History BrokenBase / Pokemon

** The regional Pokédex consists only of Unova's new 156 Pokémon, not any old ones. One side finds it not only to be a refreshing change of pace reminiscent of the original Game Boy games, but a great introduction to the new monsters, that helps both new and old players familiarize themselves with the selection (notably so as it remains the largest introduction of new Pokemon to date), with many finding the selection itself to be spectacular[[note]]almost all the Legendary Pokémon have been well-received, Serperior and Samurott are fairly popular as starters (especially after Serperior's Hidden Ability was released in ''ORAS''), and many of the more powerful fully-evolved Pokémon such as Haxorus and Bisharp are praised for their designs, movepools, and typings[[/note]]. The other side finds it to be a needless restriction that fails to capture the magic of when the original games did it, not helped by many Gen 5 Pokémon either being seen as SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitutes for older Pokémon[[note]]Zubat to Woobat, Geodude to Roggenrola, and Machop to Timburr, just to name a few. All of these pairs going to their final evolutions in exactly the same way certainly didn't help.[[/note]] or becoming some of the least popular Pokémon in the series ''period''[[note]]Emboar is the third Fire/Fighting starter in a row, the elemental monkeys are seen as a waste of Dex space, and the Trubbish, Klink, and Vanillite lines have been infamously criticized for being based on inanimate objects[[/note]]. Ostensibly in response to the backlash, this type of regional Pokédex has not been done in the mainline since (not even in the games' direct sequels); later ones would not introduce as many new Pokémon and take many cues from older ones. But this only made the change even more divisive with time: those in the former camp often accuse later Pokédexes of being overly derivative and pandering to nostalgia (especially for Kanto), blaming the outrage against the Pokédex on why future generations would be introducing less than 100 unique monsters from then on, while those in the latter camp point to the better balancing of the later regional Pokédexes as evidence of why limiting to only the new monsters was a poor idea.

* Do the games break the trend of consistent quality with the mainline titles, or not? One's opinion of the game effectively hinges on their answer to this question, which has embroiled the fanbase in controversy since the games' release. People who like the games argue that the performance is not that bad or that despite the bad performance, the games still shine on their own merits. On the other hand, detractors find the bugs, glitches, and poor graphics to be enough to dismiss the games wholesale, regardless of what they do well, and see the games as a sign that the franchise has fallen from grace. Some would go as far as to say that even when disregarding the technical performance issues, the games are still far below expectations.

* Using "Pokémon generators" or otherwise hacking teams for competitive play into the games is a particularly contentious subject. The people OK with it argue that there isn't an unfair advantage because the Pokémon are theoretically obtainable without hacking, and that getting competitive Pokémon through normal gameplay is unreasonably time-consuming thanks to heavy RNG inherent in catching, breeding or finding trade partners, and/or financially expensive given that some tournament-viable Pokémon can only be found in specific games and no other. They also argue that how you obtain a Pokémon is completely irrelevant to how well you battle with it. People against it consider hacking cheating and argue that hackers get an unfair amount of time to practice due to how quickly they obtained their teams compared to people who got them legitimately[[note]]the main retort against this being that if everyone just hacked in their mons, everyone gets the same amount of time to practice, resulting in a higher skill ceiling[[/note]]. There is also the issue with trading with strangers such as via Surprise Trade, as it's entirely possible that a genuine player gets a competitive mon that seems legitimate only to learn later that it's a hacked one, resulting in the genuine player getting banned due to someone else's action. Lastly, the franchise is no stranger to TemporaryOnlineContent Pokémon that can only be obtained at specific real-world dates (and sometimes also specific real-world ''locations''), meaning that hacking can be literally ''the only way'' to get those Pokémon to use in battle and fill up the Pokédex. This argument is even hoisted by the people who ''don't'' play the games competitively, as they'll argue that "genning" being so commonplace at a high level is emblematic of all the reasons to not play at a high level.

* The overall structure of the main series has been slowly but surely causing more and more rifts in the playerbase, with there being numerous points of contention. Few will say that any of the mainline ''Pokémon'' games are bad video games; the fanbase largely agrees that they are all of generally good and consistent quality. However, opinions are '''very''' split over what makes a good or bad ''Pokémon'' game. One side argues that the series is a stagnant relic of the 90s that has long suffered from age and is in dire need of ''some'' sort of noticeably distinct change to the plot mechanism and/or battle mechanics to stay relevant, seeing the games' tried and true "8 Gyms and Champion" formula as extremely tired and dated. The other side argues that "if it ain't broke, don't fix it", saying ''Pokémon'' has managed to persevere through polishing a formula the developers have found to work, something that not many series can attest to, and point to the series' attempts at changing it, including in spinoff titles, as for why the main series is fine with it. This being such a core concept of the games means that this commonly reflects in how the fanbase reacts to specific games and the design choices made in them. For instance, Generations V and VII, with their more linear campaigns and story driven experiences coming at the expense of PVP gameplay that the series was then largely known for, are commonly praised by the former camp but criticized by the latter camp, while Generations VI, VIII, and IX, with their focus on [[GottaCatchEmAll picking from a large variety of monsters]] and exploration that downplayed the need for serious stories, are commonly praised by the latter camp but criticized by the former camp. These major shifts in creative direction have resulted in every entry since the start of Gen V being a ContestedSequel one way or the other.

* The release of the games came with massive controversy over their technical performance. People who like the games argue that the performance is not that bad or that despite the bad performance, the games still shine on their own merits. On the other hand, detractors find the bugs, glitches, and poor graphics to be enough to dismiss the games wholesale, regardless of what they do well, and see the games as a sign that the franchise has fallen from grace. Some would go as far as to say that even when disregarding the technical performance issues, the games are still far below expectations.

* The release of the games came with massive controversy over their technical performance. People who like the games argue that the performance is not that bad or that despite the bad performance, the games still shine on their own merits. On the other hand, detractors find the bugs, glitches, and poor graphics to be enough to dismiss the games wholesale, regardless of what they do well, and see the games as a sign that the franchise has fallen from grace. Some would go as fa as to say that even when disregarding the technical performance issues, the games are still far below expectations.

