Which Pokemon Game to Start with?

[Mikachu Yukitatsu]

It's hard to know how to avoid Pokemon during its 20 years of reign. But face it, it's an old series. Kids who have grown up with the internet and other videogames and animes may pass it without a closer look.

So I'm asking this: Which Pokemon game would be best to start with if you know next to nothing of it?

[Lady Vulpix]

All the games are pretty self-contained except for BW2, so... If you're interested in the story and recognizing all returning characters, I'd suggest Fire Red/Leaf Green even though I haven't played them myself. The original Red and Blue are too broken by today's standards, but they were fun to play in their time. Although ultimately it depends on what console you own. I recommend starting with a game you can run rather than buy an old console just to play old games. Just don't start with BW2. Any other game is fine.

[Mikachu Yukitatsu]

What about Pokemon Stadium for Nintendo 64? It has the retro feeling and starts with the original Pokemon. Of course the newer games have better graphics, and fortunately X/Y have also some of the older Pokemon included, too.

[Lady Vulpix]

What about Pokemon Stadium for Nintendo 64? It has the retro feeling and starts with the original Pokemon. Of course the newer games have better graphics, and fortunately X/Y have also some of the older Pokemon included, too.

I think that's not quite as fun if you haven't trained Pokemon before.

[Austrian ViceMaster Alex]

I suppose ideally Gold/Silver as it keeps the formula still simple and does not have the probably overwhelming options and complexity the later games have.

[SupremeChampion]

truth be told, I think you could start off with the most recent games. If you've never known anything pokémon related before, you wouldn't have the nostalgia of getting your first bulbasaur/squirtle/charmander or such. The thing about the games, just the core essential game that you get by popping it in your 3DS and turning said device on, is that the formula is simple. if you want to do nothing but catch pokémon you think look cool, train them to win gym battle and eventually conquer the Elite Four and become the new (albeit extremely limited) pokémon champion, you can. You don't have to really concern yourself with IV's, or EV's, or natures or breeding to get the best moves and shinies and such. If, after defeating Team (insert name here) and becoming the #1 trainer in your game, you decide to take your show on the road (internet battles, trades, or even live events [if they still have championships for battling]) then you can do research and learn all about IV's and EV's and all the rest. So, to sum up my short dissertation , I think you would be best served picking up the most recently released pokémon game if you've never played pokémon before. You get the latest game with the latest bells and whistles and the best graphics. And if afterwords you've decided that you want to delve into poké-history, pick up some of the older games and see what they're all about and how you got to (insert poké-title you picked up here).

SC

[Lady Vulpix]

You do make a good point. On the other hand, playing a series of games backwards takes a little fun out of them, because when you finally see a returning character's first appearance you realize you were supposed to recognize them and they probably said something meaningful that meant nothing to you back when you played that scene.

Then again, it's Pokemon we're talking about. Plot has never been the strong point of this series, so you're not missing that much by playing it backwards.

[SupremeChampion]

right? I mean you can essentially call how each game is going to go, especially if you play more than one. i do get what you mean about returning characters, and i agree that does take a little away at some point. But then again we live in the age of the internet and interconnectivity. If someone pops up that you should recognize but don't, you can always Google them and read up on the back story. Heck I do that for some games I play now that are long and I forget who the heck random C list character was from the first 30 minutes of play through lol

SC