Pokemon Generations Reviewed and Ranked

With the Pokemon franchise celebrating its 25th anniversary, now's the best time to look back and reminisce on some of my fondest memories from the series. Specifically, I wanted to rank and review each of the generations in the main line series. Starting with Generation one (Gen1) with Red and Blue on the GameBoy, all the way to Gen8 with Sword and Shield on the Switch. For each generation I'll be looking at the new Pokemon introduced, the region's design, the gym battles, the plot and overall lore, and finally the systems and mechanics implemented. Keep in mind, these are just my opinions and are all ultimately subjective. One important distinction, is that I won't be using nostalgia as a grading point. It doesn't matter when a generation came out, they will all be compared evenly among their merits and what they introduced to the Pokemon world. So with that, let the list begin!

Gen1: Red, Blue, Green, Yellow
Generation One, the start of it all. The first 151 pokemon are probably the most well-known and remembered among fans. Even those who would say they're casual fans probably know the majority of the first 151 pokemon. With series mascot Pikachu, original starters: Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle, and the first legendaries, Mewtwo and Mew, to say that these pokemon are household names would not be an overstatement. The first generation of pokemon were a nice combination of inspirations of real-life animals, mythological creatures, and creative cuteness. This first pokedex would be an example of what pokemon could be and set the stage for some better, some worse, and some crazier designs to come. Score: 5/5

Taking place in the Kanto region, a very much Japanese inspired area, filled with plenty of verdant forests, and numerous islands, it did a suitable job of being the first setting for players' first adventures, if only a bit small and simple in design. Starting in meek little Pallet town, traversing the map of Kanto would paint a colorful picture of routes, towns, and cities to visit and explore, each with their own theme and music. One unique design of this region was the fact that the first city you visit, Viridian, is not only the tutorial area, but doubles as the location for the final gym and badge needed to enter the Indigo League. Undoubtedly if you asked someone to recall the world map, many would be able to, but as we would see later in the series, it would still leave much to be desired. Score: 3/5

Boulder, Cascade, Thunder, Rainbow, Soul, Marsh, Volcano, Earth: eight badges to acquire before reaching the final area of the game. The majority of gym battles amongst all generations are certainly on the easy side, starting with those of Gen1. With some of the easiest battles in the whole series, the exception being the first two gyms if you happen to pick the fire starter, Charmander, in which you'll find yourself at a type disadvantage. It isn't even until you face Erika in Celadon City that your Fire starter actually has a type advantage. Especially if you're new to the franchise, as many were at the time, this was an immediate roadblock. Perhaps to account for this possibility, is the reason that the gym leaders seem to go so easy. Score: 2/5

On the outset, the only story you're faced with is to go on an adventure to record and capture as many pokemon as possible. But soon a plot develops involving a criminal syndicate obsessed with stealing pokemon. Enter: Team Rocket! A personal goal of obtaining all regional badges and defeating the elite four is supposed to play second chair to the more serious scenario, however, given how little Team Rocket's machinations actually affect your personal journey, it never really gets in the way of you becoming the best that ever was. Unfortunately, there isn't much more. Even though this was the start of the pokemon universe, and there is certainly mysteries to be discovered, the overall lore of the world is fairly minimal. Score: 3/5

When regarding features and mechanics introduced, well this one started it all. From choosing out of three starter pokemon from a professor (probably named after a tree), to obtaining eight badges, to finding wild pokemon in tall grass, using HMs to solve environmental puzzles, training and evolving your pokemon, to the battle system, and of course trading and battling other players, all the groundwork that was laid out has remained, for the most part, intact to this day. Score: 4/5
Final Score: 68

Gen2: Gold, Silver, Crystal
While technically no generation is sequel to another, Gen2 comes the closest to being considered one in many ways. Let's start with the pokemon. This time introducing only 100 new pokemon, the greatest additions being the introduction of two new types: Dark and Steel. With fan favorites like Scizor and Tyranitar, the additional types would be assigned to some of the most popular pokemon to come. In addition to two new types, the first baby pokemon were introduced in Gen2. Only a very few pokemon have actually had baby forms, and even among those, reception is mixed. Finally, this generation would solidify the concept of branching evolutions. While Eevee had three alternate evolutions in Gen1, two more were introduced in Gen2, along with many other pokemon via elemental stones, or rare held items during trades and would remain a staple of evolution in generations to come. Score: 3/5