* The release of the games came with massive controversy over their technical performance. People who like the games argue that the performance is not that bad or that despite the bad performance, the games still shine on their own merits. On the other hand, detractors find the bugs, glitches, and poor graphics to be enough to dismiss the games wholesale, regardless of what they do well, and see the games as a sign that the franchise has fallen from grace.

* The soundtrack is noted for its heavy use of the french horn and trumpet samples and not much else, which many fans feel make the score sound homogenous, grating, and amateurish. Another group argues that these instruments are iconic, are serviceable for the Game Boy Advance, and give the score its distinct flavor. This argument only got worse when ''Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire'' released and updated the score to more modern standards: there were those that could not stand the original score and low quality samples and were glad to have [[RemadeAndImproved something that actually sounds good]] (with notable attention going to tracks such as Surfing, which has a whole new percussion line, and all the Contest tracks, which received drastic electronic reworks), and there were also those that [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks disliked the numerous alterations to the tracks]] (particularly with the Diving track, which is considerably slower and cuts out good chunks of the original) and the lack of their favorite instrument samples (save for the Primal Reversion Battle, which was deliberately mixed with the original).

* The music's notably different sound profile from past games, likely a result of the absence of longtime series composer Go Ichinose, who was working on ''VideoGame/PocketCardJockey'' during the time of Generation 6 and thus was unable to contribute to it. Some find the soundtrack to be a solid entry in the series with how fresh and mature it sounds, with particular praise going towards the game's use of orchestral instruments, and even more praise going towards the tracks that employ more varied sound pallete such as Cyllage City, Anistar City, and Kalos Power Plant, to name a few. Others despise it, decrying themes such as the Trainer Battle and Lumiose City for being overly basic, criticizing the Rival Battle and Gym Leader battle for droning for too long with no sense of progression, and overall veering too hard into generic JRPG style instead of the more experimental style of old. The end credits song "KISEKI", in particular, is seen as either heartwarming and beautiful or pretentious and unfitting, particularly as its lyrics aren't actually sung; many fans agree that the concept of a Nintendo song with lyrics was built upon better with "[[VideoGame/FireEmblemFates Lost in Thoughts All Alone]]", "[[VideoGame/SuperMarioOdyssey Jump Up, Super Star!]]", "[[VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate Lifelight]]", "[[VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2 Drifting Soul", "One Last You]]" and "[[VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses The Edge of Dawn]]", all of which have sung lyrics and varying moods.

* Hacking teams for competitive play into the games is another contentious subject. The people OK with it argue that there isn't an unfair advantage because the Pokémon are theoretically obtainable without hacking, and that getting competitive Pokémon through normal gameplay is unreasonably time-consuming thanks to heavy RNG inherent in catching, breeding or finding trade partners, and/or financially expensive given that some tournament-viable Pokémon can only be found in specific games and no other. They also argue that how you obtain a Pokémon is completely irrelevant to how well you battle with it. People against it consider hacking cheating and argue that hackers get an unfair amount of time to practice due to how quickly they obtained their teams compared to people who got them legitimately[[note]]the main retort against this being that if everyone just hacked in their mons, everyone gets the same amount of time to practice, resulting in a higher skill ceiling[[/note]]. There is also the issue with trading with strangers such as via Surprise Trade, as it's entirely possible that a genuine player gets a competitive mon that seems legitimate only to learn later that it's a hacked one, resulting in the genuine player getting banned due to someone else's action. Lastly, the franchise is no stranger to TemporaryOnlineContent Pokémon that can only be obtained at specific real-world dates (and sometimes also specific real-world ''locations''), meaning that hacking can be literally ''the only way'' to get those Pokémon to use in battle and fill up the Pokédex.

* There are copious arguments about whether the Hoenn games are good, or even ''the best ever'' or ''worst ever''. Pros include the ''gorgeous'' diversity of the region. It's packed with so many different kinds of places to explore, such as a shipwreck, meteor falls, volcanoes, etc. The storyline is also widely praised, as well as the introduction of Battle Frontier. The most common complaints are easy to sum up: Surf and trumpets. Hoenn has the most abundant and expansive bodies of water of all the regions, causing people to complain about how you need the HM move Surf at your disposal so often and as soon as you can. Hoenn defenders have noted that this is a case of RealityIsUnrealistic, although the fact that the Pokémon universe is hardly reality also bears consideration. The trumpets just refer to the trumpet-heavy soundtrack.

* Hacking teams for competitive play into the games is another contentious subject. The people OK with it argue that there isn't an unfair advantage because the Pokémon are theoretically obtainable without hacking, and that getting competitive Pokémon through normal gameplay is unreasonably time-consuming thanks to heavy RNG inherent in catching, breeding or finding trade partners, and/or financially expensive given that some tournament-viable Pokémon can only be found in specific games and no other. They also argue that how you obtain a Pokémon is completely irrelevant to how well you battle with it. People against it consider hacking cheating and argue that hackers get an unfair amount of time to practice due to how quickly they obtained their teams compared to people who got them legitimately[[note]]the main retort against this being that if everyone just hacked in their mons, everyone gets the same amount of time to practice, resulting in a higher skill ceiling[[/note]]. There is also the issue with trading with strangers such as via Surprise Trade, as it's entirely possible that a genuine player gets a competitive mon that seems legitimate only to learn later that it's a hacked one, resulting in the genuine player getting banned due to someone else's action. Lastly, the franchise is no stranger to [[TemporaryOnlineContent Pokémon usable in the games but only obtainable at very specific real-life dates]], meaning that hacking can sometimes be literally ''the only way'' to get those Pokémon to use them and fill up the Pokédex.

