Well GF has a habit of overnerfing things. Like locking Dark Void to Darkrai and still making the move 50% accurate, despite Darkrai never being legal in VGC due to being Mythical.
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Unpopular opinions
- Thread starter antemortem
- Start date
Sneasel was in UU, sure it was a top pick in UU but still that feels like giving it faint praise. And while Sneasel dropped to NU in Gen 4, that's cause Weavile came along (and thus started Sneasel's reign of terror on Little Cup, forever for each gen to be allowed back in as long as it promised not to cause trouble only to be kicked out again cause people really expected a Dark-type not to cause trouble).
Gengar was able to remain OU because it had very high Super Attack & Speed plus learned a lot of Special moves, really had nothing to do with Type.
I'm not quite sure about that. There's only so things a Special Water-type could do to try and make itself unique, but at the end of the day a lot of people are probably still gonna pick the few Special Water-type that hits hard (and hit fast). Okay, so maybe the Water-type can be bulky instead, but yet again once there's a few bulky Water-types only the "top ones" are gonna get used. Overall, as more and more Pokemon are added, I feel this is a moot point to blame on the "Physical-Special Split" as competition would force only a handful of Pokemon to be the top picks no matter if all Pokemon have a niche; people pick what works. If anything the "Physical-Special Split" gives each Type some breathing room as it opens up at least a few more categories they can have Pokemon based on thus a better chance for those Pokemon becoming top picks where they otherwise wouldn't have a chance.
... Wait, what? So you're saying having more choice is bad and pre-split was good because it only allowed Types to have even a more select amount of top choices than it does now? I feel that's kind of like splitting hairs.
Let's look at the other Dark-types for a second here:
Darkrai: HA HA HA! "Would Darkrai still have been good", that's a good one...
Liepard: Pretty much the cat version of Mightyena. However it is notably faster with Atk & SpA equal but less bulky. Liepard's gimmick is about being a fast attacker like Sneasel, its Abilities further re-enforcing this (it even gets Prankster as a Hidden Ability). I think it would have operated just fine in pre-split as it does now.
Zoroark: It's pretty much a better Liepard. Would be fine, and it's main gimmick doesn't even involve its Type but rather tricking its opponent into thinking it's another Pokemon (or rather, another Type probably looking to be hit by something it resists or is immune to).
Thievul: Fun fact I just learned, despite having a mostly Physical movepool, Thievul is a Special Attacker, what? Thievul I think is a less fast but more bulky Liepard, it's main gimmick I think it having access to all sorts of Dark-type moves which does various effects instead of focusing on strict damage (or rather finding other ways to do more damage than relying on its own stats).
Alolan Raticate: It's more bulky than normal Raticate... which doesn't really help as by making it part Dark it has a quad weakness to Fighting a new weaknesses to Fairy and Bug. It's Abilities also don't really help it so I guess you can say this one is a dud, but being it's an Alolan Variant I think its purpose was more to show off the new mechanic than be a good Pokemon.
Obstagoon: So it is a Physical Attacker so would very much take the most advantage from the split... except doing straightforward damage isn't its gimmick. Its a counterattacker, heck after Obstructing the opponent it'll probably follow-up with a Physical move of another Type like an elemental punch, Close Combat, Seed Bomb, or X-Scissor (or if this was pre-Split, just Close Combat or X-Scissor, maybe a Shadow Claw).
Honchkrow: Okay, I think we now have our first Pokemon who would probably take the most advantage of the split, though to be fair it's Special Attack isn't bad and Flying was Physical so even pre-split I think Honchkrow would have done fine, just limited in what it could do cause its a bird.
Weavile: Okay, NOW we have a Dark-type that couldn't really operate as good as it does without the split. And because of that it's one of top Physically Offensive Dark/Ice-types thanks to access to Pursuit, Knock Off & Ice Shard which aren't even that of moves but its Attack is high enough that it makes them work. But what if it existed pre-split, well I think it would just be a faster but frailer Absol as both get similar moves; so if Absol was fine then Weavile would have also been fine, but not nearly as good as it is now cause of the niches the split have given it.
Scrafty: Sort of relies on the split... but it's also a Fighting-type so not really. Heck, I don't think Scrafty really relies on any Dark-type moves now aside Knock Off and that's just cause Knock Off has a useful effect. That said Scrafty has other issues holding it back like it being a defensive Pokemon but has low HP and its Abilities don't really support it as a tank.
