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[twillight]

This gave an overall view on this whole game. I dunno the pacing of its unfnished predexessor-versions, but this one seems to be adjusted to beat Steven exclusively.
As always, I was beating every trainer in the game for exp and cash, with a single pokemon, this time Latios, and it was not a very pleasant experience.
Latios starts with a psychic attack only, and not a good one in that, so you're stuck until lvl 20 to grind up on lvl 2-3 wild pokemons. Kinda good news, that Speed + Special Attack IV-s come at ca. 20% together (SATK is only 4%, in comparison). I still did some HP-training too, just to keep my sanity, and I did not regret it tbh.
Passing that obstacle went back to EV-training, this time on Abras, that's 10% Special Attack training. To not go mad, in the end I again included some HP-training. Again, wasn't the worst idea, maybe.
Now at this point I finaly could do some stuff for a while, until reaching the flute-meister, of course you want those flutes, that'll be like 2,000 steps in the "tall" grass (there is a taller(?) grass, lol, which is actualy tall), so to keep my sanity, I was shotting down pokemons there too.
Anyway, I kept being like 2 times the level compared to anything that cmae across, this includes trainers. It was like the Elite Four that jumped 10 level, but they didn't even come close to my level.
Then Steven jumped 20 more levels, pretty much was the same level as me, and he has 2 very very buff pokemon: the Metagross, and the even worse Cradily. I don't know how they are that massive/spongy, but they are. I had to exchange ALL my moveset to adjust to these, and eat all the Rare Canied I found to beat the buggers. If it was not enough, I was thinking to reload right after the Elite Four, and keep Recover, which is a massive healing with plenty of charges, but fortunately it was not needed. One thing was pretty sure: I wasn't into another grind.
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If Gen1 is A-tear (it has so many bugs it can't be A-tear, than this one is C-tear, B-tear going to Platinum. That's a B+ game. Black#White is maybe D+, too easy, but otherwise not many problems, but being bland is not a favourable trait.

[twillight]

The optimal (meaning the least amount of pokemon) to have ALL the useful out-of-battle movesets (so this includes HMs, Dig, Teleport, what have you):
- Red: Slowbro + Farfetched (you don't need teleporting much in this one, the maps are adequately small, and Dig brings you close enough to the local hospital)
- Gen 2: ???
- Emerald: Seedot + Marill + anything that can fly + Abra/Ralts (Abra is a hard-to-cath option, but you have to level up Ralts if you go that route). I'm not entirely sure yet wether you need that teleport in this one yet. Extremly rare move in Emerald, it is.
- Platinum: Bidoof + Bibarel + Starly + Abra (teleport is helluva good in this one)
- X: You have a couple of options, the base can be collected pretty soon. Catch a Ralts for Flash and Teleport, and depending on what you want, you likely want it to be male, and evolve it all the way up, so it can learn Cut and Strength in addition, though this is not obligatory.
Also before the first gym you can catch a bidoof, what you'll upp to bibarel, and that can learn all kinds of stuff. It'll definitely be the one learning Surf and Waterfall, but you still need something that flies, and can learn at least 2 more move above that (and is available soon, and not post-game).
This thins down the list to 2 candidate: hawlucha, and aerodactyl. Pick any, and adjust your bibarel (and Ralts) accordingly. In the end you'll carry around 3 HM-slaves.

[twillight]

This feature is introduced/exists in X/Y, and is a super cool idea, but it has some mayor flaws the otherwise quite tlakey game does not tell you, and you need to know:
- when you first turn on the feature HAVE A COMPLETLY USELSSS POKEMON AT YOUR FIRST SLOT. This is because the game'll force you to gain 4 Defense EV twice. Completly ridiculous.
- after that fiasco, you will be able to roll your pokemons within the app on its starter screen, where the punching bag is.
- you can hit the punching bag on the starting screen, but this achieves absolutely nothing. You need to activate a special punching bag.
-there are 2 kinds of special punching bags: one that gives you EV for a certain stat, and those that makes the trianings easier.
-the amount of special punching bags you can have in store, is LIMITED. The game only tells you this when your backpack is already full, and thus you loose the won bag.
- after the first 2 mandatory defense-training you can choose the stat you want to upgrade.

- the game will always tell you the rules of the chosen training, no matter how many times you already done it.
- yes, it was a genious idea to make the aim-circle green on a green background.
- you need to use the roller-skating buttons to move aorund in these minigames.
- you'll need to use another button above the rollerskating buttons for the Protect-function.
- yes, you need to use the mouse during these minigames too.
- yes, the initial settings of the keyboard in Citra makes absolutely zero sense.
- you only get EV-boost and punching bags if you beat one of the trainings.
- there are 3 levels of trainings, and to unlock the higher ... difficulty trainings, you have to beat ALL the various trainings first. This means have a useless pokemon ON A HIGH LEVEL to unlock these #&@,
- It seems you need the level of the pokemon you use influences the difficulty here, and the HP and Defense trainings are absolutely ridiculous.
- fortunately, unlocking the higher trainings is not just for the used pockemon, but for the player, so all pokemon you own, or will own, will be able to use all the trainings.
- Currently not sure when you can unlock the Super Secret Training levels. Either you just have to max yourself out, or again, beat all lvl 3 trainings.

