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Pokemon always used reaction-based visual gags, although it was very bland and minimal. Basic stuff like head enlargement, wide eyes, shrunk pupils, wide-open mouth, anime sweatdrop/anger vein, etc. It all looks pretty samey, regardless of what emotion or expression is being used.
SM is the first to actually put some effort into what is basically one of the few sources of visual comedy for the series. People love to say stupid junk like "muh meme faces" like exaggeration in animation is somehow a bad thing and is completely unnecessary. It's not needed, but it is welcome. You don't have to like it if you prefer static body language between characters, but you literally cannot argue that breaking character model or just plain having fun with the presentation doesn't allow for a wider and more drastic scale of emotion/expressiveness that garners much more interest from the viewer. Pic related. /vp/'s disdain of it only stems from spite out of hating the tonal/art style shift from previous seasons to SM, otherwise they wouldn't be trying to play off a positive as a negative, because heaven forbid SM is better in any singular aspect than their favorite season.
The fact that some of these gags reference other anime isn't even a bad thing. It's just a fun nod for people who recognize and enjoy other anime, something /vp/ doesn't quite understand.