The Johto region sets the stage for the start of your adventures. Representing the Kansai region of Japan, it feels closely connected to the Kanto region, quite literally in fact, when you're able to travel between the two via bullet train. This marked the first and only time in the series you'd be able to travel between two regions in one game. If Kanto represented a modern Japan, Johto represented a more historical Japan. Filled with ancient temples, forgotten shrines, and a giant, snow-topped mountain, Johto was the perfect setting for a pokemon adventure. Score: 5/5

Zephyr, Hive, Plain, Fog, Storm, Mineral, Glacier, Rising: the Johto regions' badges representing eight gym fights that are "fondly" remembered. With one of the most diverse lineups of gym leaders, and to this day some of the toughest fights of the series, Gen2's gyms are synonymous with challenge. The novelty of starting with a flying gym, and the appropriate mystique of ending with a dragon gym, with perhaps the most memorable of the bunch being, funnily enough, the normal-type gym, headed by gym leader Whitney. Located in Goldenrod City, and representing the third gym in the game, Whitney's partner pokemon is the newly introduced Miltank. If the player is unprepared, as is easy to be for newcomers, Whitney's Miltank will unleash a barrage of Rollout attacks that are each more devastating than the last. With other fan favorites like Jasmine and Claire, it set up a high bar for gym fights to come. Score: 5/5

It's undeniable that Gen2 is the closest to being a true sequel to its previous generation than any other, and its story is the biggest point of evidence. Taking place three years later, we see returning villains, Team Rocket reprising their thieving ways in this new region, their goal this time being to return their organization to its former glory under the leadership of their former boss, Giovanni. This time around your rival plays a bigger role in the plot, starting out by stealing one of the starter pokemon from the start of the game and challenging your character to battles at many points throughout the game. You would come to find out that he was in fact Giovanni's son who is seeking revenge for his father's downfall, and equally seeking his independence from him. Even former Elite Four Champion Lance returns to help out. But ultimately, just as before, Team Rocket doesn't present enough of a compelling distraction compared to the goal of defeating the elite four. However, this time around, once you've defeated the Elite Four, you are presented with the option of revisiting the Kanto region and challenging eight more gym leaders for the only time in series history. The reward for doing so, is the chance to explore the difficult Mt. Silver, whereupon reaching the summit, you can face the game's hardest battle, against Red, the former protagonist of Gen1. Technically representing you from the past, with one of the series' most iconic scores playing in the background, Red is appropriately the pinnacle of challenge and difficulty and remains largely unsurpassed as final moments in the series to this day. Score: 4/5

Inevitably, being a the first sequel in a series means implementing the most changes from its predecessor. This is certainly true when thinking about the introduction of Dark and Steel types, dual-typings, babies, breeding, the in-game phone, roaming legendary pokemon, and a proper day-and-night cycle. All these changes would stay at their core in every iteration to come. But the introduction of revisiting a previous region and obtaining eight more badges would peculiarly not be seen again, despite most fans clamoring for more end-game content. Score: 4/5
Final Score: 84



Gen3: Sapphire, Ruby, Emerald
The third generation of Pokemon would be the first major leap onto a new generation of handheld, the GameBoyAdvance, and with it, a pretty significant jump in visual fidelity and animation quality. It also brought the introduction of 135 new pokemon. These pokemon ranged in diversity, design, and distinction. Indeed some are so distinct, many would come to criticize this region's pokedex for outlandish, unnatural designs. Pokemon like Hariyama or Absol, often come up in discussion. However, when making a closer comparison to the pokedex of Gen1, I think you'll find they are very similar overall. The one major critique that is undeniable though, is the overabundance of water-type pokemon included in order to populate the vast water-prominent region in which the game takes place. Whether for the right reasons or not, it rubbed some players the wrong way, if only just slightly. Score: 4/5