[twillight]

This'll be the final post from me in the topic. Just quick summary of each generation.

Gen 1: pokemon Blue is the better version just for providing access to Meowth, which can generate you more money that's in the game in otherwise fixed amount.
Yes, Gen 1 is a "buggy mess", but it's neither game-breaking, nor immersion-breaking. The pacing is good, the puzzles are challanging but not impossible all htings considered (though you really have to work for the last bird on Victory Road), and is compact enough to not outstay its welcome. The backtrack helps the immersion.

Gen 2: you either have to settle with gutt-wrenching ugly, or for an incomplete version here. I say, avoid this generation.

Gen 3: I have o idea how the original releases work, but in Emerald you are constantly twice the level of the enemy, making the only challanging fight the post-game Steven. That's not good. Also, the game is a railroad, no diversion from the One True Path. Boring as heck, especialy grinding for the flutes.

Gen 4: the time you are allowed to backtrack is, when all the items you constantly saw no longer worth your time and effort. The pacing is also hirrble, switching between oneshotting everything to bumping into difficulty-spike and thus grinding-sessions. the Distortion World is also BS: potentialy softlocking the player in a VERY challanging puzzle, good luck solving it without a guide.

Gen 5: this one is simply boring. Any pokemon remotly interresting is way bexond the starting area, and this was actualy the first game I actualy won (later I went back and finished the Elite Four for the other games too), this time using only a single pokemon (Herdier). The plot is nonsense, N is absolute nonsense, there's no flavour in the game - it's boring. That's kinda worse than being bad. The only good thing is the updated visuals.
EDIT: also do not forget HALF OF THE GAME is locked behind post-game. That amount of story and content is NOT post-game, but proper game, and that's inexcuseable.


Gen 6: I should go into explanation why I think the story is great, the pacing is great, and the game is generaly the best pokemon can offer. It's not flawless though, the game(s) definitely would have benefited from a 3rd release. And is "way too easy", meaning the enemies are not too challanging considering, so either use a weak (low base stat) pokemon, or do not use the Battle Chateau AT ALL. Also: you definitely not need Mega Evolution. Possibly.

Gen 7: Look. there's a large difference by the look of it between the difficulty of the original and the Ultra versions. I don1t know the original release, neither will touch them. But darn, the Ultras are HARD. Some tips if you want to try any of it:
- do EV-training as soon as you got the pokemon you want! Do NOT rely on exp.share, it'll ruin your day, because it not just transfers exp, but also EV, and that can BREAK you pokemon. Imagine giving pyhsical attack EVs to special attackers.
- do NOT feed your pokemon with beans! At least for a long while. You'll want them for the pokePilago, where you can plant the berries you need! (I never used them, but better safe than sorry)
- you have to catch 75-90 pokemon to be able to fully build the PokePilago! So start catching them early! (I don't like the spring-section fully built on the Pilago, and you don't actualy need it for anything, so I don't need the 90 pokemon)
- the RotomDex is annoying as heck, but there are some useful gains from it: Roto Bargain cuts prices in shops (not just pokemarts, but also clothes, the TM-shop etc., though not restaurants or BB-shops) from extraorbitant to simply too expensive. RotoCatch helps you capture that elusive pokemon. If you are a breeder, you might like RotoHatch, though it's way to rare in my case. RotoStealth is a free repell, if you are fed up. Roto HP and PP are equialent of their shop-items, only free, in case you use items. The rest is inarguably useless.
In the Ultra versions you also gain (allegedly) the power to use Z-power twice in battle, and that's something to be considered for now.
- you WANT high, or at least moderate affection-rating on your pokemon, because while they are like 5% chance modifiers, that CAN help you out. Well, this is mostly only if you do a solo playthrough I assume. Or if you keep UltraNekrozma in mind. That thing is infamous for a reason.
- the game has so high-level challanges, it is hard, and poses tactical problems along just grinding levels. Which you'll need to do anyway.
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Otherwise, naratively, and by pacing these games are trash. It's not fun playing them. The cutscenes are a chore, the endgame is padding, the miniquests are unsatisfying most of the times, and have pretty demanding requirements at times for barely any reward. Some are funny though.

Gen 8: "Optional" and barely existing trainers, bring, glitch-filled, unsatisfying.

Gen 9: There is 2 good thing in this: the story in paper, so worth comprised walkthrough on youtube, where it's only 20-60 minute or such. And this terrestrialization-gimmick could last.
Everything else is trash though. There are no scripted events, absolutely no trainers (imagine playing Baldur's Gate with no scripted events, just random kobolds spawning), it's crashing left-and-right, bugs and glitches everywhere. Defnitely do not play, do not buy.