>>46024423That's your opinion, and whilst I respect that, I wholeheartedly disagree.
Previous games (aside from gen 5, a little bit of gen 4) made Gym leaders feel like just another roadblock, rarely seen outside of their gyms if at all, and very little context given to their existence aside from being a leader.
Gen 7 and 8 gave the Captains/Kahunas/Leaders more purpose than just someone for a trainer to fight and never see again. Gen 7 showed us that they had families and professions outside of their duties, making them feel more human. Not only that, but the Kahunas acted as guardians of their islands, being the ones to square off against the Ultra Beasts when the wormhole opened up at the climax of the story.
Gen 8 leant into the sports aspect of battling, making the gym leaders sports stars, cementing their importance to the region. This made sense considering they made the story revolve around beating the gyms and challenging the Champion, though that aspect ifms often considered a very negative aspect of Gen 8. The league cards were a really nice finishing touch too, adding small, subtle details about how characters relate to each other.
Having said all of this, I would still prefer games that more refined with blander characters. While the characters themselves have improved in the games Ohmori has directed, almost every other aspect of the games is inferior to older gens, especially optional exploration and postgame.
