Pokemon is a beloved franchise for many reasons. It was a huge part of so many people’s childhoods and the series has been going strong since its inception. Now people are getting to enjoy the eighth generation of Pokemon with their kids as a large part of the video game community comes together for a new adventure.
The Pokemon franchise has mastered the art of portraying the bond between humans and Pokemon, which is pretty much the theme of the entire franchise. With a series this big, you can bet there have been a lot of huge moments that have stuck out and become iconic. From heartfelt to epic, these are the best moments from each generation of Pokemon.
Pokemon Red, Blue, & Yellow (and Green)
The first entry on this list is probably one of the hardest. The first generation of Pokemon set so many series standards and was so many people’s first Pokemon game, so they cherish the game greatly (it was also mine).
But is the best moment beating your rival for the final time? Or maybe finding Mewtwo? It’s very debatable, but I think it starts, well, at the beginning, when you choose your very first starter Pokemon.
It was the first real step of so many long journeys. The choice of Squirtle, Bulbasaur, or Charmander is still a tough one to this day. Your starter is supposed to accompany you on your quest to be the very best, to ‘Catch ‘em All’ and become a Pokemon Master.
Sure, there are more epic moments in terms of hype, but the choice of who to pick for your starter is so monumental in the grand scheme of things that all other moments pale slightly in comparison.
People still widely debate which of the first-generation starters is the best, and that debate will probably go on for the rest of time, and for good reason… it’s Squirtle by the way.
Gold, Silver, and Crystal
The leap from generation one to generation two of Pokemon was so huge in terms of gameplay. The graphics were still the nostalgic pixelated sprites, but everything else felt new and shiny. New features included Pokemon breeding, a day and night cycle, new types, one hundred new Pokemon, and the freedom to go back to Kanto after defeating the Johto league.
There are a lot of huge moments from generation two but one just might stand above the rest. Many consider this to be one of the most hype moments in a Pokemon game. And that moment is battling Red, the legendary protagonist from the first Pokemon games, at the very end of the game.
You had to best the Johto league, go back and beat the Kanto league in order to fight your way up Mount Silver to face Red at the top, the final challenger. His Pokemon ranged from level 70-80 and he even had the final evolved form of all the generation one starters. You had to spend a lot of time training your Pokemon up to a high level, and had to have a diverse team in order to combat Red.
It’s one of the greatest challenges in the Pokemon franchise to this day, which is why it made this list, even if Red doesn’t say anything other than the infamous “… .”
Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald
There is a lot to love about Pokemon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald, but there is one scene that was a very new thing for a Pokemon game.
Much of what generation three’s plot revolved around was the fight between Team Aqua and Team Magma. Aqua wanted to summon Kyogre and raise the sea levels and erase all landmasses, whereas Magma wanted to summon Groudon and dry up all the seas. There was, however, a third contender in this struggle. The legendary Pokemon Rayquaza.
Rayquaza is meant to stop the fighting between Kyogre and Groudon, which incidentally is where we get the best moment from generation three. After climbing the endless Sky Pillar and finding Rayquaza, it flies off in a hurry. Kind of boring, right? Not exactly.
In a beautiful cutscene, Rayquaza descends from the heavens in a fury and lets out a blood-curdling screech that essentially put the other two legendaries in check as they both walk away.
Legendary Pokemon are these super-powerful, once in a lifetime beings that only a select few get to witness. They’re often the centerpiece of Pokemon games, and it was absolutely wild to see two legendaries fight each other. Then, like some sort of biblical moment, Rayquaza appears and puts a stop to what could be a catastrophe. I don’t think anyone denies the epicness of this scene.
Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum
Although Pokemon is meant for all ages, it can definitely have some pretty dark and more adult moments and themes. Generation four has quite a few of these as the lore of the Pokemon world starts to get pretty heavy.
Cyrus, the main antagonist of Pokemon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum, has the ultimate goal of summoning the legendary Pokemon Dialga and Palkia to destroy the universe so that he can rebuild it as its god. If this sounds crazy to you, it’s because it is.
The scary thing is that in Pokemon Platinum, Cyrus actually succeeds. He forges the red chain, which is the item used to control Dialga and Palkia, and he summons them. It doesn’t quite go as planned though. Giratina appears and breaks the red chain, freeing Dialga and Palkia, right before it takes Cyrus to the distortion world. The distortion world is an empty, desolate, wasteland that Giratina was banished to.
