Best Generation to Start the Main Series?

A friend recently asked me a question about the main series of Pokémon games. The question involved a query regarding which game someone should start playing if that someone is interested in these games. At the time, since we could only converse briefly, I could only give a short answer in a short time. It's a fascinating question, so I thought about expanding it with a more substantial answer; naturally, that would be in the form of a blog post on this Pokémon blog, the perfect medium for its discussion.

The initial answer I gave was that if the person wanted to "get their feet wet" in Pokémon, I suggested starting with the games from the third and/or fourth generation, including the remakes from earlier generations and their own remakes in the later consoles. My rationale is that these games provide a good diversity of species that are well-known back then and still are today, and if they then wanted to get into competitive play, the basics are introduced fairly well. In either case, it's a fair balance to a good extent.

Still, if they want to get into competitive play right away, then they need to have the most recent games, the present case being Scarlet and Violet from the ninth generation. There will be a lot to learn, but the gradual design of the Pokémon games means that not everything will need to be applied right away. The most important thing as well is being able to battle with contemporary Trainers and not be stuck without a way of doing so in an older game for an older generation. Other concerns apply, but these are foremost.

For those who don't really care about any of the above, or at the least only care about the nostalgia of Pokémon through all these years, they can start on any older game that is accessible in some way or form. They can even start on the very old games from the first and second generations, even though they no longer have much of a bearing in today's Pokémon affairs. Nostalgia and history are still their bearings, if anything, and if they're the only important things, then any of these games are fitting.

It's understandable that Pokémon of today still carries with it the elements of its past, which includes all the prior main series games. Therefore, the question posed my friend is perfectly valid and demands to be answered. That answer too is not necessarily simple nor applicable to everyone, which becomes evident with the discussion above. At the least, I've delivered my take through both the previous conversation as well as the discussion in this post, and there are good Pokémon starting points for all.

One year ago: The Solo Challenge in Pokémon Unite

Two years ago: Still Not Quite Outside the "Ilex Forest"

Three years ago: The Rock-Paper-Scissors Principle

Four years ago: Transparent Language Presentation?

Five years ago: More YouTube Pokémon Highlights

Six years ago: Trading Styles

Seven years ago: The No's of Go

Eight years ago: Site Design