(it opens to a deli in the Kanto Region called Dad's Deli as Dustin and Ken are at their table looking over their menus)

Dustin: who knew this place was hidden away in the Kanto region and is only now relevant because of some sandwich called the Rusty Special?

Ken: Yeah, that's a bit odd.

[as a Beedrill holding a whip wearing a deli hat flew by their table]

Ken: For a lot of reasons. Though, it's odd that we got invited here out of the blue.

Dustin: well Guy Fieri did say this sandwich was top notch [looks at the same post] it says it was recommended highly by... a golden buff Bidoof with a sexualized Cleffa... okay you're right this is odd... but maybe this sandwich will be pretty good

[then a boy walked up to the table he was wearing Pokemon Trainer Red like clothes along with glasses and had a golden sparkling chain on his ankle]

Boy: hello valued customers... welcome to Dad's Deli... may i take your orders please?

Dustin: yeah we'll both have the Rusty Special each i'll have mine with an extra Meatball sub and Cheetos and how about you Ken?

Ken: Just the Rusty Special please.

Boy: [writes it down] two Rusty Specials one with meatball sub and Cheetos... coming right up... [he walks away]

Dustin: [looks at him] hmm... that kid looks familiar i can't put my finger on it

Ken: Hmm... not sure.

[a little bit later]

Boy: [returns with their food] here you go sirs two Rusty Specials... and a meatball sub and Cheetos for the Vulpix guy

Dustin: uh... i'm a regular fox but thank you

Boy: [sighs as he walks off]

Dustin: so Ken think we should get ready for our Pokemon Gen 4 list?

Boy: [after hearing them] wait! are you two Pokemon trainers?! :D

Ken: Something like that.

Boy: great! so am i! in fact i'm the BEST Pokemon trainer!... or at least i was until i got trapped to work in this deli forever until i die!

Dustin: huh? then... where's your Pokemon?

Boy: oh! [points at the Beedrill at the counter from before] there's my first Pokemon! Pikachu! :D

Ken: Um... that's not... [sighs] Never mind.

Boy: and i'm Rusty! best Pokemon trainer ever!

Dustin: [almost chokes on his Cheeto] [coughs] wait... obnoxious boy named Rusty... Beedrill named after Pikachu... Rusty Special... Bidoof and Cleffa? yeah! i know you!

Rusty: heh i knew you would :)

Dustin: yeah! you're the worst trainer in all of Pokemon history! XD

Rusty: [sarcastic laugh] ah-ha yeah... but i REALLY am the best!

Dustin: so says almost every Bidoof you've killed [as Ken looked confused]

Ken: I have no idea what's going on here.

Dustin: oh yeah [pulls it up on his phone] here maybe this will explain things

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVTLsQ8iNCM

[an hour of Dorkly shorts and eating later...]

Ken: Okay.... but I think we're getting a bit off topic. And I think we need to get started properly.

Rusty: ooo! can i help? i do need a break from this sandwich slavery :D plus i bet i know a lot about Pokemon than you guys do

Dustin: eh... not to offend you or anything kid but we're more than just professional Pokemon trainers we're also experienced reviewers

Rusty: yeah and my past self is a sandwich maker so?

Dustin: mmm... Ken?

Ken: If it will make him stop babbling.

Dustin: fine you can help Rusty...

Rusty: yes! :D [grabs a chair and sits at the table with Dustin and Ken]

Dustin: anyways... Generation 3 may not have been the best in some regards to the fans since they were cut off from Gen 2 due to no link cable connecting the old games like back then but it was still a good one nonetheless i have the fondest memories of Gen 3 as that was TECHNICALLY my introduction to the games after the anime but soon changes were happening in different ways the final Gen 3 Anime series Pokemon Battle Frontier began to air on Cartoon Network moving from Kids WB and 4Kids who previously did the Pokemon Anime English dubs since the beginning all the way back in 1998 was not hired to come back instead the Pokemon Company would be providing the English dubs from here on out and... let's just say their first two seasons didn't come out strong... Ash's new voice actor didn't even try at first... but also in 2006 just in time for the 10th anniversary of the franchise and later 2007 it would be time to premiere Pokemon's first main series game into the newest Nintendo handheld that was released back in 2004 the Nintendo DS

Ken: The release of Diamond and Pearl continued the improvements started by the GBA games, and they, along with the Gen 2 remakes and... a few games we'll talk about another time, had a proper use of the touch screen, as opposed to it being used as a cheap gimmick. The region explored here, Sinnoh, would be the last of the Japan-inspired regions, and would add to a few evolution lines.

