I was a tiny child when I started playing Pokémon with the OG Red so my baby brain couldn't fully comprehend all the nuances of raising my pocket creatures. It wasn't until Sapphire when I truly "got into" Pokémon so gen three is the most nostalgic to me. A couple years later Emerald came out and became the definitive way to experience Hoenn with combined story content from RS and a new post-game section, the Battle Frontier. Still my favorite Pokémon game.