i just think that pokémon has gotten a lot better at making good games but less good at making fun ones

there's a way in which having a good game is more important; like chess is boring as shit but people still play it because it is a Good Game

but i don't think that with pokémon the two have to be at odds necessarily, since there is lots of game which is not battling and more than enough pokémon to where they don't all have to be designed with competition in mind. there's lots of room to stick in fun things which don't step on the toes of any of the lasting Game aspects. i don't think it's a tactical decision not to i think they've just gotten bad at it