Instead of being angry or upset, Cyrus realizes that it’s what he wanted all along, and that he will be the god of the distortion world.
This is crazy, even for a Pokemon game. Not only do these games talk about the creation of the universe and time, but it’s integrated very well into the lore of the game. The bad guy also kind of succeeds, even though it doesn’t destroy the world. It felt much more personal than the typical “bad guy is bad and wants to take over the world just because” trope.
Plus Cyrus actually gets legendary Pokemon under his control. It’s all very hype and pretty dark for a Pokemon game.
Pokemon Black, White, Black 2, and White 2.
If there is one thing you, and many other people remember about generation five, it’s N, the mysterious yet somewhat dashing anti-villain. He has the ability to understand Pokemon and is revealed to be the leader of Team Plasma. His story arc is one of the many things that make this generation of Pokemon great.
N returns in Black and White 2 and has a fantastic scene near the end of the game. He faces off against the real antagonist of the game, Ghetsis, to save the Pokemon Kyurem. Kyurem transforms into White/Black Kyurem and attacks. N begs you to stop Ghetsis and the epic battle ensues.
You really get the see the relationship between N and Kyurem flourish, which as stated above, is really what the whole series is about: these relationships we have with Pokemon and how it mirrors real life and our relationship with our pets.
This moment was both hype and incredibly heartfelt, which is what Pokemon does so well.
Pokemon X & Y
The best part of Pokemon X & Y happens right at the end of your Pokemon journey. After defeating the league champion, you’re approached by an old homeless looking man. His name is AZ and his backstory is incredibly sad.
Due to some poor choices he made a long time ago, AZ’s Pokemon companion, Floette, ran away. The two haven’t seen each other in 3000 years, which may sound crazy, but it’s best just to play the games and experience it yourself.
The two end up reuniting in the end and it’s enough to make anyone cry. It’s not quite as sad as Pikachu crying in the first Pokemon movie, but it gets pretty damn close. Even just rewatching the scene on YouTube made me tear up. The music, scenery, and show of affection blend so well during this moment that it is very much the emotional crescendo of the game.
This heartfelt moment is the perfect end to any Pokemon game, which is why it’s the best moment in X & Y.
Pokemon Sun & Moon
Pokemon is known for having its villainous team for every generation of games. Of course the most famous is Team Rocket, but Team Skull from Pokemon Sun & Moon are quite the bunch.
Team Skull isn’t necessarily the evilest team in Pokemon history, due to the fact that their goal doesn’t involve taking over the world or hurting people. They just kinda want to take care of themselves, but they happen to do that by stealing Pokemon and doing other nefarious activities.
The best moment from Sun and Moon comes when you go to Team Skull’s hideout in Po Town. The entire town has been taken over and ransacked by Team Skull, and it shows what a miserable existence they live in. They’re literally just squatters who fight for scraps. You even have to pay someone money if you want to heal your Pokemon since the town doesn’t have the iconic Pokemon Centre.
The bad guys in Pokemon have done plenty of awful things, but seeing an entire town taken over was both shocking and pitiful. Po Town was certainly atmospheric and it stuck out enough to make this list.
Sword & Shield
Since a lot of people are playing Sword & Shield at the moment, I’ll stay away from story moments this time because of spoilers. Even despite that, I think there is one moment of Sword & Shield that stands out from the rest of these great Pokemon moments. And that is when you first get to explore the wild area.
Once you get through the starting area of these games (it feels like forever, especially because of Hop), you finally get to explore this vast area filled with countless Pokemon. There aren’t just certain types of Pokemon either, you can catch everything from Ghost-types to Fairy-types, and there is a lot to explore.
There are also really tough Pokemon in the wild area that you can’t catch right off the bat, which gives you an incentive to come back and explore again. There’s also max raid battles to do, real-life trainers to interact with if you have an internet connection, and in-game item sellers all along the vast expanse.
I’m sure many people got the feeling of being a kid again when they got to explore this huge area and see all these new Pokemon. Plus being able to see other real-life trainers felt really cool because you get to see so many other people experiencing their new Pokemon journey. It’s a rare feeling to get to feel like a kid again and it’s beautiful which is why it’s on this list.
There have been many heartfelt, exciting, shocking and ridiculous moments in the many Pokemon games throughout the years and we all have our favorites. Let us know what the moments you like best are in Pokemon down in the comments.
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