Best Pokémon Game?

pokemon violet

I think Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire balances out everything a great Pokemon game needs, the most, but Generation 6 in particular was incredible.

Pokemon XY + ORAS allowed you to complete the entire Gen 6 National Pokedex, all the way up to 721 (after mythical events). The competitive scenes were absolutely revolutionary for their time. Gen 6 featured a bigger Smogon than ever and the two most recognizable VGC tours to this date. The Vs. Recorder was a sandbox that allowed you to create matches against AIs in any way you wanted. This worked especially if you had 2 consoles with 2 compatible games. Gen 6 had the best online system to this date with the PSS having extremely convenient interface. Gen 6 introduced 3D models and advanced interaction with your Pokemon, allowing you to connect with them more. The 3DS games had some of the deepest lore in the series to talk about with other people. Super Secret Bases in ORAS ensured the Hoenn region was kept alive with something new and refreshing potentially coming every day. The introduction of megas were amazing and they gave the series so much life. This mechanic aimed to focus more on connecting the player to the Pokemon they have, unlike Dynamax and Terastallization. Gen 6 also expanded on shinies to make them more feasible to obtain, which gave rise to a dedicated shiny hunting community. Gen 6 was a time where the entire Pokemon community was at its most united since Gen 1, all because it mastered the fundamentals of what made Pokemon stand out while also leaving a lot to play with and discuss. You could really catch them all and aim to be the very best, like no one ever was.

I like the Gen 6 games and Sword/Shield, but (don't hate me for this) I think Scarlet/Violet are the worst Pokémon games to exist.