Dustin: indeed so let's check them out

Pokemon Generations List Part 4: Sinnoh

Dustin: Sinnoh was probably the most interesting region we've gotten it is still an early game and we'd see more evolution to the franchise in later gens moving forward but this one is definately a huge improvement in more ways than one, one was the inclusion of Wi-Fi as you may remember in the first three gens the only way to "catch them all" was to connect a special Gameboy item called the Link Cable to trade with other people with a different Pokemon game than you to get specific version only Pokemon like Zangoose in Ruby or Seviper in Sapphire however by Gen 3 it was clear it was getting obsolete even when FireRed and LeafGreen included those weird wireless adapter things for the GBA and online gaming was beginning to take form on PC and from Nintendo's rivals Sony and Microsoft with the Playstation 2 and XBOX so the DS was implemented to include internet connectability along with the revolutionary Wii for it's Pokemon Stadium like game Battle Revolution so it can connect to trainers online so you can trade or battle whenever you want outside of that however Pokemon also fixed an ongoing problem with the Moves Pokemon could learn and that was... the Physical/Special Split

Rusty: ooo! i know what that is! :D

Dustin: what?

Rusty: uh... a Physical Special Split is ice cream with a banana in the middle with some nice chocolate sauce and a cherry on top! :P

Ken: No, he means the split between physical moves and special moves. It was a better way to understand the ways moves worked by showing their properties, beyond simply their type.

Dustin: right for example the Dark Type was classed as Special but it had a physical move being "Bite" a move that can make contact and it didn't make any sense especially since it used to be a Normal Type move in Gen 1 another example the Normal Type was classed as Physical and had a special move in the form of Hyper Beam so a "beam" was considered physical for a while so yeah... this split needed to happen and while some didn't appreciate it like Dodrio who had Tri Attack as a Physical move turned into a Special move Pokemon like Hitmonchan excelled at it once all the elemental punches it learned all got Physical there were also a lot of new moves added to join in with the new split but today we're going to look at 10 Pokemon from Gen 4 and see how awesome these new designs are for Pokemon's first run on the DS let's get started

Number 10: Mamoswine [Ice/Ground]

Dustin: one of the things Gen 4 did was take after Gen 2 and to a lesser extent Gen 3 by adding new Evolutions and pre-evolutions to old Pokemon while some are weird additions like Chingling and Lickilicky [most imaginative names ever], some being inferior to their pre-evolutions once the Eviolite was introduced like Porygon-Z and Dusknoir, others really needed the improvement and the first one to get that was Piloswine and it became a massive mammoth pig thing Pokemon with a baboon face and it looked VERY STRONG! :D

Ken: Mamoswine is one of those cases where certain conditions need to be met for an evolution. In this case, a Piloswine needs to learn Ancient Power in order evolve into Mamoswine. And since Attack is it's highest stat, it makes sense that it would have mostly Physical moves.

Dustin: indeed Piloswine is nice and i did like that story in the Gen 2 anime where Pryce's Piloswine tried to help it's trainer after a bad defeat but got lost and frozen for years until Ash and Pryce found it i will admit it did need an improvement and Mamoswine really did become a powerhousing wall of course the Mamoswine we remember most was Dawn's in the Anime where it kinda felt slightly inspired by Ash's Charizard but we've talked about it before

Rusty: Ash? who's Ash?

Ken: [sighs] Never mind. In any case, it's a good start to this list I think. And we're only getting started.

Number 9: Togekiss [Fairy/Flying]

Ken: Originally a Normal type, as Fairy-type wasn't a thing until Gen 6, Togekiss was still an impressive addition to Togepi's evolution line, though getting one required a Shiny Stone. Mainly a Pokemon oriented around Special moves of many types, even if just from TMs. And being immune to Ground and later Dragon moves is a plus as well.

