>>44120146>>44120154>>44120167Zero arguments. As usual.
>>44120176>incredibly low Pokemon variety through the entire regionThis is factually untrue. Johto is around the average in terms of Pokémon variety.
>rattata and zubat are omnipresent on virtually every routeWhy does this even matter?
>while most of the best looking PokemonThis is completely subjective.
>locked behind arbitrary shit and postgameWhat "arbitrary shit"? Headbutt? Making you actually explore for them? I'm honestly curious. Also as of HGSS only Houndour and Sneasel are postgame, IIRC. Unfortunate, but personally I like Umbreon and Murkrow more anyway.
>combine this with most of the routes being generic grass paths, it leaves the entire region feeling samey with no unique identity of its ownThis is most regions, and I don't see how this is an issue so long as the maps are well-designed (they are). This is leaving out unique locations like the Sprout Tower, Ruins of Alph, Slowpoke Well and Burned Tower as well. Very dishonest. Also it does have an identity of its own, when people think of locations they like in Pokémon, places like Ecruteak or National Park are mentioned often.
>most of the dex is exactly the sort of simplistic cartoonish smiley face :3 garbage and humanoids with human jobs that /vp/ bitches about in newer gensWhy should I care about what /vp/ bitches about? It's still a good dex. It has a really good variety of designs, and I don't really know where this human jobs meme comes from. The best I can think of is Hitmontop, but it's not really that humanlike, and all it does is mimic a real world dance.
>>the dex is also full of single-stage shitmon so bad they can't even be used in the solo campaign reliablyThis says far more about your ability to play a children's game than it does Johto itself. You can even use shitters like Ledian just fine. It's fucking Pokémon, this will never be a valid argument for any game.