As I mentioned, this game takes place in a region that is prominently consisted of water: the Hoenn region. Based off the Japanese island of Kyushu, the overall region consists of a diverse landscape including deserts and rainforests, all on a large island with many smaller islands surrounding it. It was the first time the geography was actually used to play a large role in the story, in fact the main role. It also introduced the mechanic of diving underwater, expanding the region by meters in depth, instead of just meters across. Unfortunately, this too would be sorely remembered by many players as too cumbersome and confusing to navigate. Especially when grinding, catching, item-hunting, or god forbid, shiny-farming, the water-traversal of most of Hoenn meant that carrying at least one water-based pokemon to learn three HM move was pretty much a necessity. Still it was a novel idea and captured the essence of its inspiration well. Score: 3/5

Stone, Knuckle, Dynamo, Heat, Balance, Feather, Mind, Rain: These eight badges and their respective gym battles would take much inspiration from its predecessor. From the difficult Normal-type gym leader, to the final gym-with-a-trial in the final city, Gen3's gyms feel largely derivative. The one area in which they differ, is most likely thanks to the updated technology of the hardware, the layout and traversal of some of the gyms themselves. While gyms have always had some facet of puzzles and multiple optional trainers to fight, their designs in Gen3 blend their unique styles with light puzzle elements and traversal in a larger way. Score: 3/5

For the first time in the series, Team Rocket are not the main villains. Instead replaced by Team Aqua and Team Magma. Two different villain groups with two different ideals. Determined by which version of the game you purchase, their goals are to either terraform the world with only land (Ruby), or endless ocean (Sapphire). The flagship pokemon for each version also play an important role in the series this time, being the guardians over land and sea, and thus the targets for our villains. With the larger scope and sense of danger to the story, it definitely elevates it in comparison to the others. One final addition is the inclusion of post-league content. While not a an entire set of eight more badges to collect, the Battle Frontier does provide a bevvy of post-game content. Score: 5/5

With the jump to new hardware, inevitably some major new improvements were made to the Pokemon formula, plus some we would never see again. While the visual style remains the same, there is a definite graphical upgrade. Other new features included the weather system, double battles, pokemon abilities, pokemon traits, and secret bases. Once again, many of these new features would be pillars of the series going forward. Curiously only the fan-favorite secret bases would not be seen in another generation. Score: 4/5
Final Score: 76

Gen4: Diamond, Pearl, Platinum
Another generation and another new hardware platform. Gen4 came out on the Nintendo DS and was able to take advantage of the increased processing power with a bevy of new features including a roster of 107 new pokemon. In very much a similar fashion to Gen2, this generation focused heavily on branching evolutions of pokemon from previous generations, many of which were not so well received. There were some new pokemon, however that were pretty popular such as the new starters, Turtwig, Chimchar, and Piplup, or fan-favorites Lucario and Garchomp. One other notable inclusion with this generation was the large number new of legendary pokemon introduced. Out of the 107 new pokemon, 29 were pre-evolutions, or evolutions of existing pokemon, and 15 were new legendary.  Score: 3/5

Another Japanese island, Hokkaido, provided the inspiration for this newest region, Sinnoh. While still maintaining a diverse landscape, the unique trait to this region is its cold climate, and snow-covered routes. Containing far fewer water sources than Hoenn, the region does contain three iconic lakes, each guarded by a legendary lake spirit pokemon. One unique feature of the region is the underground tunnel system. Using the DS touchscreen, players would mine various items and treasures, including many items used for battle. It reminded players slightly of the secret bases but ended up feeling more like a mini-game than anything else. Score: 3/5

Coal, Forest, Cobble, Fen, Relic, Mine, Icicle, Beacon: Gym badges that don't exactly illicit the most rousing of reactions. Unfortunately the gyms, leaders, and battles themselves are as uninspired as their names would suggest. In many ways they feel like they simply imitated the gens that cam before, with perhaps the only notable gyms being the ghost and steel-types, but Johto did this first as well. It's a shame that none of the gym leaders were no where as memorable as the league champion, Cynthia, who quickly became one of the series' fan-favorites. Score: 2/5

