Generation
- If you were looking for the TCG expansion released to commemorate the 20th Anniversary, see Generations (TCG).
- If you were looking for the animated miniseries, see Pokémon Generations.
A generation (Japanese: 世代 generation) is a grouping of the Pokémon games that separates them based on the Pokémon they include. In each generation, a new region and set of Pokémon that did not exist in the previous generation are introduced. A generation may introduce remakes of games from a previous generation. There are currently nine generations.
Core series games
Within the core series games, generations are typically indicative of compatibility. Usually, Pokémon can freely be moved between games within a single generation, and can be sent forward to the next generation (but then can never return). Until Generation VII, games of the same generation could also link battle with each other, but cross-generation link battles have never been possible.
- The Generation I and II games can trade Pokémon via Time Capsule.
- The Generation I and II games were unable to interact with later generations until their Virtual Console releases; in those releases, they can send Pokémon (forward only) to Generation VII onwards.
- From Generation III to VII, Pokémon can be sent forward to the next generation via various different features (dual-slot mode, Pal Park, Poké Transfer, Poké Transporter, and Pokémon Bank), but can never return to the previous generation once sent.
- Within Generation VII, while it is possible for Pokémon Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon to trade and battle with each other, those games cannot communicate with Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! at all.
- In Generation VIII and IX, Pokémon can be freely moved between games (regardless of generation) via Pokémon HOME.
- Pokémon from Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! can be stored in Pokémon HOME, but if they ever travel to a game other than a Let's Go game, they can never return to a Let's Go game.
- From Generation VIII onward, it is no longer standard for games of the same generation to be able to directly trade or battle each other. Instead, almost all communication between them must be done via Pokémon HOME.
Usage
While generations are not usually discussed officially, they are occasionally. Junichi Masuda has referred to "#Gen4" on his Twitter profile and the "sixth generation" on his blog. Certain promotional materials, such as a 2007 trailer for Pokémon Diamond and Pearl and an official announcement for Pokémon Black and White, advertised the games as a "new generation of Pokémon"; moreover, Pokémon Sun and Moon were referred to as the "newest generation" in press releases. Pokémon Scarlet and Violet were referred to as the "9th Generation" according to a GAME FREAK greeting card posted by Yusuke Kozaki.
Generational lines are typically ignored in other parts of the franchise, which continue from where the last generation left off and keep the story going. (This phenomenon is especially true of the anime.) Newer generations may also ignore older parts of the canon that explicitly declare to be true something that is later changed.