Pokemon has taken the world by storm for generations, grossing $118.5 billion across the globe. However, many fans of the franchise criticize the more recent games for various reasons, such as boring stories, lazy pokemon designs, or annoying characters. Regardless, these fans are still buying every game that comes out. 

As a fan of the franchise for a relatively long time, I cannot agree with these complaints, but I see where they are coming from, at least some of them. For example, I can say that I somewhat agree with the annoying characters. Take for example, most of the recent rival characters. They feel like they are there just for the character to beat. However, that doesn’t necessarily make it a bad thing. Recently, endgames are giving these rival characters growth and trying to become something else besides “the rival”.

Another common complaint is “lazy pokemon designs”. A big contender for this is the Vanillite line, shown on the side. Many complain that they are just ice creams. And while this is technically true, this practice isn’t just for the later generations. Take for example Ekans. It’s literally just a snake. Or Exeggcute, which is just a pile of eggs. Pokemon have all types of designs and it’s not limited to certain generations of the game.

The story within these games are also noteworthy, as they (at least in my opinion) have stayed relatively the same. The usual layout is that the player is a child who wants to become a Pokemon champion, then goes around the nation and runs into an evil group. They thwart the group’s plans up until the end, the bad guys are reformed or go away, and the player catches a legendary. Boom, that’s basically everything in a Pokemon game. This could be considered a bad thing to some, but I would argue that even if they are all somewhat the same, it doesn’t make any of them bad.

It is important to note a possible reason that older fans might have for not liking the more recent games; nostalgia. Because Pokemon has stayed relevant for so long, the consumers have grown up and may long for the sweet embrace of their Game Boy Advance. As someone who hasn’t been around that time, I can empathize with this view. However, this is no reason to belittle others who happen to enjoy the newer games. 

All in all, Pokemon is meant to be a children’s game that has a devoted following of many ages and types of people. Opinions in themselves are nothing bad, but belittling others because of their opinions (especially over a video game) is not okay.