Let's Talk About Pokemon - Gen 3 Retrospective

Third time's the charm

So, with Gen 3 wrapped up, it's time once again to look back at the last 130-or-so and see what we've learned.

By now in the series, the novelty of new Pokemon as a feature had already run out. The fact that there'll be new Pokemon for a major new version is just a given. Gold and Silver did it! That and the fact Gold and Silver's roster of new mons were treated like an expansion pack of Gen 1 meant Gen 3 had a lot to live up to. Especially since the games felt more like a soft reboot for the series. Right down to getting rid of several features, making for a lot of irate fans. Yeah, that's not a new thing at all, younger fans. Pokemon's been doing this since 2002. Gen 3, at time of release, got a lot of criticism for the Pokemon themselves feeling a lot like retreads of Gen 1 territory, with how many animals and concepts that got reused.

As for our own take on Gen 3, it's far from our favorite Generation, especially with there being a lot of designs we're most certainly not a fan of like Medicham or Slaking. But at the same time, at least the designs we don't like, for the most part, are still doing something strange or at least interesting. This also did feel like a big transitional period of Pokemon.

It was the first time the Pokemon series upgraded to a new console, and you can really feel that in the designs. Free from Gameboy limitations, Pokemon have gotten much more exotic in color schemes, sometimes going a bit too colorful. And they've especially introduced a lot of designs with lots of seams and segments, too. Both of these factors together unfortunately make a lot of Gen 3's Pokemon have this look like they were made to be plastic action figures before anything else.

Still though, this Gen has plenty of winners that are like that, and fortunately the toy-esque aesthetic is one they almost immediately grew out of, with even Gen 4 featuring a lot less designs like this. Either way, Gen 3's a pretty solid Gen with a lot to enjoy, even if it isn't exactly in our top 4. We still appreciate what it's doing regardless.

Our Top 10 Favorites of Gen 3:

Huh, this is the first time narrowing down the top 10 wasn't really that difficult for us. We didn't really feel that bad about any particular omission.

🧡Vixi Pick - Shedinja

💜Luna Pick - Milotic

🦈Jinx Pick - Duskull

Our Top 10 Up 'Till This Point:

And just like that, most of Gen 2 is gone. And undead insects? Apparently our thing!

We COULD individually fill out all of our Top 10s, but there'd be a lot of overlap and we don't wanna be here forever, so. The best we can give is our individual top-3s.

🧡Vixi Picks - Vulpix, Ninetales, Shedinja

💜Luna Picks - Milotic, Gardevoir, Deoxys

🦈Jinx Picks - Shedinja, Duskull, Magneton

Bottom 10 Least Favorites:

Like we said, there's a decent number of Pokemon in this Gen we just feel are mediocre, if not just generally forgettable.

The Cutest:

Hmm, this one's mostly difficult to fill out because most of the conventionally cute 'Mons this time around just. Aren't the kinda cute we appreciate.

The Coolest:

There's no shortage of these at least, Gen 3 feels like it really prioritized "cool Pokemon", thankfully ones that aren't simply just some badass Charizard wannabes.

The Prettiest:

Heh. It's about the kinda Pokemon you'd expect to be here anyways, no real surprises.

The Spookiest:

Ahhh, it's nice to have the spooky types be spoiled for choice this time 'round. ESPECIALLY Ghost!

Most Creative:

This Gen felt relatively safe, but man when they wanted to do something weird and cool they went extra hard. Between Gardevoir's unusual take on a knight and Shedinja the animated cicada husk, yeah. These kinda rule.

Most Charming:

We think at the very least we can say Gen 3 is a step up from Gen 2 in that these "award" categories are a bit more varied than Gen 2's.

Weirdest/Most Unique:

How many games have a sombrero-wearing kappa that is also part plant, a mushroom kangaroo, and a palm tree sauropod that can fly?

Most Under-Appreciated:

Despite Gen 3 being well in "Old, therefore it's good" territory, there's still a few designs we feel are unfairly not talked about that much or are outright hated. Plus Walreign, who's just here because it's cool and kinda overshadowed by Spheal.

Most Forgettable:

Despite Gen 2 though, it feels like there's more Pokemon in this Gen that we regularly forget even exist than usual.

Better Than Their Evolutions:

Yeah, sad how many of these there are in this 'Gen. Honorable mention to Roselia, it's just not here because its evolution didn't exist yet.

The Verdict:

And that's finally it for Gen 3! Hopefully before too long, we'll start on Gen 4!

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