It's hard to pick a favorite Pokemon game. But, in retrospect, I'm never having as much fun in any Pokemon play-through than Emerald. It contains most of my favorite Pokemon, the most memorable locations, a generally streamlined look and story, and an overall flow that seems to surpass other entries into the franchise. There's a certain factor of immersion that just completely envelopes me when paying this game that gets me more attached to my Pokemon and more invested in my surroundings. It's the pinnacle of what video games have over every other media when it comes to "escaping to another world".