How do you pick a version?

[JXDK]

Okay the title is probably a bit confusing. We all know that Gamefreak usually releases its games in pairs - HG/SS, X/Y, OR/AS etc. So I basically want to kickstart a discussion about how you guys go about choosing which version and how easy/difficult it is for you to decide. I'll start off with my views!

Gen I: Red/Green (Japan); Red/Blue (Rest of the world)
I am old enough to have played Gen I in its original glory (on Gameboy platforms), but not old enough to remember which I picked first lol Though I remember having both at some point in time.

Gen II: Gold/Silver
Easy decision. I picked Gold because I thought Gold was the more valuable metal of the two and was thus "better" (I was young back then so don't question my logic lol). I now realise that silver is very valuable too in science and engineering fields.

Gen IIIa: Ruby/Sapphire
Easy decision. I though Groundon was way more badass than Kyogre. I mean, Groundon is surrounded by lava and Kyogre was surrounded by... water? Talk about underwhelming.

Gen IIIb: FR/LG
I received Fire Red as a gift so I didn't really decide anything here XD

Gen IVa: Diamond/Pearl
I picked Pearl even though my gut feeling was Diamond, simply because I knew a lot of my guy friends were gonna pick Diamond. Why? Because (a) Diamond is perceived as more valuable than Pearl (I think?) and (b) Pink is a girly colour (we were boys) - which is ironic because Palkia is a lot more phallic design-wise XDD

Gen IVb: HG/SS
I picked SS this time round although I picked Gold back in Gen II. Because I thought Heart Gold sounded clumsy and weird. Soul Silver sounded better with the double alliteration and whatnot.

Gen V: B/W
This is a huge tossup. For practical reasons Black had Reshiram as the box legend and White had Zekrom. So any preference as to colour would not help lol Ultimately I picked White because Zekrom looks cooler. This again may be a "boy" thing because Zekrom looks angular whereas Reshiram has its mane which looks like the long hair of a girl.

Gen V onwards: I stopped playing on handhelds after B/W but still followed Pokemon news through Bulbapedia and Smogon. Let's just say I would have picked X over Y because Xerneas looks majestic. :p

As you can see, this thread is pretty free and you can post all sorts of reasons - anything from liking the box legend, liking a particular colour or more practical considerations (not wanting to clash with friends etc.)
I also have one question in particular - do you think there is a bias in that people tend to pick the "leading version" more often? By leading version I mean, Red, Gold, Ruby, Diamond, Black, X and so on.
Hope you'll like this thread. Post your views!

 

[Mulan15262]

I don't think so. I know that I picked the second version (SS, W, W2, Y) more than the first one (OR). I made the exception for Omega Ruby because I like the resion exclusives better.

 

[Lady Vader]

Red/Blue
I got them (along with Yellow) at the same time.

Gold/Silver
I own no Generation II games.

Ruby/Sapphire
I wanted to use a Weezing in that playthrough and I knew that Koffing had a 25% chance to appear on Fiery Path in Ruby and only a 2% chance in Sapphire. Also, it made my choice in starter (Mudkip) a better choice thanks to Team Magma.

FireRed/LeafGreen
This one I had no choice in the matter. I got LeafGreen along with a severely messed up original DS for $7 so that I could trade between my copy of Platinum and the then upcoming Johto remakes. The old DS worked well enough for that task and LeafGreen is fun so I can't complain.

Diamond/Pearl
Even though I didn't actually have a choice since I bought a used copy from someone, but I still would have picked Diamond. Cause Dialga is way cooler than Palkia. Cooler typing, cooler design, and I love time travel.

HeartGold/SoulSilver
This one is very simple: I like Lugia better than Ho-oh. I always have. Partially thanks to Pokémon the Movie 2000. Also, I prefer silver to gold as I find gold to be gaudy 99.9% of the time (the ancient Egyptians knew how to use gold).

Black/White
I did get both versions when they came out, but I played Black as my main game. It just sounded better.
Also, Reshiram is a blue-eyed white dragon. Seto Kaiba FTW.

