It's actually pretty genius, because that trivial amount from you and millions of others is generating them millions of extra dollars - each year.
I mean, yeah, obviously they're only doing it for the money. It's not like that service needs to paid at all, they are far from a struggling company. It's no secret, and it's not genius, just simple exploitation.
Nonetheless I'm generally happy with the new generation, though I'm doubting we'll get more than 5 new OU pokemon from this generation lol. (Not including Megas)