>>53288669The original games felt like pokemon were pets you could battle with. Newer gens feel like they're trying to create characters for video games. The original pokemon world from Kanto to Sinnoh was fine because it felt like new species. Now the new regions feel more and more like cash grabs and trial and error designs to try and recreate what happened with Lucario and Greninja.
Sure, you can say what you want about Meowscara and Gardevoir being "Popular" but their popularity that you see online is heavily skewed from real life. I work with kids and have seen the coloring books and official merch they sell. Its all cute dogs and pikachu that the girls like and Dragons and Charizard for the boys. I've pointed out Gardevoir to kids and they have no clue who she is when she is in a coloring book or stickerpage.
Surprisingly, the Kanto pokemon are more known to these kids. And I'm talking the kids who have cards and random stuff like plushies. All under 12 and only 2-3 every other class has a switch or a hand me down DS system they play on. They can usually name the first gen eveelutions up to umbreon and all the starters. Torchi and Mudkip get named as well along with Lucario because it's "A cool fighting dog" for both the boys and girls.
The original games felt like real animals or species and still to this day resonate more with younger kids than the bipedal furbait they make now. You're not on a nostalgia trip.
