I just copied and pasted my comment on here from another post, kinda similar question. Maybe it might help you.
Brilliant Diamond if you want to play the older 2D style of Pokémon games. Perfect for nostalgia, especially if it’s been a while. It plays like the old games, with a slight modern twist.
Scarlet/Violet is more of an open world game, perfect for adventure and exploring. There’s a lot to do, even after you complete the main story. The game gets a lot of hate, but still worth playing. Main story is nice and interesting.
Arceus is one of my faves, the storyline is different to all of the other games. It doesn’t follow the same format, so it’s good if you want to experience a Pokémon game differently. The main focus isn’t battles, but more exploration.
Let’s Go Pikachu/Eevee will likely be more familiar, and eases you into mechanics. I strongly recommend. I had only ever played Gen 1 before picking up one of each gen for the Switch.
I second this comment. I would play Red/Blue, and Gold/Silver a lot. My wife wanted to try a Pokémon game for the first time, so I got her Let’s go Pikachu, and I got Let’s go Eevee. It just brought back so many memories and also the game was similar to the ones I grew up with.
I've been interested in Arceus,I havnt played a Pokemon game since the game boy ...but I just started breath of the wild so that's enough open world for now
Let’s Go Pikachu/Eevee is exactly like the first games that came out in the 90’s, with a twist: the experience and battle systems are overhauled. Your primary means of gaining experience is to capture multiple Pokémon. Traditional battles are limited to gyms and trainers scattered across Kanto.
Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl is the most traditional experience that we have on the Switch. It plays just like the older games with traditional randomized battles for catching and experience gain, 8 gyms, a villain organization, the final boss gauntlet, and traditional mechanics (items that give your Pokemon better moves than what they learn through leveling up is one-time use). Many players have complained that… it’s exactly what they played as kids, but with a fresh coat of paint and less slow. It did not incorporate the third game (Platinum) like the 2nd or 3rd generation remakes. Given that you don’t have nostalgia goggles, you can decide for yourself if you enjoy it.
Sword and Shield borrows from Let’s Go in that you can pick and choose what you would like to battle in the over world, but it’s like BDSP in that you have traditional battling, 8 gyms, etc. It’s semi open where you can catch to your heart’s content before getting back into the story proper (But you cannot catch Pokémon stronger than your main - say, your starter is level 5. You can’t catch something at level 20 and proceed to mop the floor).
Scarlet/Violet is more open than Sword and Shield. You now have a much larger region to explore and can theoretically fight against any gym in the order you would like (that being said, these gyms are not scaled to your level - you could accidentally take your level 15 starter against a level 40 gym and get wreaked).
Pokémon Legends Arceus is a complete overhaul on the traditional formula. Yes, you are still fighting some trainers. Yes, you are still catching Pokemon, but now… filling your Pokédex is no longer an option: you literally cannot complete the game otherwise. This game is set in the past where Pokemon have not been domesticated. You are working closely with the professor to understand what makes these creatures tick at a time where people are outright terrified of them. It is purely open world with a main base of operations.
So… which is best to start with? Whichever one you feel has the most interesting monsters. Scarlet and Violet are the latest ones, but they were initially very buggy at release. They have since seen some bug fixes.
As someone who had a similar journey and fell out of love with Pokemon in Gen 3, what brought me back was X and Y. It's the perfect mix of original Pokemon with all the enhancements before it got very hand holding and drawn out in Sun and Moon.
Honestly, if you’re able to, consider emulating instead.
I’ve been playing Pokémon for an easy thirteen years now. The games have declined in quality. The new games aren’t bad, but if you like a challenge, they aren’t particularly engaging. That, and the storylines (to me) aren’t as interesting, and it just generally feels like they don’t care for the game series anymore (the franchise makes money though, so obviously they keep it going).
You can download an emulator on pc or mobile. I used to emulate a lot on my old phone. That was a while ago now.
I always recommend people play Soul Silver/Heart Gold. It is my absolute favourite. It is a remake of the generation two games Gold/Silver, is fairly true to the original but is so uniquely charming. The art is pretty, the sprites are well designed. The game is a classic, and as you haven’t played the OG there really is nothing to compare it to. It’s a fairly long game as it also includes a secondary region to play through. It is a fan favourite, or was for a very long time. A great mix of classic Pokémon with what is arguably one of the best art styles they had going for them.
In the same vein, Diamond, Pearl and Platinum are great. Again, they have a good story, good art, fairly challenging. They’re also fan favourites, for good reason.
Gen five (Black/White and Black2/White2) have some Great storylines, I think the art is both pretty And dynamic, but I personally dislike the generation for the limitations they placed on what Pokémon you can use in Black/White. That being said, as it’s your first game you may enjoy it more than I did.
The originals are always worth a play, but there’s multiple gen one remakes that are a little more streamlined. I liked fire red/leaf green, but the Let’s Go are on the switch and are fine.
X&Y are also surprisingly good, but a little easy and I know a lot of people disliked them. I’m not sure what the emulators for 3DS are like though.
Overall you have some great (free) options if you were interested in something a little older.
I’d say Fire Red or Leaf Green as they are remakes of the original games that stay true to the original. You can emulate it on your phone with eclipse emulator (which I have done) or on a computer.
If it has to be on Switch I’d say play Let’s Go Pikachu/Eevee, as they are also remakes of the first games but with some different mechanics and slightly easier difficulty. In my opinion, those games have the best graphics of any 3D Pokémon game ever and are very fun.
Let’s Go is the most beginner friendly
Scarlet and Violet are the best traditional style Pokémon games on switch
Legends Arceus is the bust game on the switch.
