>>50382097>Crystal not only added new stuff and story contentLike USUM
>, as it was also literally the first game to have an online systemOh, you mean the online system that literally NEVER worked outside of Japan and was totally removed from the Western release?
Not that that was a bad thing, given the Japanese version can't even use the thing wholesale anymore on either original carts or even the VC release
>Crystal also didn't make the story worseIt barely touched the story at all
>or add stupid fanservice (like Pikachu Valley) or nonsense forced fanservice like Rainbow RocketWhat fanservice could they even add that wasn't already in base GS? Like I said, those games covered their bases more than well enough to make Crystal entirely redundant.
Not to mention, both of those can be completely ignored if you wanted. Pikachu Valley is a completely optional side-zone that gives you nothing but cosmetics, and after accessing the Festival Plaza and taking care of the short RR event there you don't even need to go to Aether Paradise and do the rest of the quest.
On top of that USUM introduced Mantine Surfing, Ultra Warp Ride, Photo Club, new forms for old Pokemon and outright new Pokemon, the Battle Agency, the overhauled story (regardless of if you think its worse or not), new areas like Kala'e Bay and Seaside Cave, changed older areas like Mt. Lanakila and Vast Poni Canyon, etc. Crystal did some of these thing, but it's undeniable fact that USUM changed it's region on a far greater scale than anything Crystal did
probably why it's the best selling third version to date 
