To throw my hat into the ring regarding the genning debate, I would argue the biggest fundamental issue with Pokemon is that of optimization. For a franchise which is supposedly about building your own team of your own choice, Gamefreak has infested the game with supermechanics and increasingly overturned Legendaries/Mythicals/Ultra Beasts/Paradoxes who are so overwhelming that they essentially demand players operate in very specific ways just to not be destroyed. Which, when it comes down to that, makes teambuilding a far more automated and ridged process than a meaningful, organic act of matching teams against each other, which I think is what GF ultimately want.
Like, anyone remember when, in the Tekken 7 tournament for EVO Japan 2020, 6 of the Top 8 were all Leroy? That got a pretty sharp and justifiable backlash, and saw the team heavily nerf Leroy just so that such a thing wouldn't happen again. And yet Flutter Mane being on 71% of all Worlds 2023 teams hardly even catches a response, because it's just expected to be part of the "perfect strategy". Simple as that.
Like, anyone remember when, in the Tekken 7 tournament for EVO Japan 2020, 6 of the Top 8 were all Leroy? That got a pretty sharp and justifiable backlash, and saw the team heavily nerf Leroy just so that such a thing wouldn't happen again. And yet Flutter Mane being on 71% of all Worlds 2023 teams hardly even catches a response, because it's just expected to be part of the "perfect strategy". Simple as that.