>>42882093forget the dex cut for a second. for me sword and shield represents the point at which the series' repeated failings, which had been steadily piling up since gen 5, came to a point where they changed from being merely tolerable to being completely inexcusable. the meandering, floaty, slow-paced nature of everything. the extremely bland models and their poor, halfhearted animation. the scaling down on challenge that turned the "catch pokemon - battle trainers - enter town" game loop from engaging and exploratory to bare, repetitive tedium. the excuse plots with villains whose motivations make absolutely no sense in any context whatsoever. the stagnation - in visuals and mechanics alike - that comes with using the same engine for years with little to no retooling or optimization. the axing of beloved features that worked great for the sake of those that are confusing and awful to use.
honestly, i think a lot of other pokemon fans could feel the effects of these detriments for a long time, but were unable to fully articulate what they were (because they were fucking stupid), so when the big tipping point came along - the dex cut- that was what they all latched on to as an easy talking point. it was an extremely visible issue; simple to communicate; and it was a perfect outlet for the sense of ennui that had been building up in a lot of pokemon fans since the start of the decade. it's sad to see people still bitching and moaning about the dexit shit because it glosses over all of the other glaring issues the series has that are arguably more important
