What time was the "pinnacle" of Pokémon for you?

1999-2001 for me. Pokémon was everywhere!

Shifted more toward YGO in middle school when the Poké-hype died down but never stopped getting the games.
 
Probably Generation 1 + early Generation 2. Held the widest range of Pokemon interests: games, anime, trading card game, and figurines. Also had someone to regularly play with at the time too.

Gives late Generation 6(?) + Generation 7 an honorable mention. Learned about adding challenges to the game. Never considered restricting yourself beyond trying different Pokemon. (Applies to all games, not just Pokemon.) Opened a door to new experiences and renewed interest.
 
I'd say Late Gen 3 through Gen 4. Not only was it the time that most held my interest as a kid, there were so many interesting spinoffs around that time. The DS had the first two Mystery Dungeon games and the entire Ranger trilogy, Rumble got its start on the Wii, I was able to play the GameCube games with backwards-compatibility, I had lots of fun with Battle Revolution, and I was even a Pikachu main in Smash Bros Brawl. (Money was scarcer back then since I was a kid with an allowance instead of an adult with a job, so I never got Conquest, Trozei, or the PokePark games.)

I gradually lost interest around Gen 5 and 6 as there wasn't the same degree of new spinoff games, and I was getting bored with the mainline games because they were getting too easy for me. I didn't know how to emulate yet so I just stopped playing once I beat the mainline games, pretty much.

Honorable mention for 2022-2024, too, when emulation rekindled my love for the series. I've had a ton of fun with all the monotypes and other challenge runs I've been doing. I've been too busy for most of this year but I hope to get back into it soon-ish.
 
For me, it was when the XYZ anime was airing. The original anime was what got me into Pokémon in the first place, and I also obsessively collected the cards, but XYZ was what really got me hyped back then lol. I remember genuinely crying watching the league finals. I only had access to the games when I got old enough to figure out emulation, because I never owed any gaming console when I was little, but I really love the games now. I'll always remember that 2015 era of anipoke though :)))
 
The Gen 4 era, without a doubt. The generation I mostly grew up with, it brought us plenty of great games, both mainline and spinoff. Platinum, HGSS, Explorers of Sky, Shadows of Almia and Guardian Signs are all amongst my favourite games of all time. A lot of my favourite mons like Infernape, Electivire and Garchomp were introduced during this gen. It also had the only series in the anime that I ever had any real interest in.
 
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When Pokémon first arrived in the UK in 1999, that's where my interest and excitement began. For a couple of years after that I watched the anime, collected the cards, stickers and anything Pokémon I could get my hands on. My family didn't have a lot of money, so I couldn't have any games right away.

It wasn't until August 2001 when I got my copy of Pokémon Blue and a Game Boy Color, that I got to experience the games for myself. I adored Blue, but a few months later Pokémon Crystal released in the UK, and I bought that with my pocket money I saved up. That is what I would call the pinnacle of my love for Pokémon. Just before Pokémon Ruby released, my hype for Pokémon had never been higher, despite my friends and everyone I knew in real life, 'growing out' of the hobby.

It did start to decline during generation 3 unfortunately, but I still enjoyed it and have always had a soft spot for the franchise. It has been great to see how far we have come in all the years since.
 
For me?
It was the "Pokemania" of the late 90's and early 2000's
I remember trading cards on the playground. Playing Pokemon Blue for HOURS
My parents bringing me to see Pokemon the first movie multiple times the Pokemon 2000.

It was a time that hasnt been replicated since and may never be replicated again. It was such a unique moment in time i'm glad I got experience at the perfect age
 
I was most into Pokémon during the Diamond & Pearl era. The games were great, but what really hooked me was the anime. Ash's journey in Sinnoh felt more mature, and the battles were intense. It was the first time I felt the anime had real stakes. That combo of solid games and a compelling show made it peak Pokémon for me.
 
Nostalgia hit me super hard in the GSC and RSE eras.
I remember going on old gaming websites like GameTalk reading up on all the conspiracy theories and urban legends regarding these two Gens.
I also attended school in the Philippines in 2000, and Pokémon was everywhere. Basically, that's all everybody in my class talked about between classes.
Thus, Pokémon the Movie 2000 holds a truly special place in my heart, as I watched that movie possibly hundreds of times during my school break-—even more than the First Movie.
 
From the end of gen 3 to mid gen 7. That to me was an era where Game Freak was pumping hit after hit and Nintendo had all these great spin offs as well. Ranger and Mystery Dungeon to name a few. By the 3DS era it began to slow down since X & Y were a bit disappointing. Thankfully ORAS saved gen 6 for me and I can't go wrong with gen 7 either. After that it really dipped.
 
Roughly 2015-2022. I was old enough to understand how to play, but young enough for the games to still feel exciting / magical. The anime marathon club has gone a long way towards reviving my interest in the series, however the newer games just don't have the same punch as Gens 4-7 for me.
 
The pinnacle of Pokemon to me I would say would be Pokemon Heart Gold and Soul Silver. For one, these games to me represent everything Pokemon is and what I love about the franchise. There's actually a thought I gave on what Pokemon means to me that I have written on my site's about page, and I think it perfectly describes HGSS: :)

"The first two generations of Pokémon games, to me, though containing simple, old, visuals, give a feeling like I'm adventuring, wanting to know about these creatures from ancient myths and stories, becoming friends with them, taking on a role of a hero, and aiming to be a champion, as if of a sport. It's all an adventure a child would love to go on. Pokémon is like some kind of grand journey. It's like a child's fantasy.
This is, what Pokémon is to me.

Other games would later be made in the franchise, and bring even more exciting experiences.


My goal for this site is to seek and discover the magic, wonder, stories and dreams of this amazing world, and tell its many stories and experiences the players can take part and interact with."

And beyond the games' adventures, the developers best take advantage of what to do with what you love about the world in its content: All the features (like competitive battling,) we can participate in with our favorite Pokemon and form memories and new chapters in our own logs, that are another one of the things that makes the universe like I made it out to be in my quotes.

To be honest, I don't know much about what it's like for these players to travel and compete, (could be partly not glamorous to a certain degree,) but I imagine it must be something to see different parts of the world, (being cities and landscapes,) meet certain people you like, battle competitors with same interests as you, and fight alongside favorite Pokemon. All to form "Your own story," as they say in the games.
 
DarkCloud1267 said:
For me?
It was the "Pokemania" of the late 90's and early 2000's
I remember trading cards on the playground. Playing Pokemon Blue for HOURS
My parents bringing me to see Pokemon the first movie multiple times the Pokemon 2000.

It was a time that hasnt been replicated since and may never be replicated again. It was such a unique moment in time i'm glad I got experience at the perfect age
Click to expand...

Omg I was VERY young but I remember all of that!! People went absolutely crazy for Pokemon back then, I went and saw Pokemon The First Movie in the cinema with my mum, aunt and cousin when I was 4 and got the Mew promo card ehehe. Trading cards in the playground and getting in trouble from the teachers lol, omg nostalgia!!

For me, even though I have really fond memories of Pokemon Red/Blue and Gold/Silver, Gen 3 was peak Pokemon for me. I was 9 so I was old enough to have a better understanding of the game mechanics and stuff, and I remember sitting in my cousins room with him for hours playing on our GBAs and trading Pokemon back and forth. I borrowed his Blaziken to help me through the Elite 4 and then had to go home before I managed to trade it back and I remember him crying, I'll always feel really bad about that lol
 
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