>>44023633Yeah, ultimately it's really all about surprising the player. Johto does something similar; Lance is now the champion, which is kinda cool but you actually fought him before. But then, surprise! Red is the real final boss. Similarly, Alola doesn't have a champion, but then surprise! Kukui or whatever his name is the final boss.
Again, I don't think hyping up the final boss is inherently wrong, but Gamefreak goes about it all wrong, while when they kept the identity of the champion/final boss a surprise, they always did that well.
Of course, that's just one aspect of the characters; I think other things like designs, challenge of the fight, music, etc. will all play into a character's popularity. Like I won't deny that Cynthia being really attractive while Diantha having really short hair helps Cynthia being more popular than Diantha. But it's not JUST the design; EVERY aspect of Cynthia was done well, while Diantha is boring in every ways.