It's unfortunate that so much of this generation feels like an attempt to copy the past. With the villains this time around called Team Galactic, in much a similar fashion to Magma/Aqua, their goal this time around is to change the world on a spatial level, as opposed to terrestrial. Specifically, to create a dimension of their own design by utilizing the powers over time and space via legendary pokemon Dialga and Palkia. Once again there is post-game content, with an entire new island discover and sidequests to complete. Score: 2/5

While a generational leap in hardware seems like it would provide a generation's advancement in development, with Pokemon it's often a tale of less is more. Other than sharper graphics, more use of 3D polygons, especially on the environments, and more battle animations, the biggest feature, taking advantage of the Nintendo DS second screen was the introduction of the Poketch: a smartwatch-like device with features like calculator, pedometer, clock, map, and notepad to name a few. Beyond that, battles, item selection, and pokedex navigation were all moved to the touchscreen. Score: 3/5
Final Score: 52

Gen5: Black, White, Black2, White2
Still within the DS lifetime, the fifth generation of Pokemon did something wholly unique and not seen since Gen1: having only brand new pokemon available to catch and train during the first playthrough of the game. And with 156 new pokemon introduced, making it the largest generation of new pokemon still to this day. In many ways, the pokemon designs felt like a love letter to the original. Varied, multiple types, many 3-tier evolutions, and no branching or pre-evolutions of other pokemon. For many players, this was a homerun both in pokemon design, and with the decision to lock any old pokemon until after main game. Score: 5/5

Pulling another first for the series, the setting for this game is the first one not inspired by an area of Japan. Instead borrowing its inspiration from New York City, the Unova region fashions its cities and towns off the many burrows of New York. Comprised of a varied locales with a huge metropolitan city and large suspension bridge, this generation used 3D modeling even more for some impressive camera pans and for large portions of Castelia City. Many of the areas of Unova have an urban feel to them, with much more building and structure instead of vast nature. Things like a harbor, an airport, an amusement park, and numerous bridges are the sites for much of the adventure. It's a very different feel from previous generations. Score: 5/5

Trio, Basic, Insect, Bolt, Quake, Jet, Freeze, Legend: Sticking in line with doing something new, for the first time a gym has multiple potential gym leaders and fights. The Striaton City Gym headed by brothers Cilan, Chili, and Cress each represent on of the three elements as the three starters. Leaf, Fire, and Water, depending on which starter you chose, will determine which element and which brother you will face. Even though the fight isn't too difficult, it's still a welcome change to see the game throwing some challenge at you early on. The remaining gym leaders are each novel in their own right, with Leaders like Skyla, and Iris becoming quick fan-favorites. The other aspect of the gyms were the slightly larger take on puzzles and interactive elements, with each gym representing its town or city and element to a tee. Score: 5/5

For perhaps the first time in Pokemon's history, in the main series at least, the story which is usually relegated to the B plot, takes center stage as the conflict and provides a truly compelling narrative that is enough to drive the main character all the way to its conclusion, pushing aside delusions of wanting to..."Be the best." This time represented by Team Plasma, the antagonists provide an interesting ideology and perspective to the world of Pokemon. They believe that pokemon are not meant to be captured and trained and are seen more as slaves under there trainers, rather than the partners the games would have players believe. This has been a question many players themselves have wondered and is ultimately a philosophical question of perspective, with no true right or wrong answer. The story told here, doesn't go fully into the nuance of such ideologies, as most children would find even an abbreviated explanation tough to understand, but they did a fairly good job introducing the notion that, not everyone thinks the world of pokemon is perfect. This clash of ideals is best represented in the character N, the "prodigal son" and leader of the ancient Team Plasma. He actually defeats the Elite Four before you and forces you into a final encounter before the finale. Once you defeat him, his eyes are opened and its short time before the elder leaders of Team Plasma scurry away with their old beliefs. In fact, other than their leader Ghetsis, the others aren't even able to be fought until the post-game, after you've successfully save the Unova region from Team Plasma. Here you can also challenge the Elite Four to become the proper champion as well as visit a new area called the White Forest where you can transfer and catch pokemon from previous generations. It goes without saying that what they were able to achieve with story and character development was amazing, and that's not even to mention the fact that it was also the first generation to see a proper sequel in Black 2 and White 2. Score: 5/5

