>>44345762Except it's not Kanto "pandering", it's merely referencing past entries, as every game in existence does. XY has a huge Lucario statue, is that Sinnoh pandering? No, it's referencing a popular Pokemon from an older gen. Blaziken was one of the first to get a mega, was that Hoenn pandering? No, it's setting up a remake that was already due. Does the Rotomdex existing in general count as Sinnoh pandering? No, it's realizing an older Pokemon whose gimmick was fusing with electronics could very well fit with this new role.
Hell, let's go further, is BOTW having entire landmarks named after OoT/MM/etc. pandering to those games? No, it's referencing them because they were important and a huge part of its history, just like, you guessed it, Kanto was.
TF2 having The Original is Quake pandering? Games using the Konami code? I could go on, but you get the point.
There's nothing wrong referencing your roots and making an allusion/homage to them.
