and sometimes you just have to agree to disagree. It never hurts to try and show them the cool things from the new games, but expect progress to be slow.

 

[Digidark822]

Whew, for a moment there I thought this thread was going to erupt into flame war (I still think it will, at some point in time). I, personally, started late playing Gen 4 first. Loved it, have some 486 hours logged on Pearl. Got SoulSilver because it was a bit late to play the original, and loved that too. Then Gen 5 rolled around, and played through Black really quickly. Black 2 is currently (can't be bothered to finish it) very tedious, and I played through X really quickly as well. Before Gen 5 popped up, I got a copy of Ruby off the net and still can't beat the forsaken league. Maybe I'm just really bad, I dunno. Anyhow, I've been meaning to get around to playing FireRed/LeafGreen or maybe even one of the G1 games, but I just can't find anyplace to buy a copy. If I could, I'd play one (it's been my goal that before Gen 7 I would beat a game from every region). I'd been fiddling with some emulators, but other than that, I don't feel I'm getting the full experience. Maybe the only reason I dislike genwunners is because I, having started in G4, haven't played G1 enough to see their point. I understand liking something a lot, but ignoring anything past generation one is somewhat ridiculous.

 

[AoTora]

I personally don't mind genwunners all that much - but there are certain people that really get on my nerves - people who think that I am dumb for liking gens 4 and 5 and for kinda disliking gen 1 starters - I don't mind if you have your own opinion - just don't bash the others for having a different opinion.

 

[JayGokani]

I used to dislike gen 5 and 6, but not any more. I like all gens. The advice that I give is: just give every gen a go, they are all great.

 

[Imperator161]

I find myself usually feeling like this. I notice more people complaining about the constant pandering to Gen 1 than any actual praise for Gen 1. I'm not sure where people hang out to find these genwunners. As has been said, most of them are not current Pokemon players. I think during my experience with various Pokemon fans I've only run into one notable 'genwunner', and that wasn't on the Internet. I feel it's just the trending thing right now to bash Gen 1 and its fans.

I find more praise for gen 3 and Hoenn than anything I've seen for Kanto. The constant nagging for a R/S/E remake is just as annoying as any praise for Charizard or Kanto would be. I played Sapphire and Emerald to death back in the day, and I'm not sure why people are so enamored by it. But I understand to each their own.

No one complains about the constant praise for Gen 3 or wanting remakes for it. There's no genwunner equivalent for Gen 3, even though I feel like they're the louder presence on the Internet. It makes no logical sense to complain about one but not the other. If one bothers you, so should the other. So why no complaints about Gen 3 fanboys?

I would agree with some of these comments about Gen 3 lovers. I've seen the term "Hoenn babies" thrown around a couple of places (I guess the assumption is that the people who love gen 3 were too young to play gens 1/2--not sure who coined the term, or how widespread its use is). One of the issues I've noticed on a couple of forums is that some of the people praising gen 3 (maybe others as well) seem to spend time bashing people who liked the earlier gens best. It might be valuable for everyone ("genwunners" and otherwise) to recognize that opinions are just that--opinions--and someone's negative opinion of another person's favorite generation has no bearing on that individual's personal enjoyment of said gen.

Another issue with the term "Genwunner" is that there seems to be some confusion about its definition. In this thread, it seems like most people are suggesting that it applies to people who only played/like gen 1 and only recognize the original 151 as "real" Pokémon, which seems like a reasonable definition. However, further issues arise when people begin to use the term to refer to anyone who liked gen 1 best (something that I've seen happen in other threads/on other forums). It's certainly possible for someone to like an early gen better than later gens, despite having played all of them. For example, I personally like gen 2 best. I've played every main-series game, and yes, I recognize that there have been a lot of technological improvements since then, but that doesn't change the fact that my favorite memories are from Gold, and overall, I got the most pleasure out of playing gen 2. Yes, I recognize all existing Pokémon as "real," but as it turns out, most of my favorites are from gen 1, with a couple from gen 2. Gen 3 was my least favorite, probably because of the reboot and lack of access to old Pokémon when R/S first came out (where's my Blastoise?). Does my love of early games make me a gen1/2er? By the definitions here, no, but elsewhere, I've seen people attack anyone who suggests, like I have, that they like the older games the best.

On the whole, then, I don't think the cure we're looking for is "curing" genwunnerness. Rather, we should focus on reducing complaints about people who prefer any particular gen over other gens, whether "genwunners," "Hoenn babies," or others. Frankly, most of the genuine genwunners (by the definitions laid out in earlier posts in this thread) probably don't care enough to spend time on Pokémon forums complaining about the newer games. Most such individuals moved on from Pokémon years ago, and now have better things to worry about, like their careers and lives.

 

[Hikamaru]

Here are my usual advice to stop being a Genwunner:

Try to avoid being blinded by nostalgia, sure it may have been fun but things change and it always never hurts to see what has changed, Pokemon included. If you give the newer generations a try, you'll realize how much more balanced the game has become now, because remember how godly the Psychic-type was in Gen 1? Only weak to Bug at the time, and that type was crippled by weak moves and Pokemon. But as time went on, Game Freak finally fixed those issues.

