Watch to the end or this video won't make full sense.

Me Walks in

"Pokémon gen 2 is terrible"

Me walks out

"Espeon doesn't ever appear in Jotho"

Uhhh, the Kimono girls would like a word.

I always laugh at that 1% Dunsparce rate because my most recent replay of Crystal, the first pokemon I found in Dark Cave was a Dunsparce 🤣

Me at Age 33 after 20+ years of playing this game: WTF YOU CAN GET PHANPY BEFORE FALKNER!?

Even with all this, gen2 is probably my favourite, it had just so many places to explore, i really remember it fondly

Allow me to share my memory of Gen 2. I was super excited about Houndoom and to have it on my team. I would play with my gameboy under the cover at night to try and find one. I eventually beat Johto and begged my parents to get me the guide to find out where it was. Needless to say my little heart was crushed and confused when I found out it was not only not in Johto but the most random route in Kanto...I still grinded that shit to fight Red though.

They didn't have the same philosophy for new pokemons back then. New mons were supposed to be kind of secret and you were supposed to either get lucky or go out of your way to find them. Unlike gens 3+ where new mons are the main focus (because they're not supposed to be sequels like gen 2 was)

But you can't deny how good hgss look despite of the flaws

Video: GEN 2 IS BAD?

Me a Gen 2 lover.  "All this time I had no idea "😨

One of the things I think would be great for you to fix is the move incompatibility for all of the Pokemon. For example, in GSC Venusaur cannot learn Sludge Bomb but in later gens it does. I think taking moves that existed in Gens 1 and 2 which Pokemon could learn in later gens should be made available. It would make some movesets so much better and give more Pokemon more niches.

Like Aerodactyl with Rock Slide would be pretty scary if it just flinches you to death. Venusaur with Sludge Bomb/Earthquake can be a decent mixed sweeper. It would open up some creativity.

I also think making ghost type special and dark type physical would make sense. Gengar with special Shadow Ball is cool and even Espeon packing Shadow Ball is neat.

You forgot to mention that the original Gen 2 GBC cartridge's battery runs dry quicker than Gen 1's because of the clock, and when that battery runs dry, your save file is gone.

The worst part is that most of these problems weren't fixed in HGSS, which is such a shame as HGSS is fantastic otherwise.

In your rom hack, make sure you fix the issues like some of the poke balls not working like they are supposed to, and also other glitches that were there.

But I had so much fun playing these than most recent titles.

Gen 1 was my first pokemon game and I still remember gen 2 more fondly.

In regards to GSC not showing off the Johto Pokemon enough, I legit didnt realize that Skarmory was a Gen 2 Pokemon until much later into my fandom. I assumed that it was a Gen 3 Pokemon since those games showed it off so much more. I feel like GSC gets a pass from most because of its nostalgic value, but it really left a lot to be desired.

Who had this randomly suggested to them

Gen 2 specifically did the best at creating a living world of mystery and adventure, especially when considering the hardware limitations that get exasperated by the fact gold and silver were original gameboy games unlike crystal which got opened up due to it being a gameboy color only game. I love that the games for completionist are great 30-45 min bite sized daily play with new events every single day to keep tasks varried just enough to keep it interesting. With all that said, this video is spot on about the faults of this generation

I love these kind of videos, because they show how people have lost the sense of wonder and curiosity, motivation and reward.
Their brains have been rotted by Pokemon's modern progression system, powercreep and souless meta grinding... in a kids game.
You can beat GSC with a raticate, you are not going to fail the game because your favorite pokemon is locked in Kanto, or doesn't have the perfect, most-efficient moveset.