While the look of Black and White is definitely better than its predecessor, it's not by much, and it unfortunately feels very samey. While higher polygons and 3D visuals and fancy use of camera sweeps make for a prettier Unova, it does little to help immerse the player whose 2D sprite still only has a handful of animations. The biggest innovations, then came more as new features of the world, and thankfully did a much better job at immersing players. Things like adding seasons, and visually different pokemon and environments each season. As for combat, triple battles and rotation battles were introduced to mixed reception. Finally, a big focus was placed on connectivity with numerous new features and modes placed playing, battling, and trading with others. Score: 3/5
Final Score: 92



Gen6: X, Y
Moving on to the next handheld in line after the DS, the 3DS would play host to this generation of Pokemon. First to forgo the traditional color-based nomenclature, X and Y would also be the first generation to not receive a third version or a sequel. Introducing a measly 72 new pokemon, it still remains the lowest to this day. Continuing the trend of even-numbered generations, X and Y introduced changes to previous generations of pokemon, this time with the new Fairy-type. Pokemon such as Clefairy, were now, appropriately Fairy type. Becoming the posterchild for fairy pokemon, Sylveon, a new Eevee evolution was introduced, however, unlike in Gen2, and Gen4, this time was alone. Many players wondered why not have a complimentary evolution type such as Poison to balance, as the entire reason for the creation of Fairy-type was to balance the strength of Dragon-type pokemon in competitive scenes. One would think that with a brand new type there would be a bunch of exciting new pokemon introduced as well, sadly only 13 new Fairy pokemon were introduced. Score: 1/5 

No longer tied to the islands of Japan, the Kalos region took inspiration mainly from France, but largely from Western Europe as a whole. The capitol city of France, Paris is pretty faithfully represented in style and mood by Lumiose City, which contains a famous fashion district, art museum, and Prism Tower at its center. With a large emphasis on its coast as well as mountainous regions, Kalos' goals of representing a Western European coast and highlands fall short due tp the relative size of the areas within the region. The simple fact that Lumiose City has more areas and zones then much of the rural countryside is slightly disappointing. Score: 2/5

Bug, Cliff, Rumble, Plant, Voltage, Fairy, Psychic, Iceberg: The gyms this time around were once again more on the mediocre side. They did a fair job of representing their city, with highlights being the final three fairy, psychic, and ice gyms. There was also the third gym headed by Korrina, which introduced us with Mega-Evolutions in battle. Effectively representing a fourth evolutionary form, Mega-Evolutions were the new big discovery in the Kalos region, meant to change pokemon battles forever. While exciting at first, lack of support, balance, and consistency left much to be desired. Score: 3/5

One of the biggest points of contention of this generation was the story. While some appreciated the emphasis to a dedicated storyline full of history and powerful character moments, its convoluted storytelling and awkward tone and pacing left much to be desired. As a first in the series, there was even cinematic cutscenes often portraying events from the past 3,000 years. Specifically in regards to a ancient war that took place and a weapon of mass destruction. Revitalizing this weapon and using it to annihilate humanity is the goal of this generation's antagonists, Team Flare, led by Lysandre. At the center of this conflict is the character AZ a 9-ft tall man who has been alive for thousands of years and holds the key to the secrets of the past and humanity's salvation. It ultimately felt like just lost potential, by showing the world of pokemon thousands of years ago, and potentially providing answers to mysteries years in the making for the series, but unfortunately delivering none, and leaving only more open lore. Score: 1/5