Dustin: yeah Togepi was our second Pokemon to introduce us to Gen 2 along with Ho-oh which was the first and Togetic... well it looked more like a mid stage than a final evolution anyway so it really did need this evolution to look a lot better and it did miles even :D

Rusty: i'm pretty sure Togepi is a Gen 1 Pokemon since it was seen on that show long before Gen 2 ever began

Dustin: [facepalms] oy vey

Ken: And we need to talk about Dawn's Togekiss. Initially she was the Pokemon of a literal princess who wanted to enter Contests, but her royal duties meant that she couldn't. And while this led a "Prince and the Pauper" scenario where she swapped with Dawn in order to take part in a contest, she then gave Togekiss to Dawn, feeling that since she enjoyed performing, she'd be better travelling with a Coordinator.

Dustin: yeah and since then Togekiss has also become a sort of mother to her team too including that point where it scolded Ash's Gible after another Draco Meteor on Piplup gag happened in which it had to slap the meteor away speaking of which how old was this gag before Iris came in with that "little kid" shit? -_-

Rusty: what? i thought it was hilarious XD

Ken: Maybe the first time...

Dustin: and speaking of Gible...

Number 8: Garchomp [Dragon/Ground]

Dustin: from Gen 4 onwards every generation from this point on every Pseudo Legendary must be given the Dragon type while previously we had two unique ones being Tyranitar and Metagross and Gen 3 had two with Salamance another Dragon type being the other Pseudo Legend along with Metagross but Garchomp is indeed another Dragon Pseudo Legend it's indeed another epic looking Pokemon

Rusty: because it evolved from Carvanha and Sharpedo?! :D

Ken: Not even close. There's a reason it's such a well-known Pokemon. Impressive stats, including a ridiculous Attack stat when it Mega Evolves, a diverse move pool, and it's only major flaw seeming to be it's times 4 weakness to Ice. I mean, there's a reason why this one got into Pokken Tournament, and, of course, is the signature Pokemon of Cynthia, the Sinnoh Champion, whose been called one of the toughest trainer battles in the franchise.

Dustin: indeed i battled with Cynthia in Brilliant Diamond and she is indeed a tough trainer to face i lucked out though thanks to my Abomasnow's Snow Warning and my Skuntank's Aftermath and using up most of my Revives but i was able to make it through with stride it's cheap yeah but i just wanted to win the battle and beat the new game before the next new thing in Pokemon, Cynthia even got popular in the fandom too since she's a pretty hot Champion too ^///^

Ken: I can't help but think she's the reason you made that choice. But considering what'll come later... who am I to judge?

Number 7: Luxray [Electric]

Ken: Not the flashiest Pokemon, but one that's been very handy to a few of my teams. The final evolution Shinx, and one that's easy to get early on, with a cool design and a solid movelist with some of the best Electric attacks in the series.

Dustin: while i don't use Shinx on teams since i prefer other electric types [that aren't Pika-clones] depending on the subject i will admit Luxray does look pretty awesome also while it doesn't look like one it's also kinda the first lion Pokemon in the franchise following up with Litleo and Pyroar... which aren't really that good and the Gen 7 legendary Solgaleo another thing is Clemont's Luxray in the Gen 6 anime which it's story is SO VERY GOOD!

Ken: Yeah. Though, we've already discussed how good its story was in a previous list.

Dustin: yeah but still Luxray is an awesome electric type if there's no other electric type in Gen 9 that covets me like with Yamper in Gen 8 and Shinx is in the new region i'll use one we'll see what happens

Number 6: Electivire [Electric]

Dustin: you want an awesome electric type? well you got one! Electabuzz and Magmar got some interesting treatment, in Gen 2 they along with Jynx all got baby forms with Elekid, Magby and Smoochum all of them evolving into their "final forms" at Level 30 but while Jynx got ignored this generation probably due to a certain thing that happened when it was introduced Electabuzz and Magmar both got brand spanking new evolutions Magmortar is pretty cool but for me personally i REALLY love Electivire!

Rusty: wait... what certain thing did Jynx do? it looks fine

Ken: It's best you don't know. Anyway, Electivire is impressive, and its attacks can do quite a bit of damage. Especially once Gen 8 gave him more physical oriented Electric attacks like Spark and Thunder Punch. Interestingly, there are two major appearances of this Pokemon in the anime. Gary had one, which helped inspired Ash to travel to Sinnoh in the first place. Note that their rivalry has cooled significantly at this point. But then, there's Paul.

