Generation III/Discussion of Generation III

While the opinion of the fandom shifts from time to time, Generation III is notable for drawing the most criticism for the series yet. The sense of a reboot when players were thrust into Hoenn (which excludes 184 of the older 251 Pokémon from availability) with no way to recover their old Pokémon drew ire from some fans. The game also saw a jump in newly introduced Legendary Pokémon, with 10 more introduced, a significant increase from Generation II, which only introduced 6.

Later games improved this, however, with Emerald's return to Hoenn being a welcome addition to the series (and including the first in the series as well). FireRed and LeafGreen brought back nostalgic fans who decided to pass on Hoenn's primary paired versions, as well as bringing new fans to the Kanto region, only previously available in its fullest state on the Game Boy.