Taking advantage of the Nintendo 3DS technology, Pokemon X&Y were the first entries in the series to use full 3D polygons for the environments and the character models. While still keeping in line with the top-down isometric aesthetic, the use of 3D visuals greatly enhanced the immersions for the pokemon themselves and when seeing your character. This was also enhanced by allowing character customization for the first time, including new clothing and accessory options. Finally the biggest innovations were certainly the introduction of the new Fairy-type and Mega-Evolutions. Fairy-type was, at this point, a poor introduction to a new type and Mega-Evolutions were the first of what I will fondly refer to as this gen's "battle gimmick." Only able to be used in battle once, by one, pre-equipped pokemon holding its megastone, far from every desired pokemon even have megaforms. The decision to introduce Mega-Evolutions this to battles this generation and see support for them also stop this generation has been confusing and disheartening, because it certainly had potential. Score: 3/5
Final Score: 40



Gen7: Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun, Ultra Moon
The final generation to be on exclusively handheld hardware, Pokemon Sun and Moon brought a vast array of changes to the franchise. In regards to the pokedex, there were only 81 new pokemon introduced, however, in addition, for the first time, there were regional forms of older pokemon introduced, called Alolan Forms. Adding new forms and types to 18 Kanto pokemon. The Alolan forms were met wit great reception. Partially due to the overwhelming popularity for Gen1, but also thanks to some truly well-designed forms based on the new region's traits. This can also be said for the 81 new pokemon as well, with an emphasis on the tropical, the aquatic, and the exotic. And other than the low number of new pokemon, the only other potential criticism from fans were the brand new Ultra Beasts, pokemon from a different dimension. Playing a large role in the story, these "pokemon" were so bizarre in design and behavior, they truly feel out of this world. It was an interesting choice to add such strange types of pokemon to the franchise, especially when they seem to be relegated to just this generation, once again confusing fans as to the true nature or history of the overall pokemon world. Score: 3/5

Providing the inspiration for the great pokemon designs, the region of Alola itself was directly inspired by the Hawaiian Islands. Consisting of four main islands, each with its own terrain and unique pokemon to discover, traversal provided a fun new experience. Other than the exotic landscape, there are many technological facilities throughout as well as a brief excursion through another dimension, pitting science and nature in direct collision, an ongoing theme of this generation. Score: 4/5

Sun & Moon are the first in the series to do away with Pokemon Gyms altogether, instead replacing them with Island Challenges. Just like the pokemon designs, this decision felt influenced by the region and story taking place. As a relatively new region, gyms have not been formally established on the islands yet and a large portion of the main character's motivations are in setting up the foundations for Pokemon Gyms and a League. Consisting of not just battles, but puzzles, races, and other challenges, the island trials were a welcome new mix of gameplay from the decades-old tradition of collecting eight gym badges. At the end of each island a battle with the island's big kahuna and their totem pokemon held the key to progressing to the next island. Despite the changeup, no challenges ever felt too challenging, whether battling or otherwise, which was disappointing to some. Score: 4/5 

In a very untraditional fashion, the story begins with your character moving to the Alolan region with his mom and her very important pokemon companion. They then traverse the various islands while encountering Team Skull and the Aether Foundation and their eventual plans to use your mother's Cosmog and its powers to fully open a wormhole into the dimension of UltraBeasts and use their power for their own nefarious means. Placing far greater importance on the story this time around, the best way to describe Sun & Moon's storytelling is like trying to emulate that of Diamond & Pearl, combined with the antagonists of Black & White, and set to the awkward pacing of X & Y. While it is certainly a better, more unified story than its predecessor it still falls for the same pitfalls of convoluted backstories and plot-holes galore. Score: 2/5

Finally using full 3D polygons for the entire game, and no longer using the "chibi" aesthetic, the visuals for the series have never been better. Once again the bottom screen has been relegated to item management, move selection, settings adjustments, etc. this time in the form of a Rotom-pokedex. And once again slight character customization, including choosing skin color, and adding clothing and accessories returns. Of course there's a new battle gimmick, called Z-Moves, this time around. Much like Mega-Evolutions these are only compatible with a few pokemon, must be pre-selected before battle, and can only be performed once in battle. The idea being like a sort-of finisher representing your bond with you and your pokemon, despite the fact that everyone now had to use the best ones with the best pokemon during competitive battles. Score: 2/5
Final Score: 60