Dustin: Paul...

Rusty: Paul?

Dustin: we'll talk about Paul soon but yeah Electivire really does look awesome to use and it's ability Motor Drive really makes it epic! while Zebstrika and Emolga would get it the latter getting it as a Hidden Ability it's basically like this if a Pokemon's electric move hits it it boosts it's speed up and that is awesome to use! :D

Ken: Keeping on the track of awesome looking Pokemon...

Number 5: Darkrai [Dark]

Ken: The Pitch-Black Pokemon, capable of afflicting nightmares, but never meaning any harm to those around it. That's just something it does naturally.

Rusty: maybe a Darkrai is causing a nightmare to me right now! [waits a moment] damn...

Dustin: Gen 4 had some interesting Mythical Pokemon at it's disposal there was Manaphy and Phione the former which you get as an egg [one per cartridge] from Pokemon Ranger into your Gen 4 games and you breed the other, Shaymin this cute hedgehog which can change forms with a flower and of course the god of all Pokemon itself Arceus!

Rusty: [annoying choir ah!]

Dustin: oh my ears... >_< but Darkrai is the most interesting mythical we've seen here yeah it's more interesting than the god of all Pokemon

Ken: Aside from being the only Pokemon that can learn Dark Void, it's made a few major appearances, that can be a bit... diverting. Tobias' Darkrai comes to mind, but then you have the movie The Rise of Darkrai, where it's one of the main characters, helping to save Alamos Town from the clashing Dialga and Palkia, despite being framed as the big threat for most of the movie.

Dustin: yeah going back a bit to Tobias after Ash's win against Paul in the previous round which again we'll talk about soon Tobias was known in the anime as the strong Darkrai trainer as he seemed unbeatable and he pretty much was since he sweeps anyone he battles even Ash! as far as i know most of his other Pokemon aren't even shown! the only other Pokemon we see was a Latios after Darkrai was defeated by Ash's Sceptile and Pikachu tied with his Latios giving Tobias the win at 4 to 0 whether if Tobias is a gameshark user or not is up for debate but since Darkrai is a strong mythical there's a reason why we remember it best for this before Ash got stupid in Gen 5

Rusty: how stupid? :P

Ken: I'd rather not bring up the Palpitoad thing again, Dustin.

Dustin: yeah let's just go to the next Pokemon...

Number 4: Skuntank [Poison/Dark]

Dustin: a bit of a personal favorite of mine since... [blushes] well i nicknamed my Brilliant Diamond Stunky after my number one girl Jasmine ^///^ but Skuntank overall is a pretty impressive Pokemon since it's a Dark Type it gains an immunity to Psychic thus giving it the one weakness to Ground the only other Pokemon this generation it shares this dual typing with is the non Bug type Drapion

Ken: Now, while it's stats aren't phenomenal compared to others we've talked about, it's still very useful. Though looking through its movepool, the fact that it can learn Fire moves is very surprising.

Dustin: it MAY be a reference to how farts can be lit up by fire but not sure but it's still a diverse Pokemon while it didn't have a major role in the anime it did get one in a spinoff game

Rusty: Pokemon Channel? :D

Dustin: no... Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time, Darkness and Sky

Ken: This Skuntank is the leader of Team Skull.... not to be confused with the group in Alola.... who are little more than petty thieves. This group seems to fill in the same role that Team Meanies had in the original Mystery Dungeon, only Skuntank isn't the main antagonist in this story.

Dustin: yeah Skuntank along with Zubat and Koffing in Team Skull are more like side villains in a sense similar to Team Rocket in the anime's movies when there are other villains involved only Team Skull doesn't appear as much as Team Rocket plus Skuntank and Koffing since they're both gas based use a special move that combines their Poison Gas move into one power and that's impressive anyways Skuntank is a pretty good personal favorite it may smell but it's a good Pokemon to use in a way but if you don't like it maybe go with Drapion

Number 3: Lopunny [Normal]

Ken: Well... here we go. The evolved form of Buneary, who needs high friendship in order to evolve. And... it's very worth it. Though its shape is very.... surprising... [blushes]

Dustin: yup we have quite possibly one of the sexiest Pokemon in the franchise right up there with Gardevoir and Tsareena now when you look at this Lopunny whether in promo arts or the original sprite it's got this cute almost sexualized pose of it covering it's chest it's teasy...

