HeartGold/SoulSilver to Black and White 2 were peak Pokemon to me. Gen 4.5 to 5.5, basically. You had GameFreak recreating Gold and Silver with incredible amounts of love and faithfulness while building on their foundations to make something genuinely impressive. So many features and functions added on top of an already rock-solid foundation. Then, Gen 5 had them innovating in so many ways. The stories were peak, with genuinely interesting and challenging ideas. The changing seasons added to the exploration of the region, and there was just so much creativity and passion in everything.

Of course, this was also the gen where sales dropped off, which probably taught Gamefreak all the wrong lessons about what people wanted in their Pokemon games....

HeartGold/SoulSilver to Black and White 2 were peak Pokemon to me. Gen 4.5 to 5.5, basically. You had GameFreak recreating Gold and Silver with incredible amounts of love and faithfulness while building on their foundations to make something genuinely impressive. So many features and functions added on top of an already rock-solid foundation. Then, Gen 5 had them innovating in so many ways. The stories was peak, with genuinely interesting and challenging ideas. The changing seasons added to the exploration of the region, and there was just so much creativity and passion in everything.

Of course, this was also the gen where sales dropped off, which probably taught Gamefreak all the wrong lessons about what people wanted in their Pokemon games....