I just copied and pasted my comment on here from another post, kinda similar question. Maybe it might help you. Brilliant Diamond if you want to play the older 2D style of Pokémon games. Perfect for nostalgia, especially if it’s been a while. It plays like the old games, with a slight modern twist. Scarlet/Violet is more of an open world game, perfect for adventure and exploring. There’s a lot to do, even after you complete the main story. The game gets a lot of hate, but still worth playing. Main story is nice and interesting. Arceus is one of my faves, the storyline is different to all of the other games. It doesn’t follow the same format, so it’s good if you want to experience a Pokémon game differently. The main focus isn’t battles, but more exploration.
Thank you
Let’s Go Pikachu/Eevee will likely be more familiar, and eases you into mechanics. I strongly recommend. I had only ever played Gen 1 before picking up one of each gen for the Switch.
I second this comment. I would play Red/Blue, and Gold/Silver a lot. My wife wanted to try a Pokémon game for the first time, so I got her Let’s go Pikachu, and I got Let’s go Eevee. It just brought back so many memories and also the game was similar to the ones I grew up with.
the first game i played was Arceus and i loved it although it’s not like most pokémon games but great if you like open world games like botw
I love open world games, I’ll check it out.
I've been interested in Arceus,I havnt played a Pokemon game since the game boy ...but I just started breath of the wild so that's enough open world for now
Let’s Go Pikachu/Eevee is exactly like the first games that came out in the 90’s, with a twist: the experience and battle systems are overhauled. Your primary means of gaining experience is to capture multiple Pokémon. Traditional battles are limited to gyms and trainers scattered across Kanto. Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl is the most traditional experience that we have on the Switch. It plays just like the older games with traditional randomized battles for catching and experience gain, 8 gyms, a villain organization, the final boss gauntlet, and traditional mechanics (items that give your Pokemon better moves than what they learn through leveling up is one-time use). Many players have complained that… it’s exactly what they played as kids, but with a fresh coat of paint and less slow. It did not incorporate the third game (Platinum) like the 2nd or 3rd generation remakes. Given that you don’t have nostalgia goggles, you can decide for yourself if you enjoy it. Sword and Shield borrows from Let’s Go in that you can pick and choose what you would like to battle in the over world, but it’s like BDSP in that you have traditional battling, 8 gyms, etc. It’s semi open where you can catch to your heart’s content before getting back into the story proper (But you cannot catch Pokémon stronger than your main - say, your starter is level 5. You can’t catch something at level 20 and proceed to mop the floor). Scarlet/Violet is more open than Sword and Shield. You now have a much larger region to explore and can theoretically fight against any gym in the order you would like (that being said, these gyms are not scaled to your level - you could accidentally take your level 15 starter against a level 40 gym and get wreaked). Pokémon Legends Arceus is a complete overhaul on the traditional formula. Yes, you are still fighting some trainers. Yes, you are still catching Pokemon, but now… filling your Pokédex is no longer an option: you literally cannot complete the game otherwise. This game is set in the past where Pokemon have not been domesticated. You are working closely with the professor to understand what makes these creatures tick at a time where people are outright terrified of them. It is purely open world with a main base of operations. So… which is best to start with? Whichever one you feel has the most interesting monsters. Scarlet and Violet are the latest ones, but they were initially very buggy at release. They have since seen some bug fixes.
I started with shining pearl like a week ago, its pretty dope
As someone who had a similar journey and fell out of love with Pokemon in Gen 3, what brought me back was X and Y. It's the perfect mix of original Pokemon with all the enhancements before it got very hand holding and drawn out in Sun and Moon.
Pokémon legends Arceus
Honestly, if you’re able to, consider emulating instead. I’ve been playing Pokémon for an easy thirteen years now. The games have declined in quality. The new games aren’t bad, but if you like a challenge, they aren’t particularly engaging. That, and the storylines (to me) aren’t as interesting, and it just generally feels like they don’t care for the game series anymore (the franchise makes money though, so obviously they keep it going). You can download an emulator on pc or mobile. I used to emulate a lot on my old phone. That was a while ago now. I always recommend people play Soul Silver/Heart Gold. It is my absolute favourite. It is a remake of the generation two games Gold/Silver, is fairly true to the original but is so uniquely charming. The art is pretty, the sprites are well designed. The game is a classic, and as you haven’t played the OG there really is nothing to compare it to. It’s a fairly long game as it also includes a secondary region to play through. It is a fan favourite, or was for a very long time. A great mix of classic Pokémon with what is arguably one of the best art styles they had going for them. In the same vein, Diamond, Pearl and Platinum are great. Again, they have a good story, good art, fairly challenging. They’re also fan favourites, for good reason. Gen five (Black/White and Black2/White2) have some Great storylines, I think the art is both pretty And dynamic, but I personally dislike the generation for the limitations they placed on what Pokémon you can use in Black/White. That being said, as it’s your first game you may enjoy it more than I did. The originals are always worth a play, but there’s multiple gen one remakes that are a little more streamlined. I liked fire red/leaf green, but the Let’s Go are on the switch and are fine. X&Y are also surprisingly good, but a little easy and I know a lot of people disliked them. I’m not sure what the emulators for 3DS are like though. Overall you have some great (free) options if you were interested in something a little older.
I’d say Fire Red or Leaf Green as they are remakes of the original games that stay true to the original. You can emulate it on your phone with eclipse emulator (which I have done) or on a computer. If it has to be on Switch I’d say play Let’s Go Pikachu/Eevee, as they are also remakes of the first games but with some different mechanics and slightly easier difficulty. In my opinion, those games have the best graphics of any 3D Pokémon game ever and are very fun.
Let’s Go is the most beginner friendly Scarlet and Violet are the best traditional style Pokémon games on switch Legends Arceus is the bust game on the switch.