** Generations 1-7 vs. Generation 8-9: Easily the most heated and infamous one currently. Generation 8 marked several radical changes to the Pokémon formula, both in game design and release, that really brought the overall debate to the forefront and made forums a near constant FlameWar-torn battlefield. In particular, ''Sword and Shield'' marked the beginning of not all Pokémon being able to own in a single game (as in, you literally can't even trade in certain Pokémon, they don't exist in the game files); ''Legends: Arceus'' did away with PVP battling and shifted more focus to capturing monsters and completing the regional dex; and ''Scarlet and Violet'' marked a shift to an outright WideOpenSandbox, putting much more emphasis on non-linear exploration than even ''Legends: Arceus''. To make a long story short: you have people who like the changes, feeling that not having to get every single Pokémon makes 100 percent completion less of a chore whilst inviting ways to better design each game individually instead of releasing what is more or less the same game over and over again, praising ''Sword and Shield'' for bringing more attention to the Pokémon that ''were'' there and praising ''Legends: Arceus'' and ''Scarlet and Violet'' for taking the formula of catching Pokémon to its logical conclusion. But you also have those that utterly loathe the changes, with people finding the Dex exclusions insulting and only giving more passage to the things that caused the series' design issues in the first place, whilst going down ''hard'' on ''Sword and Shield'' for its lackluster campaign and DLC that some felt was overpriced and didn't resolve any of the game's core issues; criticizing ''Legends: Arceus'' for going hard in the other direction and throwing away the formula entirely in favor of something that didn't even feature PVP gameplay; and dismissing ''Scarlet and Violet'' for seeming to focus on making the world ''large'' over making it ''immersive'' ("wide as an ocean, deep as a puddle"), noting that Paldea's vast size can make it difficult to find certain Pokémon, and pointing to the abundant glitches and lacking polish as proof that the games needed more time in the oven. This isn't even mentioning the people that don't quite fit into either of these, including those that criticized ''Sword and Shield'' for obeying the series' StrictlyFormula [[ItsTheSameNowItSucks to a fault]] whilst praising ''Legends: Arceus'' and ''Scarlet and Violet'' for doing something new and refreshing, as well as those that praised ''Sword and Shield'' for continuing to refine the classic formula and slamming ''Legends: Arceus'' and ''Scarlet and Violet'' for [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks their radical alterations to the experience]].
* The CasualCompetitiveConflict of Pokémon is also a common source for breaks in the fandom. It isn't as bad as other fandoms, as most competitive gamers also play casually, and the vast majority of people on both sides just kinda wanna have fun playing the game their own way, but there's enough dicks on either side (competitive gamers who are insistent that it makes them smarter to play the game this way, regarding casual gamers as incompetent noobs and "not real fans", and casual gamers who treat competitive gamers as though they're abusing real animals instead of game data and then hypocritically scorn competitive gamers for taking the game 'too seriously' (as if [[MeasuringTheMarigolds wanting to know deeply about something makes it impossible to enjoy it]]) to make it a touchy subject at times. This also merges with the aforementioned "Generation wars" as how seriously one takes the games tends to factor heavily into which entries they prefer.

* A common argument among the fandom is whether dragon-like Pokémon that aren't Dragon-type, such as (non-Mega X) Charizard, Gyarados, Aerodactyl, Thundurus-Therian and (non-Mega) Sceptile, count as dragons or not, and whether they were intended to be dragons in the first place. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sK6ycwaSjZ8 This video]] has more on the issue, and concludes that the lack of Dragon typing was simply in order to prevent Charizard from being overpowered (similar arguments can apply to Gyarados and Sceptile), and [[https://drm.pokemontcg.com/en-us/ the TCG website]] confirms that such Pokémon are "inspired by" dragons of various kinds. Some people look to the franchise's SpiritualAntithesis ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter'' for the answer: while most monsters in that series are dragons,[[note]]most of which are referred to as "wyverns" in the English localization,[[/note]] there is also a ''Pokémon''-like "Dragon" elemental typing that only applies to a subset of powerful monsters (some of which aren't traditionally draconic), bringing up the possibility of "Dragon" as an elemental classification rather than an animal descriptor. The issue isn't limited to dragonlike Pokémon, as there are other species with appearances, habits and movepools that defy their typing, such as the fairylike Celebi not being Fairy-type, Midnight Form Lycanroc looking and acting like a textbook Dark-type but being pure Rock, the antlion-based Trapinch line not being Bug-type despite being in the Bug egg group, and quite a few aquatic Pokémon (such as Lugia, Stunfisk and Dragalge) not being Water-type.

* Any time a mechanic or content featured in the tail-end game(s) of a generation (such as Move Tutors that teach a wider variety of moves or a greater/more readily-accessible amount of Mega Evolutions) is removed from the first two games of the next one, often only to be added back in when that gen's tail-end games are released. Some defend this practice as Game Freak has to convince people to buy the next games somehow, and it gives them the opportunity to improve on the first two. Others find it to be an egregious case of planned obsolesence (why bother buying the first two games when there'll always be an UpdatedRerelease or [[{{Sequel}} rough]] [[VideoGameRemake equivalent]] that'll have more things in it?), and point out that taking something out of a game only to add it back into a new game later on does not an improvement make.

* Datamining, [[ContentLeak the act of going through the game's code to suss out every secret and tidbit the game has on file]]. On one hand, people appreciate plumbing the depths of the game's coding because [[GuideDangit so many mechanics on how the game functions is largely unexplained by the game itself]][[note]]Without datamining, things such as Pokémon stats, movepools, egg groups, effort values and individual values would be completely unknown without tedious trial and error as they are intentionally kept secret by the developers to make the experience more "organic"[[/note]]. On the other hand, it also inadvertently reveals a great number of spoilers (story related or Pokémon related), which some people unscrupulously post everywhere upon revelation. It's nearly impossible to go into the newest generation of games completely blind unless you've actively avoided all social media or the internet in general (which is increasingly harder to do as time goes on). It also spoils when things such as a new mythical Pokémon is officially revealed by the company; [[ItWasHisSled the fanbase already found out about it months in advance]], thus the shock factor of the reveal that the company wanted is completely lost. A portion of the fanbase feel the need to put on a {{Kayfabe}} of sorts (pretending that the information isn't known) while a portion does not and treat the spoilers as common knowledge (without consideration for those who do not want to be spoiled). It also puts fan websites, wikis (including this one), gaming news sites and Website/YouTube channels in a bind where their creators and maintainers want to enjoy the product spoiler-free but need to post ''something'' about the revealed information. Gen VIII would rectify some of this by leaving its mythicals out of the game entirely at launch, only adding them in with an update after the reveal. (Though that said, when the first DLC was released lots of data for the ''second'' DLC was found to be in the files as well.)

