How do you pick your version?

I answer two ways: remakes and original.

With remakes, I buy the same version I had originally. With the exception of Firered (I had Blue, so I made a choice between Charizard and Venusarur and made the obvious selection), I got the same version remakes: SoulSilver and AlphaSapphire, and I plan on getting the Pearl and Black remakes. Only catch is that I don't have a Kalos game yet, but we're far away from a remake.

For original versions, I tend to pick the legendary whose theme and visual appeal applies to me more. I'm more moony than sunny, so I'm glad I picked Silver. I defaulted to Sapphire because my brother got Ruby. I like(d?) Palkia's design more than Dialga's, I like everything about Zekrom moderately more than Reshiram. If I got X or Y, I think I'd pick Y, because I like Yveltal's design better than Xerneas'. It's just the visual appeal of mascots for me.

 

I pick my version by which mascot looks cooler (Diamond over Pearl, Black over White) and which one has the exclusives I want

 

I also pick my version depending on the legendary Pokémon's design. That's exactly why I bought Heartgold, Black, X and Alpha Sapphire. I simply preferred the Legendary Pokémon. Other than that, I don't really care about what version I buy.
For some mysterious reason, I start to prefer the legendary Pokémon I didn't get though... strange

 

My first 2 games, blue and sapphire, were given to me by various people so i didn't have a chance to choose one over the other. I guess with sapphire i chose that over emerald, without knowing emerald was the same but with more extras. I just liked blue better at the time. When buying games, the first one i actually bought was Pokémon black. I liked reshiram's design over zekrom's, even if i liked electric over fire at the time. And it was kind of a counterpick, everyone seemed to be getting white so i went with black. Then I got white2, even though it was the same legendary again. A counterpick of sorts again, and he was just the cooler of the two. Once it came to X and Y, it was either dark (my favorite type) or fairy (the type I absolutely despise). Not much of a choice... then I got alpha sapphire because sapphire is still my favorite game so nostalgia. Basically the choice is on the legendary, because what other notable difference is there? Region exclusive Pokémon are so much easier to get now with GTS, even the legendaries, so its about who you get in the story for me.

 

For ORAS, i picked off the fact that I had Ruby. All the rest I've gotten that i picked out myself, i picked based on popularity. I pick whichever is considered less popular.

 

Hmmm. First I look at the mascot Pokémon, then the version exclusives and if I prefer either of those over the other I'll see which one is more worth. For example, when deciding on getting HG or SS I noticed HG had a lot of cool Pokémon I'd be interested in my playthrough but SS had Lugia as a mascot Pokémon, which I prefer over Ho-Oh. In the end I still went with HG and I don't regret that decision at all, I got to use Arcanine >_> When it comes to remakes, I'll just get the remade version of original game I had.

 

I'm not really fussed, to tell the truth. I largely want to play through the stories first, where the new games are concerned, and where remakes factor in I'm starting to buy both at the same time anyway.

 

Generally, I look at the version exclusives and the main Legendary that can be caught. The Legendary is usually my main concern, because I can just trade for version exclusives with my buds! However, eventually, it's more than likely that I'll go and buy both copies eventually :')

 

I base my decision based on which ledgendary I like more. So far I have picked every first version of every Pokémon game (Black, Diamond, Heartgold, etc). I don't plan this either, which is strange...

 

I go completely off which Legendary I think is cooler. I've done that since Diamond/Pearl and have yet to change that. I just like Dialga, Zekrom, Black-Kyurem, Yveltal, and Primal Kyogre more than their counterparts.

 

Version-Exclusives and Mascots.

I'll always take HeartGold over SoulSilver (Even though my username is EchoSouls... Maybe it should be changed to EchoHearts?)

I have a habit of going for the 'Red' version of the game first, then realizing I prefered the other mascot and regretting my desision, though.

 

Personally I would refer to version exclusives at times, and also to the theme coloring and Legendaries that are available.

 

I usually do it based on version exclusives (be it Pokémon, aesthetic design, what have you); however, I almost always end up owning/playing the "red" game first. Not counting imported copies, I've played Red before Blue (which I still don't own), Gold before Silver, Ruby before Sapphire, FR before LG, Pearl before Diamond, HG before SS, Black before White, Black, Y before X, and OR before AS. (I played B2 before W2 which, depending on how you wanna see it, could either be the "red" game because it is the sequel to Black or the "blue" game because of Kyurem-B having plenty of blue on it.) Even when playing spinoffs, I favor the "red" game over the "blue" one if there are two different versions (e.g., Red Rescue Team over Blue Rescue Team and Explorers of Darkness over Explorers of Time).

Might end up breaking this pattern with Sun and Moon, though we'll see.

 

I always end up getting both, since that's been a tradition for me ever since the 2nd Generation. Which version I choose as my main file and which I pick as my replay file, however, is a bit complicated. Sometimes I pick which version I like better in terms of legendaries and Pokémon to be my main version, and sometimes I leave my favorite as my replay file due to the fact that I like the Pokémon in it more. It really comes down to my opinion of the games at the time, plus I can always get another copy of my main game if I ever want to replay it for whatever reason, haha.

 

I normally choose what legendary I prefer, which applies to all my games except ORAS. My brother pretty much forced me to get Alpha Sapphire. He always gets the good ones.
I mainly pick the 'blue versions'; SoulSilver, Diamond, X, AS... I chose Black, but isn't that more of the 'red' one? I dunno. I'm not sure if I want Black 2 or White 2, yet... I guess I'll see the version exclusives.

... I'm choosing Moon.

 

I pick Pokémon games on what the legendaries look like as well as their version exclusives.

 

For me its which name (Such as Y) sounds cooler

 

I tend to go for the version with the legendary that looks more 'evil', so that when I catch it, it's like I'm saving the world by taming the powerful beast.