Mudkip certainly has the most lasting relevance as well as one of the surprisingly durable typing aspects of the Water Starters.
But if I’m going to be honest, I boxed Shield and Sword’s starters almost immediately because I had zero interest in any of them.
Thankfully, the new Archeus game has Rowlett as a starter, unarguably the best starter ever (and I say that as a Grass Starter main since Gen IV).
This version is so metal, even the dude’s tie has an erection.
the fact that swampert is still viable even though it doesn’t get the same desperation buffs that charizard gets is just proof that it’s good.
I remember kid me panicking about the electric gym because I only had leveled mudkip.
Then I got the "no effect’ result and was like “Wait… wut?”
lol considering RSE was my first game i got that too because i didn’t know all the type matchups yet.
i remember discovering dragon’s weakness by accident.
Laughs in old fart Pokemon Blue and getting to Brock with only Charmander leveled
Challenge accep…
…ted? 
Ruby and Sapphire are my favorite. I love the hidden base and all the extra stuff they included to make the game feel lastingly relevant. Sword and shield were cool too but Hop or whatever that kids name is was so annoying that when I finally beat the championship I was done. Not dealing with swordward and
squidward.
Gengar is my favorite Pokémon. I’m not sure on a favorite type.
I had considered getting into the online scene given how easy it is to level, breed, and trade Pokémon in the new game. Previously getting my favored Gengar was almost impossible. Now it’s easy. However, it’s kind of a huge undertaking to play well. Maybe with the rent a team thing I could see myself getting into it again.
if you want to get into it, CybertronVGC has a bunch of really cool videos showcasing various teams and how to play them!
Here’s the most recent team he’s using with Zygarde complete. If you watch the first video, he talks a bit about the roles of each Pokemon and then showcases some battles with how to use the team. I learned a lot from watching him. He’s also family friendly and has a really positive attitude.
Also may I just add: Nuzlockes are excellent ways of playing the game if only because it’ll demonstrate hidden gems of Pokemon that you might otherwise never give the time of day to.
Gluppin/Swalot and Carbink being two personal examples of Pokemon I’d never bothered with but ended up being MVPs of a Alpha Sapphire and Sun runs, respectively.
My biggest issue with Shield and Sword comes from the fact the Wild Areas make it really difficult to Nuzlocke “properly”, especially if like me you tend to set the games down for long periods of time. It’s difficult to remember what you have or haven’t previously accessed.
Nuzlocking Gold got me my first real shiny outside of red Gyarados and all my Pokemon Go shinies so can confirm Nuzlocking is fun!
My first Shiny was a Metagross I bred in Sun. Literally first egg I hatched came out Silver. Been playing since OG Blue. I damn near started hyperventilating.
Then I promptly misplaced my DS and my Home account has long since lapsed, so he’s probably lost to the digital winds. Along with my White 2 team. (White 2 being the game I played when I was looking after my dying father at the time. That team held a lot of sentimental value to me.)
We talking Pokemon in here? My favorite thing ever!
Alright, lets see here.
Favorite Pokemon? Snorlax. I latched onto him as a kid and he’s been my favorite ever since. Got plushies, toys, keychains, etc of him all over my house.
Favorite type? This is a tough one. I suppose it’d be a tie between Bug, Poison, and Normal.
Favorite Game? Ultra Sun. The Alola region has been my favorite take on the Pokemon franchise by far. Granted, I love them all and I don’t have a disliked version.
Also, I am absolutely here for it if you made a Discord for this.
Oof…the Ultra games.
I really disliked how they whitewashed the story of Sun and Moon in the Ultra games. Rainbow Rocket was a fun idea, same with the boss gauntlet, but man…they really messed up the story with the revamp.
Which is a royal shame because I honestly belive Sun/Moon had the best story, overall.
Anyway… Mantine Surf is honestly one of my favorite mini-games the franchise ever gave us. Even if I am pretty bad at it.
Pokemon Refresh and Pelago are also really nice and so stinking cute. I love just relaxing in the Gen 7 games as a whole.
Honestly yeah even though I think XY is the weakest entry, I think all the versions and games have their ups and downs, and I have enjoyed all of them that I’ve played.
Realizing this was kinda what made me get Sword. I really love a lot about Sword, especially its new ways to get competitive-ready Pokemon. But yeah here’s my list of the versions and why I like each one:
RBY - Sure, it’s old and outdated, but there’s a unique charm to it and we would not have Pokemon without it! Kanto is a cool region to make theories about and Team Rocket is classic. I prefer the original versions to any remakes of them, but I still find Kanto charming to return to in other games.
GSC - Probably my least favorite to play the original games because of the horrendous level curve of the games, and Pokemon distribution is really terrible, but this was slightly mitigated with HGSS, and Drayano tackled these games with Sacred Gold and Storm Silver. These days when I want the Johto experience I just play those. Johto also has a really interesting atmosphere and very fun lore. Also Two Regions is fun! Silver is also my favorite rival in the series.
RSE - The first games I’ve played so I have a lot of nostalgia for them. If I have to say anything bad about them, it’s that their evil teams are kinda stupid (but I still love them), and I don’t like Zinnia in the remakes. Emerald is still a classic though and there are plenty of good Emerald hacks that add in features that make every Pokemon catchable. I do think like Jotho, the Pokemon distribution in base game is also pretty weak so nuzlocking might require a duplicate rule if you’re playing base game. Also no physical/special split still makes a lot of cool Pokemon unusable in the otherwise amazing Battle Frontier.
