>>53959026Unova's Cold storage is just before the 5th gym while Kalos's Frost Cavern is between the 6th and 7th gym, calling them both midgame is disingenuous. A better comparison would be with Unova's Twist Mountain instead since that is also between the 6th and 7th gym.
Unova's Route 9 is small because its western exit leads to Route 8 instead of another town. Route 8 itself also lets you optionally go to the Moor of Icirrus. All in all that's a lot of trainers and items split between the three areas. Kalos's Route 19 has a good amount of trainers and items, but they're completely optional, you can just jump on the rocks and go on the bridge, you won't even encounter wild Pokemon. The grass to the right of the northern exist also has a line at the top that you can walk through without touching the grass, if you don't want to risk fighting the Hex Maniac.
Kalos's Route 20 is before the 8th gym, not after. Kalos's Route 21 is decent, but it's totally optional because you can access Victory Road from Route 22 instead (or alternatively you can go through Route 21 and never even touch Route 22). Unova's Route 10 is simpler, but it's mandatory to go through, while the games have a lot of other optional areas elsewhere.