Black 2/White 2
This was simple. Black is the version I played, so I got its direct sequel: Black 2.

X/Y
Yveltal just looks so cool. The second I saw it in the Nintendo Direct, I knew I wanted one. I do like Xerneas, but it just pales in comparison to Bacon Bird.
Also, Y is one of my favorite letters.

Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire
There are three reasons for why I picked Alpha Sapphire:
1) I had Ruby, so I thought it would be good to get Sapphire.
2) I had yet to own a game where I could catch Kyogre. I owned one before, but I just wanted a chance to catch my own.
3) Up to this point, the only remakes I owned were LeafGreen and SoulSilver, the second of their pair. I thought it would be nice to continue the tradition and have Alpha Sapphire. This tradition will die if they do a DP remake unless they do a Mega/Primal/or some alternate form of Palkia that looks good.

 

[softboiled]

I don't really put any thought into it, I simply always pick the second version.

 

[WideTomato]

Red/Blue/Yellow I do not own a physical copy of those games, But I chose to play red because of trainer Red. Red version is also used more than blue version for glitches, so that was also part of the reason I chose it. I played Yellow later, and I have no intention to ever play Blue.

Gold/Silver/Crystal Silver, because that was the game the 10 yo I bought it from had. He had outgrown it c:

Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald My brother got ruby, because we both liked it the most, he later got sapphire, and we bought emerald together. We pretty much shared games at this point in time, and have done a ton of run through together (how I miss it)

Fire Red/Leaf Green I got Fire Red together with my the old DS for my birthday, I bought Leaf Green later.

Diamond/Pearl/Platinum I convinced my parents that my brother wanted pearl for his birthday, because we both liked it the most. I later bought diamond so we had two games. We bought platinum together some time after it came out.

Heart Gold/Soul Silver I got Heart Gold simply because I like HO-OH better than Lugia. The protagonist is also named Gold in the adventure manga, so that made sense.

Black/White I have never played these games, I didn't play at their release.

Black 2/White 2 I was supposed to have White 2, as my brother got Black 2 but they where out of stock, so we both got Black 2.

X/Y I got X because my friend got Y. I got Y about half a year later.

Omega Ruby/ Alpha Sapphire I got OR because AS seemed to be the more popular choice (and Ground/Fire Groudon is freaking cool!) I might get AS sometimes though.

 

[KAIZA]

Red/Blue: Although I never owned the Gen I games, the ones I would have bought is most likely Blue, since that was the first one I played (from a friend).
Gold/Silver: Never owned a Gen II game until much, much later (and it was Crystal), but I guess I'd have picked Silver, because Lugia was in my mind at the time (thanks to the movie).
Ruby/Sapphire: Sapphire was first game I owned. Originally was going to get Ruby because red was my favorite color at the time, and Groudon looked badass, but sadly, the store only had Sapphire. I do not regret buying it.
Fire Red/Leaf Green: Since there was no blue, plus Charizard and the color red, I got FireRed.
Diamond/Pearl: I actually liked Dialga's design more, plus the whole Dragon/Steel and Time stuff, so I went with Diamond.
HeartGold/SoulSilver: For this one, I think I went with SoulSilver based on version exclusives. Can't remember exactly why, though.
Black/White: Went with White because Zekrom looked cooler, and I had heard something about him being very very good. Also helped that this was the first Gen my cousin also got a game of his own, and he got Black.
Black 2/White 2: Since I got White before, I got White 2 as well. Cousin went for Black 2.
X/Y: Yvetal for the win. Predictably, cousin went for X.
Omega Ruby/ Alpha Sapphire: Alpha Sapphire, for sheer nostalgia.

 

[Monsoon]

Generally I'll just pick the one that has the better looking legend on the cover. If there's ever a 3rd instalment I'l pick that up too, and if there's ever a re-hash (BW and BW2) I'll just get the other one to the one I initially got.

