[shirogane86x]

As someone who kept playing Pokemon (and who has casually played online matches since gen 4) the game did change... But not in good ways.

The mechanics and the balance got better (even if power creep is a very real thing). In fact, going back now, early pokemon titles are, mechanically, extremely weak (especially the ones before diamond/pearl).

The problem is that the single player experience is extremely lacking. The games were never hard, but as the player gained tools they became even easier. The story peaked at Black/White and then kept oscillating between forgettable and downright horrible.

The performance of the games has also steadily gotten worse, and Scarlet/Violet is the worst point in the series on that front. By a mile.

The problem for me, and for I assume many other players, is that it's sadly a one of a kind franchise. It's probably the one with the most content in its own sub-genre (there's very few catch-em-all type games that hold a candle to it), and it's also the only turn based rpg with a competitive scene on the market. I've probably collectively spent tens of thousands of hours on the franchise over a span of 16 years or so and unless something that can even get close to the experience pokemon gives me gets made, I'm kinda stuck.