>>56899584They don't. They've always been hot dogshit, Pokemon only survived because of the marketing around Gen 1, and the state of the franchise today (where the games are tertiary and merch like plushies, figures, etc are the primary focus) is proof of that.
Anyone who says otherwise is a nostalgia-blinded schizophrenic faggot who needs to wake the fuck up and accept reality for what it is.