Red/Blue
Red. First ever videogame. Was a hand down from cousin. On a side note, I dislike Pikachu so I never picked up yellow.

Gold/Silver
Gold, and Crystal. Ho-oh seemed cooler than Lugia. Crystal because It just looked good with elements from both games. Also they were both on eBay for £20 together.

Ruby/Sapphire
Sapphire to begin with. I love the rain, so it was a no brainier. Picked up Ruby later just because. Also got Emerald. It was noticeably improved over RS and that appealed alot.

FireRed/LeafGreen
Both. GBA games were really cheap back then so why not. Probably my least favourite games and I never bothered with the E4. Not a fan of Kanto, it seems bland as a stand alone region. Although I loved the Sevii Islands; hoping I can revisit them.

Diamond/Pearl
Favourite in the entire franchise. Pearl because Palkia, and Platinum later because Platinum is like Emerald was, a good improvement on DP. Also, Giratina.

HeartGold/SoulSilver
SoulSilver. I changed my mind, I now like Lugia more.

Black/White
White because legend.

Black 2/White 2
Biggest purchase regret. B2 because I had white previously. Never bothered with E4, seemed like nothing new.

X/Y
New 3d look put me off. Plus the disappointing region and mons that looked awful

Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire
RSE was fenomanol. Sapphire because I like the rain. Nostalgia Nostalgia Nostalgia. Plus they made the 3d look decent.

 

[Xen]

Red/Blue
I really didn't know the difference between the two games, so I went with Red since red was my favorite color at the time (even though I was more of a Blastoise kid at the time.) Thankfully my 6 year old self didn't regret the decision, seeing as how Red had Scyther and Electabuzz.

Gold/Silver
I actually didn't pick up a Gen II game till around the end of 2006 (or was it 07? idr), so I picked gold since that was the only one the local GameStop had at the time. I bought Silver later on, but I liked Gold's Pokemon sprites more.

Ruby/Sapphire
Since I actually knew about version-exclusives at the time, I went with Ruby because it had Zangoose.

FireRed/LeafGreen
Went with LeafGreen this time around, just to change things up. My brother bought FireRed later, and he gave it to me a few years later because he "outgrew" the series

Diamond/Pearl
My brother and I bought both games at release. He wanted Diamond, so I went with Pearl. Like with FRLG, I inherited his Diamond a few years later, though I never played it since Platinum was out at this point in time.

HeartGold/SoulSilver
This decision was pretty neutral since I didn't really care so much about version-exclusives with this game. Ended up with HG just because everyone else was getting SS.

Black/White
Though I like Reshiram more than Zekrom, I liked the version-exclusives more in White, and I knew the GTS would be spammed with box legends anyway (NO I DO NOT HAVE LV 9- RESHIRAM STAHP ASKING ME!!!11!)

I did get Black later though, mostly because I wanted to replay it but didn't want to restart my White.

Black 2/White 2
I actually imported a Japanese copy of W2 before the games came out in the west. Bought B2 when they were released in the states.

X/Y
Didn't get Y until a week after the games came out since I was on vacation at the time. I already liked Yveltal, but after hearing a little bit about Team Flare, I figured Yveltal would be more fitting for the story (plus Y had freaking Adaptability Skrelp.....or so I thought.)

Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire
Easy decision. Wanted OR for nostalgia, and because a burning planet is more scary than a rainstorm.

 

[Litra]

I usually picked the version based on color preference (cooler scheme) or version perks: I picked Crystal, Sapphire, SS, W, B2, X, and AS first and would have picked LG over FR and Pearl over Diamond (got Platinum first).

 

[The Avalanches]

I was given Blue and Silver when I was 7 years old, with my first Game Boy.

At 9, I chose Sapphire, but bought Ruby at a different time.

For the sake of consistency, I bought Leaf Green, as the version exclusives were similar.

In 2007, I could not decide between Diamond and Pearl. So I let a sporting event decide the outcome before me. If South Africa won the final if the Rugby World Cup, I'd buy Diamond. If England won, I'd buy Pearl. I ended up getting Diamond.

