With the announcement of Pokémon Black 2 and Pokémon White 2, there have been many fans of the Pokémon franchise griping about the addition of even more Pokémon.
“Genwunners” are the elitists who believe that generation one of the Pokémon games was the only good generation of the Pokémon franchise and that the following generations are “shrimp.” Genwunners need to get over themselves. As the meme says, “one does not simply hate an entire generation of Pokémon.”
Genwunners complain that the new generations of Pokémon are silly Pokémon, based on inanimate objects like gears, ice-cream cones, lamps and so on, and not based on animals like turtles, dragons, lizards and cats like the Pokémon were in generation one. What these genwunners seem to forget is the generation one Pokémon that were based on eggs and balls, and the three that were literally just rocks with arms.
Generation one did not have a monopoly on good design. Some of the new starters, while never equaling Charizard, are well designed and equally loveable. It’s not as if the simple absurdity that made the first games such a hit has been in any way diminished by a bigger world and a larger cast of characters
This is a game that we grew up on, a game that defines our childhoods, so favoritism is expected and understandable. However, the new generations are still Pokémon, so they still deserve our love and attention. They still deserve to be caught, dressed up and given corny and sometimes innuendo-filled nicknames (I mean there is a move called “harden,” and that just begs to be exploited).
These games will be a part of a whole new generation’s childhood. Even if they may not be your favorites, they will be some kids’ first introduction into this beautiful, nerdy, creative world we love.