are yellow/crystal/emerald/etc. "main" pokemon games?

[Retrogamer0001]

As a long-time Pokemon player (I actually remember the day Red/Blue were released, and I was right there in line to get one) I have to say that the original 150 Pokemon will always have a place in my heart. Red/Blue/Yellow are FANTASTIC games and I think everyone with any interest in handheld gaming should play them. These are the "main" games I would recommend. That being said, I also very much enjoy Gold/Silver because of how well done they were, and I still have a bit of nostalgia toward them. After G/S, though, I really wouldn't bother too much, unless you're a diehard of the franchise. It seems like Nintendo is just adding more and more on to the series, and while that may seem like a good thing, for me it is a major turn off, as I consider the other games in nearly every way to be perfect. I'm probably alone in this, but I prefer the first 3 games to almost any of the others. Just my two cents.

[YoshiEgg25]

As a long-time Pokemon player (I actually remember the day Red/Blue were released, and I was right there in line to get one) I have to say that the original 150 Pokemon will always have a place in my heart. Red/Blue/Yellow are FANTASTIC games and I think everyone with any interest in handheld gaming should play them. These are the "main" games I would recommend. That being said, I also very much enjoy Gold/Silver because of how well done they were, and I still have a bit of nostalgia toward them. After G/S, though, I really wouldn't bother too much, unless you're a diehard of the franchise. It seems like Nintendo is just adding more and more on to the series, and while that may seem like a good thing, for me it is a major turn off, as I consider the other games in nearly every way to be perfect. I'm probably alone in this, but I prefer the first 3 games to almost any of the others. Just my two cents.

That's not what I think he meant by "main" Pokémon games, because, by all means, those are certainly main games. I think he meant the third game in each generation that improved on the previous two, e.g. Yellow improving on Red/Blue, Crystal to Gold/Silver, etc.