>>36348384>And the creation trio is a better execution of this trope, hoen feels like it never had an engaging narrative.lolwut
Hoenn got tons of accolades for its "plot" because Magma/Aqua were ecoterrorists without black and white motivations, and your father was a gym leader and your Pokemon professor was an actual person and the parent of your rival *cough* love interest *cough*
steven stone was the heir to devon which had a major role in the story and helped explain how steven became the champ in the first place (rich boy)
then there was the kyogre/groudon dynamic which was an actual dynamic unlike ho-oh and lugia who have no connection to one another, lugia was only added after Pokemon the Movie 2000
more people pay attention to Wally now but he was just one of the MINOR changes done to make Hoenn feel more of a real community than previous regions
that was what killed johto. the region was exotic but it didn't have the comfy backyard feel that Kanto had. players felt an emotional connection to Brock/Misty because of their role in the anime. nobody in johto got that
