Best Pokemon game for beginners?

[MiatoEleanor]

In my quest to embark on the enchanting world of Pokémon, I am seeking guidance on the ideal game to initiate my journey. While contemplating the option of delving into the classics, such as Pokémon X/Y, I am uncertain about the means of accessing it, preferring to avoid significantly older editions. Can you recommend a suitable entry point that balances contemporary gameplay with accessible platforms?

 

[Devalue]

Kept the overall gameplay pretty consistent since Diamond/Pearl, as far as mainline games. Considers Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee as quite a bit different than other Pokemon games (relatively), so probably not that one.

Would say Sun/Moon (probably not Ultra), with Sword/Shield as second. Reasonings:

1. The newer Experience Share. Introduced it in X/Y. Cuts down on grinding. Balanced it pretty well in Sun/Moon.
2. Move effectiveness information on the second battle. Displays if a move is super-effective after fighting a Pokemon once. Lowers the burden of remembering the type chart.
3. Not Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon because, despite the larger variety of Pokemon, a higher difficulty.
4. Found Sword/Shield a little easy (as an experienced player, however), which could be better for you. Preferred the story of Sun/Moon over Sword/Shield, though.

Admits some bias, though. Likes Sun/Moon more than the others.

 

[KaiserFenrir]

I'd say Sword/Shield.
They're relatively easy games that have a decent pool of mons for you to choose from and give you a good idea of what to expect from other games going backwards.
X/Y is probably a good one too but I'd probably suggest OR/AS instead as it's based in a fan favourite region, slightly harder than X/Y and actually has a post game for you to enjoy.

 

[Sheep]

Sword and Shield, imo. They have the benefit of things like Exp. Candies to help level up but also a lack of open-world like Scarlet and Violet, which I feel may be overwhelming for beginners due to the lack of obvious pathways to go along to progress the story. A pretty good game for beginners and probably the best (to me).

 

[Curt_09]

I'd argue in favor of X/Y for a first game because there's a lot of hand-holding. You go on a fun adventure with your friends and basically experience a guided tour of the region. They introduce mega-evolutions and give you a free Lucario, so there's always that feeling of having a "win button" to fall back on if you get into a tight spot. EXP Share is pretty strong in that game, so you can play however you want and not end up underleveled. You get to take down a criminal team with reasonable ideals but questionable methods, you get to catch the box legendary, you get to battle the gyms and the elite four, and there's stuff to do post game. You get the entire tradional Pokemon experience in a very accessible way.

 

[CoolKid575]

I second this, it's an easy but comforting game that has all the elements of the traditional Pokemon experience. The online will also be supported until 2024; so you can still use features like Friend Safari and O-Powers.

 

[Reginald Cosmic]

(Are we allowed to keep this thread going even when the user has been banned from PC forums?)

I find this question difficult to answer, and I need an answer because I want to introduce my nephew to the Pokemon games when he's old enough to read the dialogue around age 7 or 8. (The anime is different for obvious reasons, so I can show him that at age 3 or 4). My favorite games are Gen III, but the graphics will definitely be seen as dated by a lot of kids now. Those games don't tell you which moves are physical or special, and there's the lack of physical/special split, but I genuinely can't imagine a beginner as young as 7 caring about stats. Most of us picked Pokemon for looks or because of the anime at that age. (I don't know what age kids start questioning whether graphics are old or not. A friend of mine said his younger brother who was born the year I was got into Pokemon with Red AFTER my brother tried to show him the newer games like BW and XY.)

The BIG problem with Gen III, of course, is that you have to memorize a very intimidating chart to know which moves are effective, super effective, not very effective, or ineffective. It starts off logical that fire burns grass, water puts out fire, electricity zaps water, etc, but it becomes convoluted with stuff like "ice is frozen water, so water resists ice" and "grass absorbs water" or "Fairy-type beats Dragon-type because magic defeated the dragon in Sleeping Beauty" (or something like that).

So going backwards from the current games: Scarlet/Violet is a very weird and experimental game. There's hardly any trainers, and TPCi said you can challenge the gyms, titans, and the criminal organization when the devs clearly didn't intend for you to do that. Yes, my nephew can beat every Gym Leader first, but that'll make Team Star way too easy, and it's very difficult to explain to a seven-year-old, "Hey, I know you're excited, but you shouldn't challenge the ice-type leader with your fire-type starter first. Try the bug-type gym or grass-type gym first instead." This is one of my two main complaints about Violet; my other problem is I feel trainer battles are too spaced out, which is fine for one entry, obviously, but I hope they don't continue that in Gen X (that's Gen 10--confusing, I know).

I don't think I need to explain BDSP. Some people defend it to some extent, but I haven't seen anyone say they're great or even good Pokemon games.

Legends Arceus is way too experimental for a first Pokémon game. I haven't played it, but for some reason, your main objective is just completing the PokéDex, which is a bit reason I haven't played it.

Sword & Shield are probably the ones I'd like to show my nephew. It's a fun little adventure, but I get a bit fatigued by the 5th gym, and I haven't completed my most recent playthrough because of that (which is also why I haven't played Isle of Armour and Crown Tundra).

Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee is complicated cuz Pokemon player I've talked to IRL has recommended that first, but... it's boring, and I don't want pretend to like it in the hopes my nephew will play FRLG or BW or something. Children usually see right through that.

AlphaRad defended it in a video I saw recently when he said "Who enjoys wild Pokemon battles?" and I cannot fathom what goes through his mind when he's catching Pokemon in LGPE. You're just swiping with a Joycon for hours. It didn't even succeed in its goal of getting Pokemon Go players to check out the series. It's kind of like "Why did you make the most annoying and unfun part of wild Pokemon battles the only part of Pokemon battles, and why is it now a motion control thing?" They wasted the 2nd Kanto remake to cash in on Niantic's Pokemon game where you can't battle Pokemon.

I've tried Ultra Moon, but so far, I haven't been able to get into it. Maybe someday I'll enjoy Gen 7.

XY and ORAS are about as old as I can go here based on the criteria of this thread, and I agree with what was said above about XY, but they are a bit older. I'd have to buy my nephew a 3DS which is an outdated console because it's not old enough that I can easily emulate it for him on a Windows computer. Maybe I can loan him my 2DS that I recently bought for trading Pokemon in Gen 6, but I don't know.

After typing all this out, I have to add that there's a lot that can change between now (when he's 1 and a half years old) and when I show him a Pokemon game. Maybe TPCi will release a new favorite Pokemon game IMO. Maybe he'll think Gen III looks like a cartoon and he'll prefer that over the modern graphics. Maybe he'll really look up to me, and he'll want to play Pokemon just to spend time with me. (I hope this last one doesn't seem too egotistical. I'm really hoping my nephew will continue to like me as he grows older.) I want to show him cool games! I want to be a cool uncle with a lot of cool stuff!

 

[Devalue]

(Are we allowed to keep this thread going even when the user has been banned from PC forums?)

Yes. Liked the thread topic enough to keep. Miiiight move it to a new thread and hijack the first post someday, if the thread has enough staying power.

On the rest: May not be as complicated of a decision as you think. Will probably want to try whatever he sees other people playing first. Likely means whatever the parent(s)/guardian(s) play, if they do play video games. Potentially builds some interest with something like Snap or Pinball beforehand too. Does not require too much reading.

 

[Curt_09]

I find this question difficult to answer, and I need an answer because I want to introduce my nephew to the Pokemon games when he's old enough to read the dialogue around age 7 or 8. (The anime is different for obvious reasons, so I can show him that at age 3 or 4).

I think you're close to an answer here. The best way to introduce someone to Pokemon with longevity of their interest in mind is to start by introducing them to the world. Long-term interest in the series is usually founded on a love for the concept and the world itself rather than the games. If you plan to watch the anime with him, why not also get some toys or books to go with it? From there he would probably want to play a game that matches up with the anime in some way, so if he loves Indigo League then you should start with RBY or FRLG. Maybe ask him which Pokemon he likes the most or something and decide on a game from there.

As an aside, don't be disappointed if he doesn't take to it. There are tons of family members in the world who want their kids/grandkids/nephews/neices/etc. to share their niche interests and a lot of the time they just don't.

 

[Reginald Cosmic]

What can I say except "Thank you for the encouragement!" That sounds like some good advice. I did show him the Pokémon Primers book on Water-Type Pokémon, and it really got him excited. (He likes "lift the flap" books, and he seemed to enjoy the pictures a lot in comparison to the previous "life the flap" book I bought to read to him.) I appreciate Devalue's input too, so thank you, Devalue for that.

 

[miragespot]

If they have a Switch, and have played Pokemon Go, I'd strongly suggest starting with LGPE.

 

[Setsuna]

Whenever I've tried to introduce my friends to Pokemon, there are a few starting points I offer them. I like giving them the option to choose what sounds most appealing instead of saying "This is the best one, you have to do this" like I've seen others do on occasion.

I'll always offer the option of playing whatever the newest Pokemon games are, because everyone will be playing those. I think it'd be easier for them to enjoy the social aspects of it like trading when they're playing the most popular games that everyone is already talking about, and I'll be able to give them information that's the most up to date if they have any questions.

Next, I'll offer a game I think was made with beginners in mind. Usually it's Black and White.The idea that it was developed as a more story-focused kind of game, as a soft reboot for the franchise that offers only Unova Pokemon until the post-game makes it easy for me to recommend as a first Pokemon game because there aren't already 900+ different creatures you'll have to remember, you'll only have to worry about one generation's worth and learn the rest once you've "finished" the game. Telling them they're games with direct sequels that add a lot of cool new stuff is also a nice hook to get them interested in the rest of the series if they've enjoyed it. If that doesn't appeal to them I'll offer something like Fire Red and Leaf Green, as they're more modern updates to the original games that I think are still enjoyable to play and give a comfortable experience of the "first" Pokemon games. If they really wanna start from the beginning I'll hand them RBY and say good luck.

If they're just interested in what I enjoy about the series though, I'll hand them Platinum. I'll tell them the reasons it's my favourite, why it got me interested, and tell them I was willing to go back and play the older games after I was comfortable with the series. I think offering my personal favourite game is the easiest way to express my interest in the series, but while I don't think any Pokemon game isn't beginner friendly, I think there are better options.