Like Zorogami said, while 1st Gen was great, start to accept its flaws. Every generation had a good and bad point about it, and also try and rejoice with other Pokemon fans instead of spreading hate. I don't like it when that happens, and while I do like newer generations myself there's no need to call me a "Genwunner" of a certain generation or something. I often felt sad that 5th Gen's starters get bashed a lot, but I actually love most of the Pokemon from that generation. Remember, we all have opinions!

It also doesn't hurt to try something new, it's always nice to discover new things.

 

[Azire]

Like others have mentioned I have been called a Genwunner in a disrespectful manner many times in regards to voicing my opinion about disliking Gen 3 and Gen 5. I actually haven't ran into the definition mentioned in this thread until coming to this thread. The definition about not seeing anything past Gen 1.

The way I see it, on other forums, Facebook groups etc you are a Genwunner for liking Gen 1 the best and disliking other Generations. For me Gen 5 is terrible, perhaps my Genwunner status was no stronger than through this Gen. Unova was painful to say the least. The Pokémon? I can't honestly say most of them aren't garbage. The starters I actually liked from a visual standpoint. All three with weak move pools and overall uselessness was annoying though. Of course I only liked Snivy and Oshawott.

The only Generation I disliked more was Gen 3. As I have already mentioned this generates a lot of hate. Most of the calls of Genwunnerness comes from Hoenn Babies (I love it!!) and anybody trying to fight against my opinion of Unova crap.

I will look past the nostalgia value of Gen 1 when people admit that Gen 5 was the most lacking in quality Pokémon, at least in design. I don't feel competitive debates belong anywhere when discussing a Genwunner status.

Perhaps we should all rejoice in the glory that is Gen 6. Quality games, gives something to fans of all Generations. Game Freak really outdid themselves on this one. Now just hope we get Move Tutors with Z!!

 

[Eevee3]

I think a lot of you are misinformed about what a genwunner really is.

A genwunner is not just someone who likes gen one. They think gen one is the best only because it's the original. They think every other generation of Pokemon sucks because it's not the original, completing ignoring important factors like game mechanics.

Gen one was broken. The graphics were basic and not really eye pleasing to look at. But that's understandable because it was the first Pokemon game and it was on the Gameboy. You can't have beautiful 3D graphics on a Gameboy.
The movepools of Pokemon were very limited and there were many battling techniques that needed major nerfing. It was just the beginning of what a Pokemon game could fully be.

Then gen two came out with two new types and slightly updated graphics. Then gen three, four and so on. Each time a new game came out, there were more things added like new moves, more types, better graphics, more Pokemon, different locations and things to explore, etc. I don't see how expanding the Pokemon universe and fixing things to make the game more balanced is bad.

I believe that genwunners are so close minded because of two reasons. The fear of change and nostalgia.

For some people, they don't like change. They want things to stay the way they are. This fits in with new Pokemon games.

"Who's this Mime Jr. character? Ugh. Why is he needed? I don't know who that is. He's not like Pikachu. He sucks."

If they don't know who someone is or what the region is, they automatically think it sucks and refuse to give it a chance, when in reality, it's really just trying to expand the Pokemon universe and make it more fun.

Nostalgia is another huge problem. We tend to forget all of the bad parts of our childhood and this goes along with Pokemon too. We forget that Psychic type was OP in gen one. We forget about how limited our bag was when it came to holding items. We just forget all of that and remember how much fun we all had with our first game. Therefore a lot of people believe to think that gen one was the best because that's the gen they grew up with and had a lot of fun with. They think that no other gen can beat the fun they had with gen one which is fine but bashing a generation you know nothing about is just not cool or accurate.

Gen one can be your favourite gen but be aware of its flaws and don't think all the other gens suck just because you didn't grow up with them.

 

[Sabrewulf238]

I feel that by virtue of being a "genwunner" a lot of this advice would be ignored but.....

1. Visit bulbapedia and look at new pokemon, make an effort to appreciate the origins of the Pokemon's design.
2. Buy/play a gen 3-6 pokemon game (preferably 6th for best impact)
3. Make a team with at least 5 pokemon from the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th gen. (2nd too if you're a hardcore hater) You can have 1 first gen pokemon.
4. Appreciate:
A. Better graphics
B. More gameplay options
C. Deeper game mechanics
D. Worse nostalgia factor because guess what: It's new to you.

It isn't rocket science.

I'm of the opinion that people are genwunners out of choice, actively hating on newer generations doesn't just "happen". All the tips in the world won't change that.

By the by, the only people I would really classify as genwunners are those who actively hate on newer generations. If you played the 1st gen and now legitimately don't care for pokemon (outside it being a childhood relic) I'd be hard pressed to call them anything.

 

[Homura Akemi]

All comes down to how and with who you grew up.

Keep in mind that:
Gen 2 perfected what Gen 1 had failed on, including the horrifically botched critical hit system, and the first installment of the day-night system

Gen 3 gave you some of the most important features required for competitive Pokemon: abilities, natures and EV/IVs. Along with that, the double battle made an appearance.

