I was kinda surprised that we didn't have this poll before, but then I remembered that I am the one making these polls and I don't like Pokémon. Anyway...

The options in this poll concern only the initial games of any given generation, so Yellow/Crystal/etc. aren't up to be voted for. Whether or not you want to include improvements of remakes in your vote is up to you. The poll doesn't list remakes specifically, but you can, for example, pretend that voting for Blue is a vote for Leaf Green.

So what's your favorite Pokémon generation?

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Bonus question: What are your hopes and expectations for the upcoming Scarlet/Violet?

One thing interesting about a series like Pokemon is, you will like the one you grew up with or the first one you got into. Every series is equal imo from logical perspective. That being said, the worst anime series is Black & White, Best is Diamond & Pearl or XYZ. The B&W game is apparently good tho (only played Sun & Moon, hence my favorite game).

Haven't played original Red/Blue, only Yellow
Haven't played Silver/Gold either, only Crystal

4 > 3 > 6 > 5 > 7 > 8

4 and 3 are good. The only "real" good games

Generation 5 is when I felt the things were getting stalled. Generation is like Generation 4 with a worse Dex and worse map/region (but better story)

Generation 6 bring Mega, better graphics and a more organized and balanced competitive, but the story/single-player mode reached an all time low at this point. If the formula was already boring at Gene 5, here it was borderline unbearable. It's a game that was exclusively saved by its multi-player 

5 is a better game than 6, but 6 had a better multiplayer so I'm picking 6 over 5

7 is ok.  They tried to insert some new mechanics with trials and quests, but ultimately they fell short and weren't that fun or engaging, as result they step back and and the outcome was...

... Generation 8 which is by far the weakest. It's Generation 6 with a worse gimmick (Gingatomax), worse map, worse Dex (not even complete), worse mechanics and without a more unbalanced competitive 

Here's how I'd rank the generations:

4-3-2-1-5-6-7-8

Of course I definitely have the most nostalgia for Gen 3 & 4 (which contained remakes of Gens 1 & 2 as well) because that is what I grew up with, but I just also really liked those games more than everything that came after. I also preferred the anime at these points as opposed to later points. The newer games, especially starting with Gen 7, aren't really doing it for me. I thought BDSP were OK at least.

I don't really have high hopes for SV and haven't even settled on if I want the games or not, which would be a first for me. Doesn't help that we don't know much about the games to begin with, though hopefully the upcoming Presents changes that to a degree.

Honestly, I feel like Sinnoh was such a great region with great characters. music and Pokemon. DP are pretty flawed, but at least Pt fixed a lot of problems.

Silver/Gold was peak franchise for me. Decent diffculty, an actual rival that acts like an antagonist, Kanto region included. Rematches. New types. It was good.
Thats not to say theres new gameplay-oriented changes I dont love from new entries. The current handling of the storage and eliminating HMs were pretty good ideas. But all in all, new entries are boring to me.

Bonus: Reallistically? None. Ideally? Well, its wishful thinking, but a very different - much more mature - tone, compared to SH/SW would be great. And many more trainers to fight, no forced exp share. You know, the good stuff. SH/SW, despite their commercial success, are maybe the worst entries for me.

I haven't played much Pokemon, but out of the ones I have tried, Red and Blue were my favorites. 

Pokémon is my favourite series, played them all since red and blue were released. GOLD/Silver are the best, the story was great, rival was great, two regions, lots of end game. I loved them.

Bonus: I hope the catching mechanics are like legends Arceus, PLA was amazing and the most fun I have had with a Pokémon game since Gold/Silver, I hope the tone is a little more mature as I am slightly tired of it always being soo kid friendly. I’d love the end game to be stronger as well, more secrets to explore, some large end game dungeons for legendaries etc.

I doubt most of this will happen but anyway I can hope lol

I started with Red/Blue, voted D/P because that was the first gen I played after I got married and I had someone to play with. 

Gen 4 was the best because you not only got the fabulous Pokemon Platinum, but also remakes of Gold/Silver. My ranking:

1. Gen 4 (D/P/Plat, remakes of gen 2)
2. Gen 6 (X/Y, remakes of Sapphire/Ruby)
3. Gen 3 (R/S/E, remakes of gen 1)
4. Gen 2
5. Gen 7 (Sun/Moon, Ultra Sun/Moon, Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee)
6. Gen 5
7. Gen 1
8. Gen 8 (Sword/Shield, Pokemon Legends Arceus, gen 4 remakes)

Well might as well give the full list. I won't include remakes, and I'll just go with whichever version I've played in each gen.

1. Gen 2 - Crystal (Great Pokémons, best end game content with a whole extra region and the music and sprite art are some of my favorite along with Gen 3)
2. Gen 3 - Ruby (Pretty much interchangeable for my number 1. Great new Pokémons and some solid QoL improvements)
3. Gen 6 - X (Of the newer gens it has the best new Pokémons and Mega evolutions were pretty cool even if some of them were kinda ugly. Its only big flaw is being the biggest cakewalk of the series)
4. Gen 4 - Diamond (A pretty great game in most areas but the beginning of the downfall for Pokémon designs. There were still some pretty nice ones tho)
5. Gen 1 - Yellow (Still the best Pokémon designs in the series and really great for it's time, but admittedly outdated in a lot of ways)
6. Gen 8 - Shield (I like the removal of random encounters. Other than that it's a good enough game but nothing special. Most new pokemon designs and forms are also pretty bad)
7. Gen 7 - Ultra Sun (Not at all a bad game, but probably the most forgettable game to me, which is almost impressive considering how different it was)
8. Gen 5 - Black (While I can respect what they were going for with this one, the end result is a game with a large focus on a story I don't care for, filled with Pokémon I don't really like...)