I easily find Diamond & Pearl to be the superior of the two. The latter saga is just better-written, with a sense that all of its big plot points were actually planned out in advance to some degree. I honestly don't see how the show could possibly top some of the things they achieved with the DP series.
DP boasts the strongest, most-developed version of Ash, his best Pokemon lineup, his greatest rivals (Paul, Barry), the best battles of the series (Ash vs. Paul, Dawn vs. Zoey, etc.), the best villains (Hunter J, Team Galactic is far better than Team Aqua and Magma), and some of the best side characters (Conway). AG has a more entertaining overall Contest storyline, and May’s rivals are much more interesting than Dawn’s are, but even in that area there’s some improvement - DP Contests often had the more creative appeals and battles (far less reliant on the forced, BS victories that often plagued May’s - and Ash’s, for that matter - battles) and did more to distinguish themselves from regular battles.
I would also disagree that Advanced Generation is better paced. It may move faster due to two regions (and one of those region, Battle Frontier, comes across pretty rushed anyway), but it also has much less going on than DP, which still comes away with less actual filler and more episodes used either to push the rivalries, develop and train the Pokemon, get to know Gym Leaders better, consolidates fillers into some entertaining story arcs (e.g. Pokemon Summer Academy), etc. In addition, I would also argue that DP has a better sense of continuity with older sagas and uses Team Rocket a lot better than AG does.
While I think Advanced Generation is a good series, exactly what Pokemon needed after a very boring Johto-era, and introduces some excellent concepts (i.e. Ash not being the rookie of the group, Pokemon Contests and a secondary female character to participate in them) to series that I find myself missing more and more as time goes by, Diamond & Pearl is a better series in almost every measurable area.
DP boasts the strongest, most-developed version of Ash, his best Pokemon lineup, his greatest rivals (Paul, Barry), the best battles of the series (Ash vs. Paul, Dawn vs. Zoey, etc.), the best villains (Hunter J, Team Galactic is far better than Team Aqua and Magma), and some of the best side characters (Conway). AG has a more entertaining overall Contest storyline, and May’s rivals are much more interesting than Dawn’s are, but even in that area there’s some improvement - DP Contests often had the more creative appeals and battles (far less reliant on the forced, BS victories that often plagued May’s - and Ash’s, for that matter - battles) and did more to distinguish themselves from regular battles.
I would also disagree that Advanced Generation is better paced. It may move faster due to two regions (and one of those region, Battle Frontier, comes across pretty rushed anyway), but it also has much less going on than DP, which still comes away with less actual filler and more episodes used either to push the rivalries, develop and train the Pokemon, get to know Gym Leaders better, consolidates fillers into some entertaining story arcs (e.g. Pokemon Summer Academy), etc. In addition, I would also argue that DP has a better sense of continuity with older sagas and uses Team Rocket a lot better than AG does.
While I think Advanced Generation is a good series, exactly what Pokemon needed after a very boring Johto-era, and introduces some excellent concepts (i.e. Ash not being the rookie of the group, Pokemon Contests and a secondary female character to participate in them) to series that I find myself missing more and more as time goes by, Diamond & Pearl is a better series in almost every measurable area.