Rusty: wowee! it must be a Legendary Pokemon!

Ken: [silently glares at Rusty]

Linkara: Why are you talking? Every time you talk, you only prove why you shouldn't.

Ken: Her base form design was very fashion model inspired, while her Mega Evolution, which also makes her a dual Normal/Fighting type, is more based on Aerobic outfits from the eighties. And that Fighting type is not a mistake, as her base move pool not only uses her... [blush] special charms, but also some useful physical attacks, mainly using those... impressive legs of hers.

Dustin: indeed it looks cool and while Dawn's Buneary didn't evolve Lopunny did somewhat make a major appearance again in Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time, Darkness and Sky where in the latter game we actually get a full episode on the whole team and you play as Lopunny

Ken: The leader of Team Charm, she is the somewhat vain leader, alongside calm and intelligent Gardevoir and meatheaded Medicham. It's a fun chapter, especially with how all three of them bounce off one another.... [remembers that Bounce is a move Lopunny can learn] I swear that wasn't on purpose.

Dustin: right and of course there's the post game where Team Charm leads an expedition at Aegis Cave and at the end you fight with Regigigas but i think we should wrap this part up Lopunny is a sexy looking Pokemon and it's Mega looks cool but we'll have to see what else it can do in the near future but now... onto the next one

Number 2: Infernape [Fire/Fighting]

Dustin: this is the only starter we'll be talking about on this list while Torterra looks impressive with that tree on it's shell and those massive ones in the Detective Pikachu movie looked cool it's not really the best starter unless you know how to use it right and Ash's had some missed potential thanks to it not being able to use Earthquake in the anime due to this ban they had in Japan and Empoleon it's a weird one while we will talk about it's prior form later this form is pretty strange and it's got some weaknesses especially when a Magnezone has Magnet Pull but then there's Infernape arguably the best Fire/Fighting starter in the trilogy next to Blaziken making Emboar the worst but more on that next time

Ken: Monkeys have been used as inspirations before, but Infernape's design is clearly influenced by the Monkey King himself, Sun Wukong. Which has been used to inspire other characters over the years... [an image of Goku briefly appears]. While it's defenses aren't the best, it makes up for that with its Attack, Special Attack, and Speed.

Dustin: i've actualy used one in my old Diamond file YEARS ago and it was the first Pokemon i trained up to Level 100 it's still a nooby file sure but i enjoyed it then i played Brilliant Diamond and it was a pretty good team member too i enjoyed using this as opposed to Torterra or Empoleon and that's because of the first gym while yes Fire is still weak to Rock but here it doesn't really matter since Chimchar evolves into Monferno at level 14 which it gains it's Fighting typing and in these games it can learn Power-Up Punch one of the best Fighting type moves in recent years at level 12 so yeah Chimchar's a good pick for Gen 4 and the remakes and Infernape is really high on this list for a reason and that is because of the main story in the anime that involves it... Ash and Paul's rivalry

Ken: Paul is the main rival in the Diamond and Pearl series, and is the opposite of Ash. While Ash has let Pokemon go in the past, it was mainly because they found things that made them happy, and he wanted them to be happy. Paul just abandons Pokemon he feels are too weak. Including his Chimchar, which Ash then takes in, and proves to be more caring.

Dustin: Paul found Chimchar when it was attacked by some wild Zangoose and when it was at it's lowest point it activated it's Blaze ability which made it go uncontrollably nuts when it's only supposed to boost your fire moves when your HP is low so Paul tries to make it activate it's ability whenever it can but it wouldn't work even to the point of animal abuse it's then that after Paul releases Chimchar Ash asks it to come along and it joined happily and there were a few episodes where we do see it's Blaze ability in action both as a Chimchar and as a Monferno mostly out of control like it's blind with rage but once it became an Infernape it got it well under control and it became Ash's best Pokemon in his entire roster and hasn't been topped since even recently going up against a Moltres in Journeys!

Ken: And this led to the Sinnoh League, and one of the most satisfying battles in the series, where Ash and Paul's battle comes down to Infernape versus Electivire.