I was given Soul Silver as a gift, but I'd have chosen it anyway.

I never played BW1, but I got both Black and White 2.

I chose X, because I'd be a fool to turn down Xerneas and Swirlix.

And recently, I bought Omega Ruby, just to be different.

 

[GoldenHeracross]

People be using so many different methods and reasons, and here I am tossing coins. Right now the odds decided I'll get OR

 

[sickweare]

Gen I: Red/Blue (Rest of the world)
Actually I got Yellow first when I was 5, thus started an obsession. I did end up playing Blue after Yellow because Blue>Red, but I still consider the answer to be Yellow.

Gen II: Gold/Silver
Definitely remember picking Silver as my bro picked up Gold. Also Lugia is cooler looking imo. But Crystal made me love the game even more, so yeah crystal is definitely my favorite Pokemon gamae in the franchise, but Silver came first.

Gen IIIa: Ruby/Sapphire
I remember getting Sapphire for my 8th birthday (I think). A I said before I prefer Blue over Red, and I like Groudon and Kyogre almost equally. Team Aqua is boss though so Sapphire>Ruby. Then Emerald came out and that became my preferred version of Gen III. What an amazing game Emerald was.

Gen IIIb: FR/LG
I got both versions for Christmas. My least favorite games in the series, never finished the entire thing.

Gen IVa: Diamond/Pearl
I actually picked Pearl because I had gone online and discovered that my birth stone according to that online source was a pearl, so yeah. Still prefer Dialga to Palkia. Platinum is so much better than both of these games though.

Gen IVb: HG/SS
Because Silver the first time I played.

Gen V: B/W
Love this game so much. I got both copies and truly like both legendaries equally. I like black more than white color-wise. The exclusive Pokemon to White, like Braviary, make me like White better. But they're both very good.

Gen V: B2/W2
Mainly because I picked black first. Plus Kyurem-Black is awesome.

Gen VI: X/Y
Preference of legendary. Was sad that my favorite Pokemon (Houndoom) was exclusive to Y :(

Gen VI: OR/AS
Best decision I made tbh. If you miss out on Team Aqua, I am truly sorry. Loved this game

 

[Phione]

Red/Blue
Never played either and don't really care.
Gold/Silver
Chose Silver because I like Lugia a lot more, and silver is a truly beautiful metal, whereas gold is just gaudy and used to seem rich or fancy.
Ruby/Sapphire
Sapphire, because Kyogre looks a lot cooler and Team Aqua are pirates.
FireRed/LeafGreen
I just happened to get FireRed. No particular reason.
Diamond/Pearl
Diamond because Dialga is boss-looking.
Black/White
Black because Reshiram is beautiful, and I really just wanted a Gray. Kyurem-N is the coolest.
Black 2/White 2
Neither because I was too heartbroken over Kyurem-N not getting his own game.
X/Y
I would have gotten Y because Yveltal looks awesome (especially in the trailer), but they were sold out of it at my local store so I ended up getting X.
Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire
I got AS because Primal Groudon looks stupid, Primal Kyogre is cool, Team Aqua are even better pirates, I love Latias, and the intense weather is so much cooler. In OR, when Team Magma go off to free Groudon and you're in Mossdeep, it's like... super sunny? In AS, the rain is coming down like bullets, the sky is intensely dark, and the wind is raging around you like a tornado.

 

[Kurona]

My choices have ranged from what's version exclusive to being hipster on what legendary is available to what fits the storyline.

