>2003
>a bunch of ex-Dragon Quest devs are tasked with making a 3D Pokemon game
>center it around double battles
>gives every Pokemon up to that point animations for getting hit, attacking, being idle, and being fainted
>attack animations change depending on the kind of move it is
>produce an actual story for the game and make the MC a shonen protag
>give him unique starters because he's just that cool
>even give him a love interest
>music is 10/10 for every single moment of the game
>doesn't baby the player, enemies will curb stomp you and use double battles to their fullest
>the final boss is an actual challenge and a test of your understanding of double battles
>produce a sequel to you absolute banger and follow it up with another banger
>Gamefreak still seethes to this day about their existence because they will never create something with even a fraction of SOUL