>>58474567 (OP)
To me the core of the games (the Pokemon, the battling, exploration) has become shit since gen 7.
I know many people think the rot started earlier but for me it core gameplay was still enjoyable right up until gen 7. The Pokemon designs were still appealing, trainers and battles still have some strategy, there were many unique areas to explore.
Then gen 8 and 9 come out with the awful starter trios. In previous gen I have never dislike the starters but in gen 8 and 9 I hated all of them.
To be fair, the core gameplay took a nose dive but everything else like the story (the fight against Eternatus was pretty epic, until you realize Eternatus is programmed to try its hardest not to kill you) and the quality of Life features have improved.
