Pokemon!

[Frizz.Meister]

I just discovered my old Gameboy and Pokemon blue. I havn't played it in about 10+ years but im hooked again and pouring hours into it on the train. But as im nearing its end i'm wondering with the many many new games since red/blue, is there a game where you can battle random people across wifi? Also which of the newer games would you say is the best for someone who can barely remember 50 pokemon let alone hundreds, but still has great upgrades from red/blue eg wifi(if applicable)?

[AmishSamurai]

I just discovered my old Gameboy and Pokemon blue. I havn't played it in about 10+ years but im hooked again and pouring hours into it on the train. But as im nearing its end i'm wondering with the many many new games since red/blue, is there a game where you can battle random people across wifi? Also which of the newer games would you say is the best for someone who can barely remember 50 pokemon let alone hundreds, but still has great upgrades from red/blue eg wifi(if applicable)?

Of the current gen, HeartGold and SoulSilver are the best. I'd argue they're the best in the series period, but evidently Pokemon Black and White got a perfect 40/40 from Famitsu. You could probably wait for that to come out next year. Of the ones currently out in the states, I'd rate them HeartGold/SoulSilver > Gold/Silver/Crystal > FireRed/LeafGreen/Red/Blue/Yellow > Emerald > Platinum > Ruby/Sapphire > Diamond/Pearl

EDIT: think all of the ones this gen have random wi-fi battles in the battle tower, which means you have to beat the game first.

[Frizz.Meister]

Awesome, well as for the wifi battles are they done by friend codes? Because those things are the bane of my life...tracking down someone with the same game, arranging a time to both be online... having them forget...then trashing them in 10 seconds...and the process repeats.

[AmishSamurai]

the random ones in battle tower aren't, hence random.

[YoshiEgg25]

Hooray, my specialty!

Alright, in Diamond/Pearl/Platinum/HeartGold/SoulSilver, you can kind of play random people online, as AmishSamurai said, from the Battle Tower. However, they aren't actual players, but teams uploaded by random players that are controlled by the computer. Otherwise, unfortunately, you need friend codes.

If you want to play competitively (like it sounds like you want), I highly recommend checking out Shoddy Battle. It's an online Pokemon simulator that runs on Java. Basically you create a team according to your specifications and battle them. Like the actual Pokemon games, Shoddy uses EVs/IVs (advanced stuff) along with tiers that Pokemon are banned from.

If you want to know more about it, I actually played competitively on Shoddy for a while, so I know all the ins and outs.

[Frizz.Meister]

You say heart gold and soul silver are the best. Not to disagree withyou but why?

[YoshiEgg25]

Well, HG/SS just have more. You have more moves, more items, a longer story, and the Pokewalker. Plus HG/SS have much better graphics.

I have Diamond, Platinum, and HeartGold. I have played Diamond the most since I've had it the longest, but I really think HG is the best of the bunch. However, it will be cheaper to get Diamond or Pearl, which are around $20 used at GameStop. It might be best to just get those anyhow as Black and White are coming out in March.

[Frizz.Meister]

The reason i enjoyed blue so much was a combination of the exploration and the stratagy of the fights themselves. Looking at shody battle now but always seem to get an error when trying to run the program.

[AmishSamurai]

You say heart gold and soul silver are the best. Not to disagree withyou but why?

this is just my own opinion, but I felt that Gold and Silver had the most content, especially post Elite Four. HeartGold and SoulSilver are remakes, but they have even more, and have taken the already beautiful Johto region and made it stunning. When you go to Violet City at night, and see the glowing lanterns across town, the blowing wind and windmills in New Bark Town, or when finally arriving in Tin Tower after everything is said and done, and you just have the autumn leaves on the floor and the sound of the wind and your feet crunching against them, it makes you marvel at the capacity of the DS.

Additionally, HGSS has the most intuitive menu system. The bottom screen contains the menu at all times, and you can just tap an icon to always run instead of holding B forever. For some reason they removed this in Black version from what my friend told me.

[YoshiEgg25]

The reason i enjoyed blue so much was a combination of the exploration and the stratagy of the fights themselves. Looking at shody battle now but always seem to get an error when trying to run the program.

Try updating Java.