Red/Blue
Never had. I played Blue at a daycare so kinda had no choice.
Gold/Silver
Also never had. Only played Crystal.
Ruby/Sapphire
Actually got both, but Ruby ended up breaking so was forced to use Sapphire. Luckily Sapphire was the one compatible with my action replay.
Firered/Leafgreen
Leafgreen, purely because Caterpie was more common.
Diamond/Pearl
Chose Diamond. Honestly cannot remember; think it was because one of my friends got Pearl.
Heartgold/Soulsilver
Everyone seemed to love Lugia more and I was in that whole "I'll dislike things that are popular" phase. Phoenix it is.
Black/White
Basically a third of the team I wanted was in White; Reuniclus and Lilligant, so kind of a no brainer.
Black 2/White 2
I'm a whore for consistency so this was practically decided for me; White 2.
X/Y
I was so undecided all throughout 2014 on what I wanted to get.
Then I saw the most beautiful thing ever

And was completely sold on Y.
Also Satanbird. Anyone who got X is a sucker :U
Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire
I decided to go with Ruby this time around because I had never had the chance to catch Latios or Groudon myself. Also, Zangoose kicks ass.

 

[CTNC]

I mostly go with the one with the cover Pokemon I Like more.

Emerald was the first game I bought, but if I chose between Ruby and Sapphire, I probably would have chosen Sapphire because I liked Kyogre (more than Groudon) before (I knew) it was cool. (and OP)
I chose Heart Gold. for a higher level Lugia.
Reshiram's design had stuff going on and Zekrom's was just plain, so it was easily Black for me. Reuniclus being White exclusive was annoying though.
I went with Black 2 because if would feel wrong to get White 2 when I had Black 1.
Y. Demon Bird. Not a Fairy. 'nuf said. (Even better in hindsight because when watching The Legend of Korra, when seeing Vaatu's laser for the first time, I watched in awe and thought, "I'm so glad I named Yvetal, Vaatu. <3".)
The glowing spots look awkward when Primal Kyogre is moving due the glowing lines connecting them and due to being inside instead of on the skin. Also, Primal Groudon has Magma for Blood. Omega Ruby.

Edit: What I said about Sapphire makes Omega Ruby pretty funny in hindsight.

I picked Moon and Ultra Moon because night is 6 AM to 6 PM instead of the other way around.the Pokemon that made me want to murder things because it reminds me of politics is day only.
When Sword and Shield were announced, it was way too easy to pick, even though the Legends haden't been revealed yet. (At the time of this edit, they still havent't.) After Status Moves Only Playthroughs of Fire Red and Soul Silver, I had to pick Shield.

 

[Sakuretsu]

Well, the stories behind my decisions aren't as, um, interesting as others, but I might as well share mine, too. I made my decisions (when I could actually make one) based on the box legends and version exclusives (and to an extent the plot differences - coming back to box legends).

Red/Blue
Never played any gen 1 game, so... yeah. Don't know which one I'd pick, either, if I had the choice. I know nothing about gen 1 outside of the 'mons and a few NPCs.

Gold/Silver
Gen 2 was technically my first generation. Silver was gifted to me by a friend from ages past, probably not long before gen 3 was released. Sadly, I've moved around too much and my memory isn't the greatest, so I don't remember anything about this friend... Anyway, had I had a choice, I probably would have gone with Silver anyway, because Lugia looks like a badass compared to sparkly Ho-oh. Maybe the Movie 2000 swayed me in that direction, I don't know.

Ruby/Sapphire
Gen 3 is what I like to say is my first generation. For the first time, Pokemon was something I actually knew about and was interested in. Though I didn't actually get the games until about a year after their release (in the west, that is), I went with Ruby because Groudon looks so much more badass compared to the overgrown orca that is Kyogre. Also, lava and immense drought beats placid water and rain drops any day. Not only that, but I liked Ruby's exclusives more. Latios over Latias, Shiftry over Ludicolo, Zangoose... = Seviper, and Solrock over Lunatone. Eventually, I got all three games. I don't much remember Emerald, but I did like the few improvements I do remember over RS.

FireRed/LeafGreen
My first real step into Kanto, outside the postgame of S. I first went with FR for no real reason - I didn't/don't know the version exclusives and there was no major difference between the two, as far as I could tell. Later did I find out that Sneasel was either a LG exclusive or was just more common. Eventually, I got both of them, so there's that. The Sevii islands were really cool - I just wish we didn't have to do that stupid quest to find the ruby and sapphire in order to trade with RSE...