* The Memory Link cutscene with the Shadow Triad and the Striaton Trio really ruffled up the fanbase, as it disconfirmed a popular fan theory that they were one and the same. It restarted the issue that many players had about the Striaton Trio about why they didn't accompany the other Gym Leaders in storming N's Castle (though in ''Black and White'' Bianca mentions she did try to reach them...right before Cheren admits to letting Ghetsis and the Shadow Triad escape). Some either ignore the scene outright or still insist that they are the same, arguing that [[UnreliableExpositor the Striaton Trio were just lying]]. Other fans were happy about it and glad those who believed in it could finally shut up, seeing the original fan theory as baseless FanWank that did not match with either of their characters and was based merely around coincidence (even down to their appearances in ''Manga/PokemonAdventures''). It doesn't help that the Shadow Triad themselves admit they had no reason to appear before the Striaton trio, making some wonder if their presence in the scene was just to discredit the theory (something highly unusual for the mainline games, which generally [[ShrugOfGod do not give hard answers to unknowns]] and prefer that fans devise their own explanations).

Generation VIII proved to have some of the most controversial titles in the franchise since ''Pokémon Black and White'', thanks to a number of design choices that not only [[OldGuardVersusNewBlood greatly shifted the priorities of the games]], but [[FranchiseOriginalSin brought several long held problems with the series to a head]]. At the fore of it all is ''VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield'', a game so polarizing that nearly every facet of the game starts debates that feel eerily like political {{Flame War}}s, and then came ''Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl'' fans and ''Legends: Arceus'', two games releasing close together but with such wildly different executions that their fanbases barely intersect and frequently butt heads. And all that's left is the lone agreement that these games took the already piecemeal fandom and shattered it into tiny pieces, representing a cautionary tale about brand power and merchandising over their own works.

* Red's Espeon being replaced with a Lapras, a change that has been kept in all of Red's subsequent appearances. Some fans like the change, finding the Lapras received in Silph Co. more iconic than the Eevee received in Celadon City, thinking it fits Red better to only use Kanto Pokémon, and because it gives him a Pokémon immune to Mt Silver's newly added hailstorm. Others preferred Espeon due to how Red having a friendship evolution showed that beneath his outward appearance as TheStoic, he has a deep, genuine love for his companions, and dislike Lapras for adding type redundancy with Blastoise and resulting in half of his team (Blastoise, Charizard and now Lapras) being weak to Electric, and argue that the hailstorm on Mt Silver wasn't necessary and could simply not have been added to begin with.

* Hacking teams for competitive play into the games is another contentious subject. The people OK with it argue that there isn't an unfair advantage because the Pokémon are theoretically obtainable without hacking, and that getting competitive Pokémon through normal gameplay is unreasonably time-consuming thanks to heavy RNG inherent in catching, breeding or finding trade partners, and/or financially expensive given that some tournament-viable Pokémon can only be found in specific games and no other. They also argue that how you obtain a Pokémon is completely irrelevant to how well you battle with it. People against it consider hacking cheating and argue that hackers get an unfair amount of time to practice due to how quickly they obtained their teams compared to people who got them legitimately[[note]]the main retort against this being that if everyone just hacked in their mons, everyone gets the same amount of time to practice, resulting in a higher skill ceiling[[/note]]. There is also the issue with trading with strangers such as via Surprise Trade, as it's entirely possible that a genuine player gets a competitive mon that seems legitimate only to learn later that it's a hacked one, resulting in the genuine player getting banned due to someone else's action.

* In a different direction, the fanbase for ''Pokémon'' had already been broken right from Day 1. Fans of the video games, of the [[Anime/PokemonTheSeries anime]], of the [[Manga/PokemonAdventures manga]], and of the [[TabletopGame/{{Pokemon}} card game]] are largely separate. Chances are if someone says they're a fan of ''Pokémon'', they're only a fan of one of the above and range between a passing interest to vile disgust at the rest of them.
** The feud between fans of the anime and fans of the manga is particularly nasty. The latter will constantly talk up how the manga has been overall far better received than the anime ever has due to [[DarkerAndEdgier its willingness to discuss more mature subject matter]] compared to the anime, claiming people who actually prefer it are nothing more than butt-hurt, nostalgia-blind Mareep with no taste. The former praise the anime precisely for its more lighthearted tone, finding it more appropriate for a franchise meant to appeal to all ages and thus much easier to digest, and decry the manga for [[AngstDissonance being too "edgy"]] and abhor its fans for assuming dark automatically means good.

* The Memory Link cutscene with the Shadow Triad and the Striaton Trio really ruffled up the fanbase, as it disconfirmed a popular fan theory that they were one and the same. It restarted the issue that many players had about the Striaton Trio about why they didn't accompany the other Gym Leaders in storming N's Castle (though in ''Black and White'' Bianca mentions she did try to reach them...right before Cheren admits to letting Ghetsis and the Shadow Triad escape). Some either ignore the scene outright or still insist that they are the same, arguing that [[UnreliableExpositor the Striaton Trio were just lying]]. Other fans were happy about it and glad those who believed in it could finally shut up, seeing the original fan theory as baseless FanWank that did not match with either of their characters and was based merely around coincidence (even down to their appearances in the manga). It doesn't help that the Shadow Triad themselves admit they had no reason to appear before the Striaton trio, making some wonder if their presence in the scene was just to discredit the theory (something highly unusual for the mainline games, which generally [[ShrugOfGod do not give hard answers to unknowns]] and prefer that fans devise their own explanations).

* The open-world design. Some fans find it to be a welcome departure from the usual linear design of the previous mainline games and like the relative freedom that the games offer, but others find it to be lacking or think that the world design is not appealing enough to make the open-world approach work. Yet another groups likes the idea of an open-world Pokémon game but thinks Game Freak didn't go far enough with it; as trainers, wild Pokémon, and Gym Leaders/Titans/Team Star leaders are always at set levels, there's still an "intended" order that can cause SchizophrenicDifficulty, instead of having LevelScaling that allows players to truly tackle the game however they want.

