Gen 5's plot gets more credit than it deserves I think, thanks to mostly the sheer shift of tone from previous games, but still, it is commendable. This has my favorite aesthetic of pokemon, I'd say. Lots of little details in idle animations for pokemon, and even in the music. It's the most linear in the whole series and doesn't even pretend it's more than just a straight line until post-game, but if you can get past that, Imo Gen 5 is the best of the 2d era.