I'm about to do the champion cup and here are my thoughts as someone who played every gen at launch except for 7.

>game is no harder or easier than any other entry, this is a complete meme. Pokemon isn't hard and never will be.
>game is super linear and I don't like constantly being told exactly where to go
>I absolutely love the QoL they added such as adding a captured mon straight to your party, accessing your PC on the go, renaming/relearning moves in every Pokemon center. A+++ for little things like that
>Dynamax is unironically the best gimmick they've done so far. Every Pokemon can use it, it only lasts 3 turns, and it isn't retardedly busted
>Team Yell is the dumbest fucking thing I think they've ever done with an "evil" team
>Hop is absolutely insufferable
>Wild Areas are neat, hope they expand on them in the future
>Overworld encounters are based and were needed long ago
>Gym challenges are kind of annoying but really they just sort of emphasized each gym in the past having puzzles, so whatever
>Gym leader designs are good and I personally love the "big game" stadium atmosphere
>dexit sucks but the in-game regional dex seems pretty solid
>Interface and mechanics are smooth and that's really what's kept me playing the most

I haven't played nor know anything about the DLC but I will play it, and like I said, haven't beaten Leon yet.

HG/Crystal/B2 are my favorite games but Swooshie isn't bad, 7/10 desu. No necessary gen wars or venom implied here, just sharing my honest thoughts as someone who is typically on the side of the older games