** Generations 1-5 vs. Generation 6-9: Some fans dislike and refuse to acknowledge the sixth generation onward for three main reasons: the emphasis on additional battle mechanics like Mega Evolutions, Z-Moves, and Terastallizing which are often treated like gimmicks instead of changes to the core experience; the shrinking of postgame features (no Battle Frontier in ''ORAS'', the ''Sword/Shield'' postgame being boring and repetitive, and the complete absence of the Battle Tower in ''Scarlet and Violet''); and [[FirstInstallmentWins pandering for Gen 1]] (Kanto starters in Generation 6, only Kanto Pokémon getting Alolan Forms in Generation 7, the mere existence of ''Pokémon Let's Go: Pikachu and Eevee'', and most of the Pokémon with Gigantamax versions in Generation 8 being either Kanto Pokémon or Galar newcomers), which inflames the aforementioned "Genwunners" debate. Naturally none of this sits well with the fans of these generations, who enjoy the increased attention and relevance the Kanto saga has received (with many old-school players coming back because of them), prefer the decreased focus on the postgame due to more effort going to the maingames (especially with the Alola games), and perceive the pre Gen 6 games as stepping stones just there to polish the gameplay experience into what it is now (hence the greater emphasis on "gimmicks" once it was fully polished). As Generation 6 also marked the introduction of the controversial Fairy type, which changed the balance set for over a decade, whether one likes the post Gen 6 games or not tends to hinge on their opinion of the type as well.

* The CasualCompetitiveConflict of Pokémon is also a common source for breaks in the fandom. It isn't as bad as other fandoms, as most competitive gamers also play casually, and the vast majority of people on both sides just kinda wanna have fun playing the game their own way, but there's enough dicks on either side (competitive gamers who are insistent that it makes them smarter to play the game this way, regarding casual gamers as incompetent noobs and "not real fans", and casual gamers who treat competitive gamers as though they're abusing real animals instead of game data and then hypocritically scorn competitive gamers for taking the game 'too seriously' (as if [[MeasuringTheMarigolds wanting to know deeply about something makes it impossible to enjoy it]]) to make it a touchy subject at times.

** The feud between fans of the anime and fans of the manga is particularly nasty. The latter will constantly talk up how the manga has been overall far better received than the anime ever has due to [[TrueArtIsAngsty its willingness to discuss more mature subject matter]] compared to the anime, claiming people who actually prefer it are nothing more than butt-hurt, nostalgia-blind Mareep with no taste. The former praise the anime precisely for its more lighthearted tone, finding it more appropriate for a franchise meant to appeal to all ages and thus much easier to digest, and decry the manga for [[AngstDissonance being too "edgy"]] and abhor its fans for assuming dark automatically means good.

* The overall structure of the main series has been slowly but surely causing more and more rifts in the playerbase, with there being numerous points of contention. Few will tell you that any of the mainline ''Pokémon'' games are bad video games; the fanbase largely agrees that they are all of generally good and consistent quality. However, opinions are '''very''' split over what makes a good or bad ''Pokémon'' game. One side argues that the series is a stagnant relic of the 90s that has long suffered from age and is in dire need of ''some'' sort of noticeably distinct change to the plot mechanism and/or battle mechanics to stay relevant, seeing the games' tried and true "8 Gyms and Champion" formula as extremely tired and dated. The other side argues that "if it ain't broke, don't fix it", saying ''Pokémon'' has managed to persevere through polishing a formula the developers have found to work, something that not many series can attest to, and point to the series' attempts at changing it, including in spinoff titles, as for why the main series is fine with it. This being such a core concept of the games means that this commonly reflects in how the fanbase reacts to specific games and the design choices made in them. For instance, Generations V and VII, with their more linear campaigns and story driven experiences coming at the expense of PVP gameplay that the series was then largely known for, are commonly praised by the former camp but criticized by the latter camp, while Generations VI, VIII, and IX, with their focus on [[GottaCatchEmAll picking from a large variety of monsters]] and exploration that downplayed the need for serious stories, are commonly praised by the latter camp but criticized by the former camp. These major shifts in creative direction have resulted in every entry since the start of Gen V being a ContestedSequel one way or the other.

* The revelation that the Shadow Triad are not the Striaton Trio. Some fans still insist that they are, despite the flashback that shows them all together. Some fans seem to believe that [[UnreliableExpositor the Striaton Trio were just lying]].

* N's backstory being revealed has also caused this in part of FanDislikedExplanation. While some fans feel that N being [[ConvenientlyAnOrphan an orphan who was abandoned by his parents]] and [[RaisedByWolves raised by Pokémon until Ghetsis took him in]] suits N (and, in addition, plays into how easily N was manipulated into believing that Pokémon trainers were evil), some feel it to be anti-climatic and were disappointed that Ghetsis really hadn't stolen him from his parents, nor was he his real child.

** The fact that it's specifically called the "Fairy" type is controversial for some. Part of this is due to how it is also super effective against the Dark type, leading some fans to say that it should have been christened the long desired "Light" type, especially when many Fairy type moves use light as a power source (most notably "Light of Ruin", the SecretArt of the unreleased Eternal Flower Floette). Other fans will be quick to remind those they are debating with that this makes little sense due to being LostInTranslation, since the Dark type is known in Japan as the "Evil" type, and so the strength Fairy types have over Dark types is a larger result of Fairy types' somewhat natural association with fairy tale motifs.

** Also in dispute is how Z-Moves balance the game. Defenders claim that they help make many, many weaker Pokemon competitively useful, even in higher tier play, and unlike Megas, are a single use item that can turn the tides in interesting ways. Others claim, however, that they make offensively-minded Pokemon, especially those already powerful, become absolute beasts that can smash down even the StoneWall Pokemon meant to counter them, making more defensive Pokemon like Chansey struggle to find a use at all, and Arceus help you if they get a stat boost beforehand. It doesn't help that Z-Moves can break through protection moves.

