Have you ever taken a break from playing Pokémon?

maybe for one set of games or an entire generation...or several. have you ever taken a break from the game series? did you go back to replay what you missed? or have you played all the main games without taking any breaks and going back to them later (if at all)?

I know I was into wrestling during Gen 4 and didn't even have a DS until Gen 5. Unfortunately I have never played Gen 4 at all and that's the only main games I've never played. I try to at least try anything new that comes out just to see what it's like. The only other ones I've never played was Mystery Dungeon line.

Yeah I'm sort of on a break right now. Maybe it's burn out.

I binged a couple rom hacks, but now I just don't feel like touching any of the games. I'm sure the mood to play again will hit me.

I haven't bought any since Black 2. Since 2013 I've only managed two playthroughs of most of my games. Part of that's due to how I play them though - I'm quite obsessive about obtaining every possible Pokémon and item in my game, and with day/night cycles that can render it incompatible with things like having a job. So I tend towards replaying LeafGreen due to the simplicity, and Emerald as the only things really affected are the Shoal Cave and Berries (although I'm going to have to get a 2nd battery replacement for it before I can have another save).

I had a DS, but not a 3DS, so I missed out on generations 6 and 7. I was starting high school when gen 6 arrived and didn't have time for games, I had to study. I was pretty much at peace that Pokémon games had overrun me and left me behind in the dust with their 3D-displays and cameras and whatnot that I always thought made the 3DS too much like a cellphone instead of a Nintendo. I had my DS, I liked it and didn't want an expensive oh-so-many-features replacement.

When Sword and Shield were announced, I liked them so much that I eventually got a Switch for them (I never spend money on anything, so I thought: why not?), so now I'm back in the game and it's interesting how technology has change since my days on Black. I'm enjoying it!

Also, with the advancement of emulators, I finally got the ability to play the generations I missed - emulated, just like my old Ruby was when I was starting out in first grade.

I took a bit of a break after gen 3, and didn't even own a DS until just before Black and White came out. Still, I got through HeartGold and Platinum before jumping into gen 5, so even though I didn't play much Pokemon in my high school years, I've still been more or less keeping up with each generation since then.

Not...really? There are some days I don't play Pokemon, but I never took a long break. Right now, there are times I don't play a Pokemon game, but I still poke my switch and play Shield at least once a week. Pokemon never really isn't a part of my focus in life, so?

it depends on what you count as a break. there have definitely been long stretches of months that pokemon didn't cross my mind due to life. but i always get excited when the new generation releases and have played them all XD

interestingly, in 2000 i packed all of my pokemon stuff into a box and gave it to a friend. i thought i would move on from pokemon before entering middle school. yeah that didn't happen LOL

I always play through the main game then take breaks in between and only do shiny collecting thereafter and get on to collect free gifts etc.

I disliked Hoenn so much that I waited two months to purchase Pearl after it's release, teetering on the idea of not even purchasing it. I have not taken a break since.

I hate myself for it, but I've bought every game at launch since the first generation.

I've not enjoyed any of them since Platinum. But I still keep buying and playing them. I could have easily skipped the last four generations and missed nothing of consequence, but I keep doing this to myself.

I loathed Black, but I thought Black 2 would be better...and to be fair I suppose it was, but it still had the same rubbish narrative, bad experience mechanic, and awful encounter rate. After the year-long hype I thought X would be better than Black/Black 2, and I thought it couldn't *possibly* get any worse than X when I bought Moon. Ultra Moon I thought "maybe they fixed the mistakes they made with Moon" for some reason. Shield I have no excuse I suppose - I had the full picture of just how bad it was going to be going in, but a part of me couldn't quite believe it'd be THAT bad. I mean, I'd played three generations of bad Pokemon games by this point. This wasn't going to be THAT much worse, surely? Right?

Maybe I'm "secretely" a masochist and like watching my childhood be repeatedly pummelled by bad Pokemon games. Maybe playing these awful games validates my nostalgia for older titles (as long as I don't play the older titles and realise how dated they feel now, anyway) and allows me to feel good about my advancing age, because at least my childhood was better than these poor kids now who are subjected to these awful games and don't know any better. Maybe I have nothing better to do with my time than play these awful games. Maybe I still really like Pokemon, under layers and layers of negativity. Maybe Shield will finally be enough to get me to stop. Maybe, maybe, maybe.

I basically stopped after Gen 3 because I couldn't afford a new console. Many years later I was finally able to make money on my own and got Pokémon X and later Moon.
I went on a second break until I recently bought Platinum and Black 2 because I skipped those and I've heard great things. I'd really like to play the latest games but that would mean
acquiring a Switch.

I think the only time I've ever taken a break was the year (or two) between BW and XY, consequently, I've never played B2W2, which I hate myself for! I was disillusioned with the series after BW, even though I've grown to really love those games the more I've replayed them. When the series was taken onto the 3DS, loads of my mates got back into it and I did too. I'm surprised that's the only lengthy break I've taken, but I love replaying the games so much I guess it makes sense!

i got really bored and stopped playing ultra moon for like half a year. after that, i skipped LGPE until i got SwSh last... December? so i'm not a total stranger to taking breaks from pokemon games. if a game bores me or doesn't appeal to me, i'm not going to force myself to slug through it. :<

I skipped gen 5 upon its release and came back with the release of gen 6 with XY. Went back to BW & BW2 sometime after but yeah.

yes for most of high school when i was Way Too Cool For That Nerd Stuff TM

Yes, in 2016 after my disastrous Black 2 Nuzlocke collapse. Putting months of work into something only for it to be all for nothing even made me not like the game for a while.

I did eventually get back into the games in the fall after I did a run on Alpha Sapphire. That did get me back into the games in time for SM but it was a hard while.

During Generation 4. I started getting detached from Pokemon. I had every game up to Diamond and Pearl and I remember getting my Mom to go to Gamestop at 7 in the morning just so I could get my game that I had preordered.

But as the generation dragged on I just lost interest. I sold all my pokemon games and I thought that was the end of Pokemon for me.

However my Sophmore year, I saw my friend playing her Soul Silver during lunch in high school and I got interested again. A huge amount of people in high school were still into pokemon. I got Heart Gold. But I didn't really start getting back into pokemon until I saw Unova games announced and so many pokemon I loved.

So between... 2008 and late 2009 I took a break I slowly came back until 2010 when I was completely back into it. I still watch the anime for a bit, but it was so hard to keep track of on Cartoon Network. They kept changing the days and time it came on or I was never able to get up and watch it. DVR also helped drastically.

I guess it was about May 2010 when I first joined this site when my love for pokemon completely reignited.


Obviously I take breaks from Pokemon Games when they start getting old and we are coming to the end of a generation or have a year break between games. But I really wouldn't consider that a break from pokemon, just a general break from games.

The only Pokemon Main Line Game I completely skipped was Platinum and I didn't buy it until 2018, but still haven't finished the game.