Two Pokémon generations made the most important additions to the series, and it isn’t even close

With each new generation of Pokémon, we get a whole new region, a new Pokédex, new characters, and new mechanics and features. And the great thing is, the mechanics and features continue to adapt and build upon what the first generation established.

To find out which Pokémon generation made the biggest impact on the franchise, Reddit user Hsiang7 created a community poll with Generations II through VII as options. To help voters, a list of changes and additions from each Generation was included.

The poll ended with 11,000 votes, and two generations stood above the rest. With around 3,300 votes each, Gen IV and Gen II make up over half the total number of votes.

In first place, Gen IV won fans over with wi-fi connectivity, gender design differences, and the physical/special split.

The physical/special split was indeed a huge game-changer for the franchise, marking each individual attack as physical or special rather than generalizing by type. This change benefitted Pokémon like the Poison/Ghost-type Gengar who had a difficult time taking advantage of its high Special Attack with its two “physical” types prior to Gen IV. The split added a whole new layer to the game, making movesets more personalized to each individual Pokémon.

Gen II came in second place with almost too many new upgrades to remember.

The second generation introduced breeding, held items, weather, Shiny Pokémon, the split between Special Attack and Special Defense, two additional types—Dark and Steel—and so much more. From a competitive perspective, Gen II built the foundation with key components like held items and weather. Not to mention, the whole Pokémon universe would feel so different without Dark or Steel-types.

Finally, Gen III got an honorable mention for introducing Double Battles, Natures, and Abilities, but its impact just wasn’t as big as its predecessor or successor.