The entire lineup of Generation VIII games proved themselves to be the most controversial titles in the entire franchise since ''Pokémon Black and White'', thanks to a number of design choices that not only [[OldGuardVersusNewBlood greatly shifted the priorities of the games]], but [[FranchiseOriginalSin brought several long held problems with the series to a head]]. Nearly every facet of the game starts debates that feels eerily like political {{Flame War}}s, and just about the only thing Pokémon fans can agree on is that these games completely shattered the fandom which leads to a cautionary tale about brand power and merchandising over their own works.

* The open-world design. Some fans find it to be a welcome departure from the usual linear design of the previous mainline games and like the relative freedom that the games offer, but others find it to be lacking or think that the world design is not appealing enough to make the open-world approach work.

** Generations 4/5-9 vs Generations 1-4/5: This is largely a debate about Pokémon designs, as starting in the DS era some fans felt that they became unoriginal, derivative and a sign of the designers running out of ideas. Just mentioning the word "unoriginal" angers fans of the newer Pokémon to no end, with them accusing fans of seeing things through a NostalgiaFilter, pointing out how many older Pokemon are just as, if not less, inspired than the newer ones. Some even go the complete opposite route and ignore the ''older'' Pokémon because they find the newer ones far more interesting. Even ''when'' exactly Pokémon designs "became unoriginal" is a point of contention: some claim it was Generation 4 for introducing several Pokémon that were just preevolutions or evolutions of others (or ''both'' in Roselia's case), while others claim it was Generation 5 for its SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitutes of many older Pokémon.

* A common debate is whether ''X'' and ''Y'' or ''Omega Ruby'' and ''Alpha Sapphire'' are the superior Gen VI games. Supporters of ''X'' and ''Y'' tend to enjoy the hugely expanded Pokédex and the return of Gen I favorites, Trainer customization, the Friend Safari and the Kalos region itself. Supporters of ''ORAS'' cite the wider variety of features, more balanced difficulty, greater level of polish, more extensive postgame, wider variety of obtainable starters and Legendaries, and the Delta Episode. Of note is the fact that both sets of games [[PanderingToTheBase attempt to pander to nostalgic fans]], albeit in different ways.

* Pokéstar Studios. It's either a waste of time like the Pokémon Musical that players desperately try to get through in the main storyline as quickly as possible (even if it means completely butchering the mandatory first film and looking like a complete joke) and never return again, or it's an addicting side feature that the player will have a blast making movies with for amusement.

** There's also a FandomRivalry between fans of Flygon (an antlion [[OurDragonsAreDifferent that is somehow a dragon]]) and Garchomp (a land shark... that is also somehow a dragon.) Flygon fans viciously and relentlessly bash Garchomp for being overrated, overpowered, outclassing Flygon in every way, having an ugly and overcomplicated design, and getting "special treatment" from Creator/GameFreak while Flygon's been left in the dust ''since the generation of its debut'', ''especially'' after Garchomp got a [[SuperMode Mega Evolution]] and Flygon didn't[[labelnote:note]]Game Freak's actually pretty much MisBlamed on that last bit; they genuinely tried to come up with Mega Evolutions for ''both'' Pokémon, and while they succeeded with Garchomp, even after several attempts during the development of ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY'' and ''[[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire]]'' they couldn't get a design for Mega Flygon down they felt was good enough[[/labelnote]]. Garchomp fans just want Flygon fans to stop complaining and leave them and their landshark be, are just as prone to playing the "overrated" card as their opposition, and sometimes claim ''they'' and their Pokémon of choice are the ''real'' underdogs fandom-wise (the last two being fueled by the fact people who prefer Flygon actually seem to outnumber them by a good margin).

* In a different direction, the fanbase for ''Pokémon'' had already been broken right from Day 1. Fans of the video games, of the [[Anime/PokemonTheSeries anime]], and of the [[TabletopGame/{{Pokemon}} Trading Card Game]] are largely separate. Chances are if someone says they're a fan of Pokémon, they're only a fan of one of the above and range between a passing interest to vile disgust at the other two.

* Opinions on the various battle gimmicks (Mega Evolution, Z-Moves, Dynamax, and Terastallization) are very mixed across the fanbase. On top of those fans who simply do not like having them at all and prefer when the franchise didn't have them, there is also a lot of arguments about which gimmick is best. One such divide existing between fans who prefer Mega Evolution, preferring the targeted focus on specific mons to give them a new design and stat changes that often help often beloved Pokémon stand out again or for the first time, and those who prefer the other methods which can be applied to every Pokémon and makes playing less predictable.

* Dynamax and Gigantamax. Reception to them was already cold from the start thanks to being partially to blame for the Dex exclusions as well as being seen as an uninspired combination of Mega Evolutions and Z-Moves, neither of which returned in these games, resulting in the mechanic being seen as a big-time ReplacementScrappy for those mechanics by many people. On the one hand, many enjoy the simplicity of the mechanic and how much the additional effects of Max Moves add to the battle dynamics (especially in doubles), while rectifying issues that both Megas (being usable by only forty-two Pokémon) and Z-Moves (being strictly one-time use) had (both mechanics also required giving up the Pokémon's held item, with one exception, meaning that this game encourages players to experiment with other held items that this game has to offer) and being set as a more fitting and time appropriate spectacle in the game's story. On the other hand, others see Dynamax as unoriginal and boring, as well as horridly unbalanced in practice (especially in singles), with people disliking the numerous benefits Dynamax Pokémon gain for what is seen as little to lose (the big one being their ability to set up a number of beneficial field effects and stat boosts ''and'' deal hefty damage to opponents at the same time).