Diamond/Pearl
Generation 4 is in the same boat as gen 2. I didn't play it - well, I did, but not until the end of its generation. About a week before Black and White were released in the west, I bought Diamond from a friend from school for 5 bucks. He didn't want it anymore due to having his favorite Platinum and BW were releasing the next week, so yeah... To put it bluntly, I don't much care for Sinnoh. It was extremely painful to play through, what with the slow battling (take a hit and 3 seconds later the HP finally starts to be reduced - or so it seemed) and the boring "new" 'mons. I only like a handful of gen 4 'mons, but that might be due to getting the next gen games a week later. If I had chosen one or the other... I don't know. I don't remember the version exclusives (outside of Glameow and Purugly being Pearl-exclusive) and I like both Dialga and Palkia.

HeartGold/SoulSilver
Similarly to DP above, HGSS are in the same boat as gen 1. Never played them. I don't know much, if anything, about them outside of what came directly from GS - and even that is cloudy. I don't know which one I'd pick, either. Based on previous knowledge and experience, probably SS because I had already played S.

Black/White
Ah, gen 5. Probably my favorite region overall. I went with White first mainly due to Zekrom looking 100x more badass than furry Reshiram - not to mention the fact that he has a generator for a tail, compared to Reshiram's combustion-chamber-tail. I also did my research and found White to have the more appealing exclusives. Lilligant over Whimsicott, blue Basculin over red, Reuniclus over Gothitelle, Braviary over Mandibuzz, and Thundurus over Tornadus. Eventually I got both and still enjoy White more than Black - I can't stand Black Opelucid City's music!

Black 2/White 2
Once again, I skipped over these games until much later. About half a year after XY's release, did I purchase a copy of White 2, since White was my first gen 5 game. Unfortunately, I had to purchase the game in German, and I hate German. At least now I can understand a lot more - it just pains me that I couldn't enjoy the sequels to some of my favorite games - I still haven't finished White 2. Never did go back for Black 2. Maybe one day, when I move back to the states, I'll buy B2W2 to enjoy fully in my native tongue.

X/Y
This was a no-brainer. Y had the badass cover legend (seriously, who'd pick the oversized Bambi over the bird of death and destruction?) along with the better exclusives (IMO): MMY over MMX, Dragalge over Clawitzer, Tyranitar over Aggron, Manectric over Houndoom, Liepard over Mightyena, and Aromatisse over Slurpuff. The plot also fit more with the theme of Yveltal, so that was also a factor. I did get X soon after, because I like to have both versions and experience both sides of the story.

Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire
Also a no-brainer. OR over AS because of Groudon. Basically, all the reasons I chose Ruby over Sapphire apply to Omega Ruby over Alpha Sapphire. Only this time, Dragalge got its hidden ability, so that pushed OR even further ahead of AS. However, this time, the additional available legends made me sad - though, for the first time, I get to catch a Palkia for myself! The legend exclusives didn't/don't bother me at all, really, since I got both versions at the same time. Still, OR over AS.

Whew! That was a lot!

 

[Codraroll]

Mine has consistently been quite simple:
"My friend has decided to get the other one".

The exception being OR, which I bought since the original Ruby is to date the only Pokémon game I haven't personally played.

 

[powergo1]

I don't think so. I know that I picked the second version (SS, W, W2, Y) more than the first one (OR). I made the exception for Omega Ruby because I like the resion exclusives better.

I am the exact opposite of you (S, HG, B, B2, X, AS). I'm not sure why, it just happens.

 

[-NLMRY-]

R/B: I've told this story enough here that I'll do an abridged version. I started watching the anime with my sister back during its very first season, which came on in the morning before school. I didn't know about the game until someone in class heard me saying that I liked Charmander and commented that it made the game harder. Once I knew about the game I chose Red because Charizard and liking red over blue (color-wise).

