tl;dr (this isn't an explanation as for why the gens are in this order but what this order means)
I really love Gens 6 and 7. (Link: Rank the Pokemon Games)
Explanation behind why Gen 6 is a gap above Gen 7: Do you have any most or least favorite Pokemon generations?
I enjoy the Gen 3 games a lot and they revolutionized the series in so many ways that could only be recognized by later gens, but there just isn't as much you can do with them, and what you can do is overwhelmingly more tedious to pull off. I don't really care about the Battle Frontier and prefer facilities like the Battle Tree and Battle Agency. I tried the frontier at one point. Had plenty of the worst matches I've ever had in my life.
Gen 5 is alright. I have a lot of issues with the generation but I don't dislike it. For me, it was a definite step up from Gen 4 in most departments, and I respect that this generation defined who I became as a Pokemon fan, by showing me what I like and did not like in a Pokemon game and introducing me to the things I enjoy the most about Pokemon. Gens 6 and 7 somehow enhanced these things so much further while fixing just about every issue I had with Gen 5. I started with Gen 3 games, but this was the primary generation I grew up with. Also, Pokemon Conquest is the best spinoff ever don't @ me!
Gens 2 and 1 are alright. Outdated now but are great for a visit to explore how things were like back then. All they really matter for now is the casual single-player experience. I somehow enjoy the main adventure for these more than I do for Gens 4 and 5, but they're both very lacking aside from this. Aside from that, I don't have much else to say.
I kinda dislike Gen 4 for their severe mishandling of many things regarding the theme of the generation, the overall plots in the games and movies, as well as the gameplay of the Gen 4 games. It's not a huge gap from the generation I put above it though because I do appreciate how they exponentially improved on the battling mechanics and made what is probably my favorite new generation roster of Pokemon in the series.
I really hate Pokemon Sword, Shield, Scarlet, and Violet. Sword and Shield tampered with literally everything I enjoyed most about Pokemon to a degree so extreme it still leaves me baffled to this day and reminding myself is painful. Scarlet and Violet only doubled-down on this while making themselves quite the embarrassment for Pokemon. Scarlet and Violet make me feel bad about still being a Pokemon fan in this day and age, but I still cling on to the older generations. It's hard for me to determine whether or not I'll ever fully enjoy a future major mainline game ever again because of the many permanent changes they made to the series I cannot not vibe with and the precedent Gens 8 and 9 games have set for the series.
For clarification, major mainlines are what I consider games meant to define and run the course of an entire generation. Games like Sword/Shield, Scarlet/Violet, and every main series title before LGPE. LGPE, BDSP, and Legends Arceus are what I consider minor mainline titles, as they leave no real impact to how a generation functions and are more freely made as extra games. Minor mainline games are sorta like spinoffs.
I would go on for a century fully elaborating on reasons for why I put each generation in the order I did bar gens 1 and 2 if I did, but this should be enough.
Least: Generation 6 because it was the beginning of them tacking on half-formed ideas and not really fleshing them out. Also the Hoenn remakes sucked after all that hype, they had some cool features like soaring and Dexnav but it wasn't worth what was lost, most notably Battle Frontier. XY were a step down from Gen 5 in every aspect: gameplay, story, exploration and felt half-complete.By the way, I disagree that Gen 6 started this process. Gen 5 was certainly (probably even a bigger) victim of this before Gen 6, and the Gen 4 ideas were so overwhelmingly botched in their execution to the point where many people never take Pokemon lore seriously because of Gen 4.Favorite: Generation 3, FRLG were great RBY remakes, Emerald was the definitive Hoenn experience, and Colosseum/XD were the best spinoff games!
Edit: I sure do like editing posts 2000 times