* The Expansion Pass DLC is praised for finally obviating needing to buy [[CapcomSequelStagnation an entirely separate, full-priced game for marginally improved/additional content]] (although due to the increase of price of the games, buying one of swsh and it's dlc is nearly as much as buying another generation's initial offerings and third version), while circumventing some of the issues present in the base game, most notably making the process of getting Gigantamax Factor Pokémon more simple and practical. However, it also gets some flak due to feelings that it is "removing features and selling them back later" due to the nature of its content, such as containing the only way to have Pokémon follow the protagonist in the overworld, and the fact that it doesn't touch the base campaign at all, resulting in the issues people had with it going completely unaddressed. The existence of two Expansion Passes, one for ''Sword'' and one for ''Shield'', is also either a good or bad thing depending on whether one views it as unnecessary due to the series' habit of making both versions nearly identical (this issue is further exacerbated for those that own both versions and thus need to buy the DLC separately for each if they want the content in both), or justifiable owing to the differences that do exist, especially in ''Sword and Shield'', being quite significant. And of course, you can't forget the people that either think the DLC is overpriced or is just right.

* Hacking teams for competitive play into the games is an extremely contentious subject. The people OK with it argue that there isn't an unfair advantage because the Pokemon are theoretically obtainable without hacking, and that getting competitive Pokemon through normal gameplay is unreasonably time-consuming thanks to heavy RNG inherent in catching, breeding or finding trade partners, and/or financially expensive given that some tournament-viable Pokémon can only be found in specific games and no other. They also argue that how you obtain a Pokemon is completely irrelevant to how well you battle with it. People against it consider hacking cheating and argue that hackers get an unfair amount of time to practice due to how quickly they obtained their teams compared to people who got them legitimately[[note]]the main retort against this being that if everyone just hacked in their mons, everyone gets the same amount of time to practice, resulting in a higher skill ceiling[[/note]]. There is also the issue with trading with strangers such as via Surprise Trade, as it's entirely possible that a genuine player gets a competitive mon that seems legitimate only to learn later that it's a hacked one, resulting in the genuine player getting banned due to someone else's action.

** Generations 1-5 vs. Generation 6-9: Some fans dislike and refuse to acknowledge the sixth generation onward for three main reasons: the introduction of the "Fairy" type and gimmicks like Mega Evolutions, Z-Moves, and Terastallizing. Later generations have also been accused of [[NostalgiaFilter grossly frequent Generation 1 pandering]] (Kanto starters in Generation 6, only Kanto Pokémon getting Alolan Forms in Generation 7, the mere existence of ''Pokémon Let's Go: Pikachu and Eevee'', and most of the Pokémon with Gigantamax versions in Generation 8 being either Kanto Pokémon or Galar newcomers).

* Competitive players themselves are also very divided on many subjects, with numerous divisions among those as well. You got those who denounce people who plug numbers into battle simulators or "Pokémon generators" instead of taking the time to raise their own team, those who swear themselves off of "cheap" strategies as well as those who will use anything that is part of the game, and of course you can't forget those who see no value in Pokémon games aside from the competitive battling aspect of it and perceive the main campaign as little more than padding[[note]]You usually only have access to the tools needed to create competitive monsters only after completing the main story, which can be a huge slog for those who only pick up the game for the competitive battling aspect.[[/note]]. It's telling how much fragmentation there is in the Pokémon metagame, both inside and outside of the Smogon community.

* There is also a divide regarding Pokémon designs in general. Namely: do the newer ones suck? Were the old ones always bad? Was it acceptable back then, or not? It's common for fans of the older games to ridicule later designs for being "unoriginal and "uninspired", often because of NostalgiaFilter, but some feel that the newer designs focus less on being "monsters" and more just abstract representations of various concepts. Needless to say, this pisses off fans of the newer 'mons to no end, to the point that some go out of their way to meticulously pick apart older designs for lacking just as much if not more "originality" or "inspiration" compared to the newer monsters, finding the designs of the newer ones to have more thought and care put into them. Others are just sick of the debate altogether as it starts up nearly every time a new Pokémon is introduced, and the people who decry the newer designs often come out of the woodworks just to say the 'mons before them are far superior, even when said previous mons include the ones they complained about.[[note]]This can be called the "Zelda Cycle", which is also very prominent in that series' fanbase.[[/note]]

** Generation IX saw ''Scarlet and Violet'' follow the precedent ''Legends: Arceus'' set by making the series more open and nonlinear, in this case by making all of Paldea one large WideOpenSandbox. Those who support the decision love the sense of exploration and non-linearity it provides in letting players essentially go anywhere, talk to everyone, and catch anything whenever they want, seeing it as the logical conclusion of ''Pokémon'' moving to home consoles, and in some ways what ''Sword and Shield'' should have been. Detractors point to the tendency for players to get lost in the QuicksandBox and the relative ineffectiveness of the game's attempts to alleviate this, the lack of interiors and dungeons making Paldea feel less full than it could be, the series still making use of "soft" {{railroading}} by having Gym Leaders use only one team with the average levels of each increasing as they did previously, and the [[ObviousBeta frequent glitches]] and SpecialEffectFailure as a sign that Game Freak is spreading itself too thin by trying to make an open-world game without the manpower to make it polished. And of course, "Dexit" critics disliked ''Scarlet and Violet'' on principle since they still don't have every Pokémon or move in the code (although whether the redone graphics and size of the game world justify this is up for debate).

* Opinions on the various gimmicks (Mega Evolution, Z-Moves, Dynamax, and Terastallization) are very mixed across the fanbase. On top of those fans who simply do not like having them at all and would prefer a generation without them, there is also a lot of arguments about which gimmick is best. One such divide existing between fans who prefer Mega Evolution, preferring the targeted focus on specific mons to give them a new design and stat changes that often help often beloved Pokemon stand out again or for the first time, and those who prefer the other methods which can be applied to every Pokemon and makes playing less predictable.

* The music. Some think ''Pokémon X'' and ''Y''[='=]s soundtrack a solid entry in the series, while others find it painfully bland compared to that of other games. The end credits song "KISEKI", in particular, is seen as either heartwarming and beautiful or pretentious and unfitting, particularly as its lyrics aren't actually sung; many fans agree that the concept of a Nintendo song with lyrics was built upon better with "[[VideoGame/FireEmblemFates Lost in Thoughts All Alone]]", "[[VideoGame/SuperMarioOdyssey Jump Up, Super Star!]]", "[[VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate Lifelight]]", "[[VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2 Drifting Soul", "One Last You]]" and "[[VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses The Edge of Dawn]]", all of which have sung lyrics and varying moods.