DPPt - My favorite generation, but we all know exactly how slow and awful it is and how bad the HM bloat got here. Anyone who climbs Mount Coronet knows. Fortunately, Drayano hit these games as well with Renegade Platinum, removing a lot of of the required HMs and making it so the ones you still need are ones you’d put on a good Water pokemon anyway. I love Team Galactic, and Cyrus is a character I still think about from time to time. Platinum remains my favorite for its excellent endgame, and while its battle frontier is smaller than Emerald’s, the physical/special split means you have a lot more viable Pokemon to pick from. It’s also a really good nuzlocke, because there are so many excellent fights in the game that just prove to be a significant threat. Shout out to Cyrus for being the first team leader with an actually threatening team!
BW - Okay so the fact that they went full experimental in this generation is hated by the Pokemon community at large, but I really appreciate that they tried to divert the formula of most games by making it a more traditional JRPG, complete with a sequel. My criticism is that they implemented a lot of these ideas poorly, particularly the difficulty options that players had been asking for. However, the story, region, and characters are super cool, and I love that they attempted to introduce a “new experience” by making it so that you could only catch Unova Pokemon in the first run of the games. It made for a really fun blind run. I’m putting these as my second-favorite of the games, behind Platinum, and some days I’ll tell you it’s my favorite. Also I don’t care what anyone says, I adore Emboar. It’s actually a really cool Pokemon to use for RP due to its insane movepool.
XY - My least favorite generation overall. It’s… okay. Nothing about it is outright bad. It just feels mediocre. There’s a lot of charming things about it, but compared to what came before I was left wanting. Ironically the hardest nuzlocke fights in this game are against those random route trainers with the two furfrou. I do like how they implemented customization, I do like the new Pokemon in this region, and I like how they handled online. I don’t like megas but I can get into that later.
SuMo - Honestly, in terms of story, I think Sun and Moon are some of the best in the series. Guzma is one of my favorite Pokemon characters ever. This region is packed with atmosphere and charming characters, and you can’t help but smile when you play it. However, replaying it can be a chore because of all the required story events and dialogue to skip through. That’s kinda why I didn’t get Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon. Also the customization, especially for male trainers, was kinda weak this generation. Also the online system in this game… ugh… who thought it was a good idea…
SwSh - If you’re playing Pokemon to play with or against other people, I feel like Sword and Shield are the best games in the series. Dyanamax Adventures, Dynamax Raids, and the Rental Team Feature are some of the best things ever added to this game. Also how easy it is to get Pokemon ready for competitive battling is super cool! I love all this about it. Also the dex cuts? I kinda… came to appreciate them when I got back into competitive. Megas being gone? Thank goodness. No more Z moves? Thank you! Now even Dynamax is gone, and I’m very happy, even though Dynamax wasn’t really a bad feature imo (though I only play doubles, not singles). As for the game itself, count me as someone who bullies Hop, but Marnie has my whole heart. Also uh was Chairman Rose really evil? I mean his entire thing was “guys I don’t think what we’re doing is sustainable” and everyone else goes “lol look at Chairman Rose, caring about future generations” and like??? Hello??? Guys???
Anyway that’s my ramble.
Mine was a Golbat in Victory Road grinding to get ready for the Elite Four. Invoking the Shiny Clause, I took him and ended up replacing my flying type (idk what it was, it probably failed the vibe check of nuzlockes anyway) and got a Crobat.
The only time I’ve ever gotten a friendship level pokemon too.
Roserade. I used to hyper-fixate on it when and trained a bunch to 100. A while back I wonder traded all but one away, and I hope whoever got them was happy and someone out there still has any of them and possibly even uses them on their team 
I’ve never been big into the competitive battling side of pokemon, I always preferred the collecting aspects.
Switch Friend Code: SW-4433-1497-0611
Pokemon Go Code: 9131 1898 6076
Not looking for anything specific but it’s cool to add folks and if I got anything someone wants I’d be happy to give it to them.
Super excited for Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. I am bummed that games going forward will no longer have every pokemon in them, and I wish Pokemon Home didn’t really have a cost at all, or at least a far lower one.
To be fair with the whole “No Pokemon game will have all Pokemon” going forward thing…
There’s a LOT of chaff Pokemon out there that served to fill out the Pokedex. While I know everyone has their favorite, there’s also a lot that have significant overlap that don’t need to be coded into every subsequent game.
I sort of wish this would apply to Legendaries too. The last DLC for Shield/Sword was ridiculously fun, but I legitimately never use Legendaries so it was a whole bunch of Dex fluff to me. Plus the fact these are supposed to be super rare/unique Pokemon and it’s weird we can collect all of them in every generation.
tbh they also went back on their word when they saw how unpopular that decision was and added a bunch of old Pokemon back into SWSH. I don’t think they’re gonna stick to their guns about that going forward. Legends and BDSP are gonna probably add in the last few Pokemon we need.
I do think if they just said “the rest of the dex is coming later” like they did with XY, there wouldn’t have been as much outcry. or just call it regional dexes, which we’ve always done.