Dustin: this whole battle which spanned three episodes was epic cause it showed all the Pokemon Ash and Paul have battled with together in the past mainly Electivire which is Paul's main partner as we see it evolve from an Elekid to an Electabuzz though Electivire's evolution was offscreen since obviously the only way for Electivire to evolve was for it to hold an item during a trade

Rusty: what item? a Light Ball? :D

Ken: [groans with frustration] That's not the point! [calms down] Now, before we get to number 1, let's go through a few honorable mentions.

Honorable Mention #1: Piplup [Water]

Ken: Really, he's only here because Dawn's Piplup is very fun to watch. Most of the time. It's a basic Pokemon, but it makes for a good starter. For me at least.

Dustin: while i still prefer to use Chimchar i do admit Piplup is pretty cute if only Empoleon was a bit better as for my--

Rusty: ooo! ooo! i want to make an honorable mention!

Dustin: [sighs] fine you do an honorable mention...

Rusty: yippee! :D

Honorable Mention #2?: Perfect Bidoof [Normal/God]

Rusty: meet my Perfect Bidoof! Peanut Butter! a former team member of mine who went and soared off into the skies with my past self and the sexy Cleffa for the time i had with it i had some fun with it :D

[as Ken looks over the episodes seeing Perfect Bidoof's actions]

Ken: Oh good lord....

Dustin: yeah... Rusty's a bad influence on Pokemon so yeah this may not be an official Pokemon but what it does is immensly powerful i think of it as the Bidoof species' revenge on Rusty overall trust me this kid kills Bidoofs in almost every episode

Rusty: i know!... hey!

Dustin: what do you have to say about Perfect Bidoof Ken? the thing looks as buff as you do

Ken: I just have to say.... it's a buff Bidoof. Not much to say. And I think I'm done with this.

Honorable Mention #3: Yanmega [Bug/Flying]

Dustin: Yanmega is an interesting one it's another Ancient Power evolved Pokemon but it's a perfect evolution for one that was needed for Yanma and Jessie catching one even though it felt tacked on made it a pretty good team member for the rest of the Sinnoh anime

Ken: Yep. And now... our number one.

Number 1: Lucario [Fighting/Steel]

Ken: One of the most iconic of Gen 4's Pokemon, the master of the art of Aura, and one of my favorite Fighting-types, Lucario might not have stats that equate to God, but he's not someone to be taken lightly. With a good variety of moves, and what might be the introduction to the concept of Mega Evolution, along with Charizard.

Dustin: Lucario actually was one of the few Pokemon to be seen before Gen 4 along with Weavile, Munchlax, Bonsly and Mime Jr. and it was pretty awesome to see in which it's first appearance was in the movie Lucario and the Mystery of Mew

Rusty: so... Lucario's not a Gen 3 Pokemon either?

Ken: Ignoring him.... we've seen plenty of foreshadowing from the start that Ash would add a Lucario to his team, mainly due to a supposed connection he had to past Aura wielders, but in the Journeys era, it all pays off. Ash raised a Riolu from an egg, has a Lucario that can Mega Evolve, and recently, it's been training under one of Ash's previous Pokemon, Greninja, to strengthen its Aura.

Dustin: indeed it took 4 generations to get here but Ash can now have an epicly awesome Lucario on his team... until he puts it in Oak's Laboratory for the next adventure in the new region in Gen 9 but still Lucario's a perfect Pokemon for Ash to have

Ken: But now, it's time for us to move on to the next Gen.

Rusty: oooo! can i come?

Dustin: [gets up] you're too pre-occupied here kid [walks off] come on Ken let's go check out Pokemon Tower in Lavender Town

Ken: Didn't we already cover Kanto?

Dustin: just want to get the taste of this kid out of my mouth

Rusty: wait! i wanna see Pokemon Tower to-- [trips on his chain] GAK! this sucks! i never get to do anything... [as Pikachu flies up to Rusty readying his whip] oh... hi Pikachu ^^;

Ken: So, after the tower, what comes next?

Dustin: we'll be ready for what fans consider the worst generation... Generation 5... see you next time guys

[as they both walk off the sound of whip cracks could be heard along with screams from Rusty]

[a ghostly head of a balding man is shown appearing in the bushes watching the two]

Ghost: hmm... Pokemon trainers... maybe they'll help me try to spook ol' Red >:)

~skullz and Ken out