First off, and I may be portrayed as an arrogant dick for this but, "Pokeymans" is a term used by 1) parents and other adults who have absolutely no idea what Pokemon is, much less how to say it properly, and 2) people who sarcastically refer to the stupidity and ignorance of the first group. Anyone who knows that it's said Po-ke-mo-n like the Japanese (or Po-ki-mon, as is more common) but say Pokeymans anyway need to watch the banned Porygon episode, forcibly if necessary.
Ranting aside, Silver/Gold is my favorite, first because it introduced Steel and Dark types (among the best ever), and second because it improved over the original in a myriad of ways, such as:
Night/Day mechanic,
100 new Pokemon, while retaining access to most of the original 150,
Better graphics (though that's more a product of the hardware),
Chance to both visit new towns and revisit old favorites, with noticeable changes (Cinnabar Island, anyone?).
There's a bunch more to it but it's noticeable in that, with the exception of the better graphics bit, both Ruby/Sapphire and Diamond/Pearl tried to make improvements with little success. The option to capture all 450(!) Pokemon from all 4 generations in D/P is the kind of challenge that Yahtzee would say "is for unemployed psychotics and Koreans."
To sum it up, Silver/Gold/(and by association Crystal) were the peak of the franchise and now they're sliding downhill.
As for favorite Pokemon, Houndoom, because he's as close to a zombie dog as Pokemon will ever get.
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