Gen 4 gave us the glorious wifi battling system, the special/physical split, the return of Gen 2's day and night system, albeit at a higher degree, and the GTS (Global Trade Station).

Gen 5 was the "Wifi all the things!" generation, Gen V brought quite possibly the most wifi features, most importantly being the C-Gear. From here, you can access other wifi processes. New forms of battles, including Triple and Rotation battles, and what's quite possibly the best story of all Pokemon games.

Gen 6. Current games. X & Y. The first fully 3D Pokemon games. Hordes, sky battles, Pokemon-Amie, Mega Evolutions, and CUSTOMISATION. The Midnight Club of Pokemon, pretty much :p This generation brought so much personalisation that no 2 characters look the same.

What I'm saying is that every Pokemon game expands and improves on the last. Considering Gen 1 was simply the beginning of the series, it had a lot to fix up on. There's clearly nothing to hate about in the newer generations.
"Oh, eww, Gen V has that disgusting ice cream and walking garbage!" should I mention the crit mechanics of Gen 1? Alakazam hits hard 24/7. On the design of Pokemon, Pidgeot, Muk and Ditto. Giant pigeon, sludge and copying sludge, respectively. Where's your innovation now~? This is proof that each generation, while being excellent in their own ways and deserving individual merits, have their flaws.
"IT'S NOT CHARIZARD!" b-b-but I like talonflame over zard. best fire/flying pokemon. gale wings~
"Pikachu best mouse." a-hem. Evolve it. Now.
"Ideas are dying. Yawn."
So...no ideas?
- Deoxys' unique form changes in Gen 4, and before that, its form was decided via what game you had
- Mega. Evolutions. They were basically made to COUNTER the loss of ideas, and one damn good job they did. Giving both underrated and fan favourite Pokemon a boost in the battling scape. Good on ya, GF.
- The 3rd versions. Their job was to provide an extra playing experience. Why are genwunners saying there were running out of ideas, when you have games like Crystal, Emerald and Platinum adding both a refined story and new features? It makes zero sense.

Go watch dookieshed's videos on things genwunners should shut up about.
In my opinion, if you don't like every generation, you're not a true Pokemon fan. It's just not right to me to exclude whole gens.

Spoiler:

The "original 151"? But every Pokemon game has that sense of originality. In what universe do you see ghostly, sentient swords? Or perhaps ice creams that freeze all those around them?

I doubt I want to see that all the time. :l

rant end...now, the remedy.

1. I'd try to get out of the nostalgia trap, by playing newer Pokemon games, preferrably X and Y, so you can see improvement to the finest degree.
2. Keep them playing the game you've given them, see how they do a bit later. If they seem ticked off that it isn't their beloved Red version, convince them about how good the game you have is.
3. Tell them that, as good as R/B/Y are (trust me, they were FANTASTIC...for their time...), they have their limitations, flaws and issues. Tell your "patient" about how horrible the R/B competitive metagame is :P
4. Show them Mega Charizard X and Y. In fact, why not show them all the Gen 1 Mega Evolutions? This will give them a sense of hope for the new generations :)

 

[Nah]

In my opinion, if you don't like every generation, you're not a true Pokemon fan. It's just not right to me to exclude whole gens.

I more or less agree with you, except for this one point. You don't have to like every single generation in order to be a "true fan". You can still be a true fan and not like a gen, so long as you can back it up with sound reasoning. But if someone can't do that...


Also, I think you forgot to mention the horrible type balance that Gen 1 had (Bug, Dragon, and Ghost having no good attacking moves, Psychic basically being OP).

 

[mangamusicfan]

Isn't this yust a word for oldschool Gamers's?

 

[JimmyS1985]

As someone who hasn't played Pokemon in 14 years I'll give my input. With such large increases in new types of Pokemon, I thought there was a good chance that there would be a lot more "filler" pokemon than with gen 1.

My knowledge base on Pokemon still doesn't go past the original 151 and Togepei.

Filler is a term, like when you bought a CD, it'd come with 20 songs but only 4 or 5 of the songs you listened to and the rest you ignored. The other tracks were there simply to fill out the whole disc so you got a full 115 minutes worth of songs rather than the 4 or 5 you pretty much only listen to on the disc.

Squirtle, Charmander and Bulbasaur are excellent Pokemon who start off well and carry through the entire game. But take, I dunno, might offend someone by saying this, Mr. Mime. Would the series really be that much worse off if he never existed? Or Koffing?

It feels like they had filler pokemon in the first one, I'm worried that the creators of the series may have ran out of fresh ideas for the now 6th installment and rarely have a new pokemon that fill roles that older pokemon already filled quite well.

Really I'd rather have you know, maybe 300 well thought out, planned and implemented Pokemon than 721 Pokemon with a lot of them added in for the sake of maybe increasing how many pokemon the new game comes with or to make an interesting new episode of the Anime.

My $.02

 

[Nah]

Isn't this yust a word for oldschool Gamers's?

Not really. A genwunner is generally someone who dislikes any Pokémon generation that isn't Gen 1 (and 2, in some cases) and fails to explain/give good reasons as to why they dislike the other 4 or 5 generations of Pokémon. And that is certainly not the same thing as an old-school (Pokémon) gamer.