Gen8: Sword, Shield
The most current generation would introduce 89 new pokemon after its two released expansions post launch. Once again following the clever choice of the previous gen, new regional forms were also introduced for 19 pokemon and some regional exclusive evolutions of previous pokemon as well, keeping the tradition of even numbered generations. While emulating the previous generation in thought, the execution of the design of these new pokemon were not as smash hit as in Alola. Mixing multiple years of English, British, and Saxon influence resulted in some pokemon that look straight from medieval times, alongside pokemon attending punk and rock concerts. It results in a pokedex that feels disjointed. Score: 2/5

The region of Galar would be the backdrop of this latest adventure. Ancient, revolutionary age, and modern age Great Britain provided the inspiration this time around. From ancient ruins, to steam-punk cities, and modern marvels like Big Ben, the Galar region feels like an appropriate recreation. While still maintaining varied terrain and climates, the narrow island country makes it feel like a smaller setting when compared to regions in the past. The biggest point of contention though, is undoubtedly the Wild Areas. In a half-attempt to provide an open-world experience to players, where wild pokemon can be seen and approached or avoided, and players can connect with one another, these Wild Areas felt more like self-contained isolated biomes than a natural part of the overall world. A large contributor to this feeling is a by-product of the new Dynamax and Gigantamaxing which throws off any realistic notions of distances making everything feel super far away. Score: 2/5

Grass, Water, Fire, Fighting, Fairy, Rock, Dark, Dragon: Keeping it simple, going back to basics, however you want to call it, the Galar region's gyms and gym leaders feel, in may ways, like the epitome of what gym battles should be. Large, grandiose spectacles with fans raving, and gym leaders full of personality and a bit of challenge. Well, the challenge here may be subjective, but there's no question the gym leaders this time around are full of character. Even the largely disliked Dynamxing have their best moments during these gym fights, almost making them enjoyable. Score: 5/5

Much like the gym battles, the story this time around feels very much like going back to basics. More-so than ever, the focus of plot A revolves around the main character travelling the world, collecting badges, training to defeat the Elite Four, and become the regional League Champion. Team Yell, the antagonists this time around play a much smaller role compared to the many other NPCs and challengers focused on battling and training. It isn't until the very end that the the true villain even reveals his intentions of reviving the mythical Eternatus in an attempt of providing the Galar region with unlimited power. With the help of your NPC friends and the flagship legendary pokemon, you defeat him, and then defeat the champ right after to achieve a double victory. There is post-game story content as well as the afore-mentioned downloadable updates which provide new areas, new lore, and new pokemon to catch and train. It's a far more straightforward story than the previous generations, and many would say far less engaging as a result. Score: 2/5

After seven generations, the pokemon franchise would finally move onto a home console...that is also a handheld console. The Nintendo Switch, while undoubtedly more powerful than Nintendo's past handheld systems, in many ways still feels like a mid-step to the next, more powerful iteration. In many ways, Sword & Shield feel that way too. Showcasing full 3D environments for the first time, but used for such a small region, they're mostly displayed in the Wild Areas, where the game basically teases what fans have been asking for in a full game for generations. Then there's this generation's battle gimmick: Dynamax and Gigantamax. These can be undertaken in Wild Areas with other players in Raid battles. Yet again, only one pokemon per battle can undergo a Dynamax or Gigantamax and it, once again results in a everyone-must-use scenario. Ultimately all the updates ended up just feeling like a half-step to what fans really want and after years of waiting, they still don't have it. Score: 1/5
Final Score: 48

FINAL RANKINGS
1st Gen5 - 92
2nd Gen2 - 84
3rd Gen3 - 76
4th Gen1 - 68
5th Gen7 - 60
6th Gen4 - 52
7th Gen8 - 48
8th Gen6 - 40