G/S: Ho-Oh always looked better to me than Lugia; I don't understand how some people think the opposite. I mean, just look at its original art:

It just looks so fearsome; those eyes...

R/S: I chose Ruby 'cause my brother chose Sapphire. I bought it a year or two after its release, and didn't play it for years still. I basically skipped Gen. 3.

FR/LG: I got FR for X-Mas the year it came out, though I wanted LG 'cause I thought it was cool that they used the original color that never came out in the West. Though I also waited a long time to play it.

D/P: the generation that got me back into Pokémon is also my least favorite. The story goes like this. One night I was cleaning and found a perfectly sealed FR cart in my drawer. I've always loved the Pallet Town theme and wanted to hear how it sounded on GBA (not as good as the original it turns out). After having started FR I was hooked again. One day I was curious if GF had made Mew catchable in the remakes and stumbled on Serebii. There, I learned about EVs, and IVs and was intrigued by all the hidden complexities. From there I found battle simulators and Smogon and just fell in love with Pokémon all over again. This's all happened about 6 months before D/P.

I chose Pearl for Misdreavus/Mismagius. Both legendaries are hideous.

HG/SS: nostalgia rules us all. HG.

B/W: Reshiram over Zekrom. Though Whites exclusives are much better.

B2/W2: W2, wanted the forest.

X/Y: I got Y 'cause a friend wanted X. Though I wanted X for Xerneas.

OR/AS: see entry for HG/SS.

 

[Suspicious Derivative]

I have so far always ended up getting both versions from all game pairs before OR/AS, but I always get one of the games before the other so I'll answer based on that.

Red/Blue:
Blue. Because it was one of my favorite colors as a kid, and it had Blastoise on the cover, which was my favorite starter at the time. I thought Charizard was overrated, and red was a "girly" color which I didn't want to have anything to do with.

Gold/Silver:
Silver. It was another of my favorite colors, and it had Lugia on the cover. Which I liked thanks to its role in the second movie. Ho-oh did pretty much not exist for me at this point, nobody I knew had ever seen one in the games and it had only appeared for like 5 seconds in the anime, while everybody loved the awesomeness that Lugia was.

Ruby/Sapphire:
Ruby. This time, it was not my own decision. I was planning to get both games as usual but as one of my best friends was also getting one of them, I let him decide which one to go with and started with the other one myself. He chose Sapphire, so Ruby it was for me.

FireRed/LeafGreen:
FireRed. Same as for R/S, I let my friend choose and he picked LeafGreen. This time though, he changed his mind afterwards and never got it. And in retrospect, I feel that I should have abandoned my first choice and picked LeafGreen instead of FireRed as my first game of these since I started out with Blue from the originals.

Diamond/Pearl:
Pearl. This was the first but not last time I made my decision based on version exclusives. I liked the ones from Pearl a bit better, with Palkia, Mismagius and Salamence being the main ones.

HeartGold/SoulSilver:
SoulSilver. The reason being that I got Silver first from the originals. However, I somewhat wish I had gotten HeartGold first instead as I had more fun with it than SoulSilver even if (or maybe because) I played it less. Though I'm not a fan of either of these two games so it might not have made a big difference in the end.

Black/White:
Black. Again based on version exclusives, though it was much harder this time around. Black had Reshiram, Gothitelle, Breloom and Houndoom. White did have Thundurus, Lilligant and Braviary though, so it wasn't an easy choice. The version differences in areas didn't affect my choice much since I like both Black City and White Forest as well as both versions of Opelucid City.

Black 2/White 2:
Black 2. Since I went with Black from the first pair, Black 2 was the logical choice for a followup.

X/Y:
X. Not the easiest since I didn't get to know about the version exclusives this time around due to the worldwide release, and I didn't want to risk potential spoilers by trying to find the version exclusives from the leaks during the few days before the release. In the end, I went with X first because I liked Xerneas better than Yveltal. And I don't regret it at all.

While I don't have either of OR/AS yet, if I ever get at least one of them, the first one will be Omega Ruby since I started with Ruby from the originals.

