I’m wondering what, in your opinion, is the best Pokémon game. Specifically not your favourite, but the one you would show to a complete newcomer to show what the mainline series is at its best.
My personal thought would be either Emerald or HG/SS, but I admittedly haven’t kept up with the series so much after Black and White 1, which I disliked the designs for and found too slow and hand-holdy.
gold and silver, you force shutdown the game while saving, and that clones it. crystal fixed the bug. useful as it was the first gen to introduce shinies, and you want to endlessly clone masterballs.