I think Pokémon has been lacking for at least three generations now. Gen 6 was the start for me. Gen 5 was fine, but I recognize that it was the turning point that kinda redefined what GameFreak wanted to do. Story can be good, but only when it's not invasive, and is implemented into the progression well enough. Then again, we were all just stupid kids that saw these creatures in balls, and didn't think much of the story-to-gameplay balance. Now that we're older and wiser, the hand-holding and writing treating us like children has gotten annoying.
When I first saw the announcement for Gen 9, I groaned. We didn't need another fucking generation, and it didn't help that the last few soured my impression on Pokémon. Sure, I still love the franchise to this day, but it's a ghost of what it was. Or maybe it was always like this. Either way, I dreaded another set of games with the current dev team that GameFreak has.
