Gym Leaders were better as people that exist in the world on their own rather than people that exist in the world to be shoved in the player's face and have their entire backstory thrown at you immediately. None of the Gen 1 leaders had ANYTHING explained, they had their own stuff to do. Just like real life, you don't get wrapped up in and involved with someone's story as soon as you meet them. At best you win a bit of respect from a Leader but you don't instantly become their best friend. This is what nuPokémon gets wrong. Same for Elite Four by the way. They're an opponent that will have minimal dialogue and explanation, and that's perfect. They're powerful trainers whose job and life are separate from your adventure.