>day & night cycle
>breeding
>shinies
>held items
>defense/special defense split
>weather
>daily & weekly events
>trainer rematches
>happiness parameter

All these new features have remained in nearly every sequel, regarded as staples of the franchise. But there's more:

>two new types
>more bug fixes than any other game
>huge nerf to the best type that has ever existed by far
>actually decent graphics for the current handheld
>zero recycled sprites
>TWO regions
>16 badges, including battle against last gen champion
>final battle at level 80 against last gen MC
>even more shit (bug catching contest, radio, unown puzzles...)
>pokérus

And we got all this new stuff in Gold & Silver, first games of Gen II. No third game, no remakes, no sequels, no bullshit. No waiting two years to have the full game. Zero features cut from previous entries.
But if this wasn't enough, we got Crystal, featuring:

>battle tower
>female trainer
>entry animations for every pokemon
>online (japan only)


They were supposed to be the last games. It's obvious that GF was actually working hard instead of removing features on purpose and being fucking lazy. It was the last chapter of their most personal project, not the neverending franchise with +10M sales guaranteed.

So, why do you hate Gen II?