* The Delta Episode. There are those who think it's a fantastic addition to the game, with an engaging story, and are happy that it focuses on a tragic and interesting character like Zinnia. Then there are those who think it's incredibly tedious - (not to mention the constant back and forth travels between locations, just for someone to tell you something they could have easily told you over the phone) - and that it should have focused on a character that is less irritating and creepy. [[TakeAThirdOption And some fans]] like the story, but still hate all the backtracking involved.
* Similarly, fans are divided on whether ''Emerald'' or ''ORAS'' are the definitive Hoenn games, thanks to the latter games not reflecting most of the changes from ''RS'' in the former outside of a few {{Mythology Gag}}s. The merged storyline, ability to get all three mascot Legendaries, higher difficulty, rematchable Gym Leaders, and, of course, the Battle Frontier are cited in ''Emerald'''s favor, while the separate but expanded storylines, later-generation improvements, expanded Dex, improved Pokénav, Secret Bases and Contests, enormous selection of postgame starters and Legendaries and Soaring are seen as the better trade-off for ''ORAS'' fans.

* As the "poster child" for Dexit and the design shift it would bring, the games' overall quality, and the fact that the base product excludes 465 Pokémon, over half of what the roster totaled to then, is the biggest divider. Detractors feel that Dexit did nothing but highlight how flawed the games are, with its barren campaign clocking in at around 20 hours, Dynamax being a GameBreaker and ReplacementScrappy, and the overall experience being of similar scale, if not smaller, compared to its predecessors despite costing 50 percent more than them. Nevertheless, the games have been showered with praise for shedding what many believed was holding the series back, and consider what the game does have to fit in with the region and the story, whilst lauding all of the quality-of-life changes that resolve some long-held issues with the series, and disregarding the issue of price since it was more a result of the console it released on released on rather than the game itself.

!!'''BDSP'''

!!'''LA'''

!!'''SV'''

* Geeta. Some find her to be a severe AntiClimaxBoss and not worthy of beign seen as "Champion", while others see the battle with her as more of a formality while ''Nemona'' is the TrueFinalBoss of the Pokémon Gym storyline with a much more competently built team.

** Generation 1 vs. Generations 2-9: This one even got a derisive nickname, "Genwunners", for those who insist [[FirstInstallmentWins the first generation of Pokémon games are the only good ones]]. These types of fans refuse to acknowledge any part of the franchise after the first generation, usually due to childhood nostalgia, and decry all changes made since the original games as overcomplicating what was a more "pure" experience. Consequently, other fans became sick of the original games and outright refuse to admire them, often bashing the somewhat dated designs of the earliest Pokémon and pointing out how the newer battle system, though somewhat complicated, is a vast improvement over the infamously buggy and flawed battle system of old. Expect to hear "There are only 151 real Pokémon", both seriously and [[MemeticMutation satirically]]. Because the video game series was at one point planned to end after [[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver GSC]], the argument sometimes gets expanded into Gens 1-2 vs. Gens 3-Present.

* The release of the games came with massive controversy over their technical performance. People who like the game argue that the performance is not that bad or that despite the bad performance, the game still shines on its own merits. On the other hand, detractors find the bugs, glitches, and poor graphics to be enough to dismiss the game wholesale, regardless of what it does well, and see the games as a sign that the franchise has fallen from grace.

* Hacking teams for competitive play into the games is an extremely contentious subject. The people OK with it argue that there isn't an unfair advantage because the Pokemon are theoretically obtainable without hacking, and that getting competitive Pokemon through normal gameplay is unreasonably time-consuming thanks to heavy RNG inherent in catching, breeding or finding trade partners, and/or financially expensive given that some tournament-viable Pokémon can only be found in specific games and no other. They also argue that how you obtain a Pokemon is completely irrelevant to how well you battle with it. People against it consider hacking cheating and argue that hackers get an unfair amount of time to practice due to how quickly they obtained their teams compared to people who got them legitimately. There is also the issue with trading with strangers such as via Surprise Trade, as it's entirely possible that a genuine player gets a competitive mon that seems legitimate only to learn later that it's a hacked one, resulting in the genuine player getting banned due to someone else's action.

* Hacking teams for competitive play into the games is an extremely contentious subject. The people OK with it argue that there isn't an unfair advantage because the Pokemon are theoretically obtainable without hacking, and that getting competitive Pokemon through normal gameplay is unreasonably time-consuming. They also argue that how you obtain a Pokemon is completely irrelevant to how well you battle with it. People against it consider hacking cheating and argue that hackers get an unfair amount of time to practice due to how quickly they obtained their teams compared to people who got them legitimately.

* The Expansion Pass DLC is praised for finally obviating needing to buy [[CapcomSequelStagnation an entirely separate, full-priced game for marginally improved/additional content]], while circumventing some of the issues present in the base game, most notably making the process of getting Gigantamax Factor Pokémon more simple and practical. However, it also gets some flak due to feelings that it is "removing features and selling them back later" due to the nature of its content, such as containing the only way to have Pokémon follow the protagonist in the overworld, and the fact that it doesn't touch the base campaign at all, resulting in the issues people had with it going completely unaddressed. The existence of two Expansion Passes, one for ''Sword'' and one for ''Shield'', is also either a good or bad thing depending on whether one views it as unnecessary due to the series' habit of making both versions nearly identical (this issue is further exacerbated for those that own both versions and thus need to buy the DLC separately for each if they want the content in both), or justifiable owing to the differences that do exist, especially in ''Sword and Shield'', being quite significant. And of course, you can't forget the people that either think the DLC is overpriced or is just right.

* A small but vocal group are the people who dislike the localization of the names of Pokémon, characters, and places, and would rather all international versions retain the Japanese names for everything. This, of course, doesn't sit well with the people who were introduced to Pokémon via names in their country's language or otherwise prefer their own country's localization over the original Japanese versions, and as what's essentially a SubbingVsDubbing debate, conversations get dicey really quickly.