Taking into account their consoles and time periods, Gen. II was the best Pokemon generation.

1. I shall begin now. First, I'd like to note that the first generation is generally the most popular. After all, the original game boy didn't have a large number of good games. Red and Blue were probably the best games of their console. HOWEVER, something should be noted. According to Wikipedia, both the original Game Boy and the Game Boy Color were 8-bit and both used the "Zilog Z80" central processing unit (CPU). Virtually the only difference, if I'm not mistaken, was the Game Boy Color's utilization of color (as the name suggested). Thus, the Game Boy Color should be considered equivalent to the normal Game Boy except with color graphics. We might as well consider them both to belong to the same handheld console. Despite this, Pokemon Gold, Silver, and Crystal Versions had SIXTEEN gym leaders and the in-game map was almost twice as large. Also, Generation II introduced 2 new types (Dark and Steel), friendship (though the starter Pikachu in Pokemon Yellow had this), gender for Pokemon other than Nidoran and its evolutions, a female gender option for the player (in Crystal only), the division of the "Special" stat into Special Attack and Special Defense, modernization of the "Bag" option, the ability of Pokemon to hold items, the existence of shiny Pokemon, Pokemon breeding, the day and night system (which was actually abandoned by Generation III), legendary Pokemon for game mascots, the ability to rebattle trainers, common trainers having names, the "Pokegear" (later games would feature similar contraptions based off the Pokegear), the Battle Tower (Crystal only), animation sequences for Pokemon when entering the field (Crystal only), etc. IN FACT, even wireless trade and battles was first introduced in Generation II if one had access to a largely obscure, now defunct paid online service called the "Pokemon Mobile System GB" (available only for the Japanese version of Pokemon Crystal). . http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net... . http://serebii.net... Roughly 24 games for both the GBC and the GBA were compatible with the Mobile Adapter GB (the device used to make this feature possible). . http://www.gamesniped.com... The wireless system in question did not make an appearance in Generation III and was not reintroduced until Generation IV (which was for the DS, and by this time wireless gaming for handhelds was common; the DS had wireless capabilities for many, many, many games). Sadly, the Pokemon Mobile System GB was discontinued in late 2002. On the downside, Generation II introduced the smallest number of new Pokemon of any generation until Generation VI (Pokemon X and Y). Since my opponent is solely advocating X and Y, this may actually help my case. Speaking of which. .. 2. Johto vs. Kalos First of all, here's a sample of the gameplay of each game. Pokemon Silver: . https://m.youtube.com... Pokemon X Footage: . https://m.youtube.com... Now, here's footage of what's widely considered the best Game Boy Color game of all time: . https://m.youtube.com... Other than the (awesome) cutscenes, its graphics are roughly equal to that of Gold and Silver, or perhaps slightly better. On the other hand, here's footage of a fairly good (graphicwise) Nintendo 3DS game: . https://m.youtube.com... Which game is more impressive for its console? I think we both know the answer to that question. Pokemon Gold, Silver, and Crystal seem to be second best, just behind the Oracle of Seasons and Ages (though I can't be 100% sure about that). Pokemon X and Y are rivaled by many other games of its console. In regards to gameplay, Gold and Silver had a simply amazing amount of gameplay, while X and Y, though impressive, is not all that special for a 3DS game in this regard. Earlier I showed what new features Gen. II brought to the table. How about Gen. VI? It brought about Mega Evolution, the ability to walk 8-grid instead of 4-grid, 1 new type (Fairy), gimmicky new ways to fight (horde encounter, sky battle, etc), the abandonment of Gen. V's seasons (a bad change), "super training", etc. Hardly groundbreaking at all. Conclusion: Gold, Silver, and Crystal trump X and Y. Case closed.