 

[cant say]

Mine has consistently been quite simple:
"My friend has decided to get the other one".

This is basically how it's worked for me as well, except with my brother when I was younger (aside from gen one where we both shared Red), I don't think I've ever actually chosen a version ever haha

Because he's younger than me, my brother got to choose whichever version he wanted as I was easier to please. Gold was an easy choice for him since Gold > Silver in terms of value so he got that one, which didn't bother me because I thought Lugia was cooler anyway. Obviously Groudon looks way cooler than Kyogre to a little kid so of course he wanted that one too. Weirdly enough, he really wanted Leaf Green instead of Fire Red (I thought Charizard would have been the obvious choice) so that worked out for me. Neither of us had a DS when gen IV came out, so I ended up just getting Platinum when that came around (I would have chosen Diamond for sure though since Dialga > Palkia imo). When gen V was announced we both wanted the opposite game since he liked Reshiram and I liked Zekrom, but that was the last Pokemon game my little brother played because he got "too old". When XY was finally announced via the Nintendo Direct I decided there and then that I really wanted X because Xerneas looked cool as fuck, but when I had found out that an irl friend was a big Pokemon fan and wanted to get X as well, I decided to get Y instead... I actually wanted to get Omega Ruby as well but the same friend wanted that also, which wasn't a big deal because I had Sapphire originally.

So even though I've only actually chosen one version to play, I would say that I base my decision solely on the box legendary. I mean, what else do you get to decide on? Unless you wait until the games have been out for a while and you can actually do some research into version differences, the legend is basically the only thing you have to chose between. With that, I would have chosen: Red, Silver, Ruby, Diamond, White and X...

 

[colours]

When I was younger, I used to get the opposite version of whatever my friends would get. If he got FireRed, I got Leafgreen. The exception to this is R/S/E, in which case I got all three. Strangely though, this hasn't applied for Diamond, in which I got it simply because Dialga looked cooler than Palkia, and I was going to get it regardless if my friends chose it or not.

That changed when HG/SS rolled around, and I had this tendency of getting both versions, for some odd reason. I kind of chalked it up me liking to collect the other version(s) just because it'd be nice to have them. This however, didn't continue with Black Version or their respective sequels because Black bored me and I kinda forgot to get White 2. With X/Y however, I had both.

One can most definitely say my method of choosing versions is kind of unorthodox. I strive to obtain both versions of a main Pokemon game when they release, but otherwise I stick to whichever has the cooler boxart.

 

[LadyBee]

I always chose the version with the coolest legendary on the front of the box. Starting with X and Y, I just bought both versions. Now I'm searching online for the versions I don't own yet.

 

[JXDK]

Great to read all your responses!
From what I gather, it seems the most common reasoning is to "get what my friend didn't get".
How nice for you guys to have a sibling / close friend who also plays pokemon!

 

[Pikachu315111]

Gen I: Blue. Blue is my favorite color.
Gen II: Silver. Because I liked Lugia from the 2nd Pokemon movie.
Gen III: Sapphire. Because my favorite color is blue.
Gen IV: Diamond. I like how Dialga looks compared to Palkia (Dialga being shaded blue while Palkia pink also possibly helped). Also I'm born in April so my birthstone is a diamond.
Gen V: White. I like how Zekrom looks compared to Reshiram.
Gen V2: White 2. Because I got White and this is meant to be a sequel.
Gen VI: Y. I like how Yveltal looks compared to Xerneas. Also I'm a male so I have a Y chromosome instead of a second X.
Gen IIIR: Alpha Sapphire. Because I got Sapphire. Had I got the other remakes I would have gone with the version that I originally gotten (with LeafGreen replacing Blue for the Gen I remakes).

Yeah, nothing that surprising, BUT here's some interesting trivia. The exclusive Legendaries for Alpha Sapphire was Lugia, Kyogre, Dialga, and Zekrom; the Legendary mascots of all the versions I bought!