Bisharp: I think it's on the same boat as Scrafty aside what's holding it back. Steel was Physical so would still have Iron Head. Also, if a Dark-type using using Knock Off it's likely using Foul Play if it doesn't have a high offense stat it can rely on and I'd imagine that would have been the case for many Dark-types had the move existed pre-split.
Mandibuzz: Mainly a defensive Pokemon so its tactics would involve indirect damaging means and providing support.
Hydreigon: HA HA HA!
Malamar: A bit tricky as, while it is a Physical Attacker, it's main gimmick is about inflicting itself with status debuffs which then Contrary turns into buffs (while ideally doing the opposite for opponents). It does learn Superpower so wouldn't be totally useless pre-split, and I'd imagine it would have Stored Power on the backburner after getting enough stat increases. Any Dark-type move honestly would be utility... Knock Off.
Yveltal: Would still stuck out your life force.
Guzzlord: It would do as fine as it does now, which isn't really much but don't see how it existing pre-split would change that.
Grimmsnarl: Now Grimmsnarl is an interesting case as I'm sure Fairy would have been Special back in the day. Grimmsnarl is a Physical Attacker so neither STAB would be going off its highest stat, that said its Special Attack is far from bad. Also it does learn a decent amount of Fighting moves plus a few notable options like Shadow Claw, Stomping Tantrum, and Leech Life. So I think we got another Absol situation here but I think Grimmsnarl would be able to play as a mixed attacker getting the best of both worlds.
Alolan Muk: Oddly the benefit of Alolan Muk being part Dark is that it loses its Psychic weakness, now only being weak to Ground, and becomes immune to Psychic. Pre-split that's all it would have gained, but post-split it now also gains strong Physical Dark-type STABs.
Mega Gyarados: Gyarados was like Gengar, didn't have any STAB to rely on but was so powerful the Physical moves it did have was good enough, so Mega Gyarados would have been just as fine pre-split. And, like, I guess Mega Gyarados appreciates Crunch but I think it more appreciates Waterfall being Physical.
Skuntank: Now this is an odd one. Being Poison-type it does get to use that bigger Attack for STAB, though Stuntank's gimmick seems more about punishing the opponent for attacking it via Aftermath and until then just trying to inflict it with Poison and status debuffs with Venom Drench. Heck, Stuntank has two other ways of fainting itself: Explosion (that would have gone off Attack eitherway) and Memento. It also is only weak to Ground and immune to Psychic much like Alolan Muk. Overall, not sure if the split helps it that much but doesn't seem to have hurt it.
Spiritomb: Don't think it would have been any different.
Drapion: I think we have a combination of the Absol effect & and the Type Chart benefits of Poison/Dark. Drapion benefits from the split no doubt, but being Poison-type and evolving from a Bug-type means it does get those moves upon other strong Physical moves (such as Ground and Ghost). And even if it was pre-split no one would complain about having Knock Off.
Krookodile: I think Krookodile is a case where without the Split it would have no reason being Dark-type. Dark/Ground has a bunch of popular weaknesses with not so great resistances. While it would have Ground (and Rock) to use its Attack stat in among others, Dark gives it no benefit without it having moves that go off its Physical stat.
Greninja: I think would pretty much been the same as it is now, lol.
Pangoro: Another Fighting/Dark, though Pangoro does really focus on its Attack stat so Dark does feel like its not that helpful here if it didn't have Psychical Dark moves.
Hoopa Unbound: HA HA HA!
Incineroar: Oh geez, I think without the Split they would have made Incineroar Fire/Fighting so that alone I'm approving of the Physical/Special split! But if they did keep it Fire/Dark, eh, wouldn't be as good I guess though would still have Physical moves open for it to use, plus it's Special Attack isn't that bad for STAB. It also has quite the number of resistances too, though a few popular weaknesses evens that out.
Morpeko: Well they probably would have made it a Special Attacker in the first place, but otherwise I don't think much else about it would have changed.
Urshifu Single Strike: Yeah, without the Split I feel Urshifu Single Strike wouldn't be Dark-type (heck, I don't think Rapid Strike would have been Water either). They rely on the Split for their secondary Type to hold up (though they probably would've gotten different secondary Types altogether, like Single Strike being Fighting/Ground and Rapid Strike being Fighting/Flying).
So, yeah, while certainly some Physical Dark-types would have loss effectiveness if they existed pre-split, I think they would still have been just as much functional as you said with the Dark-types you mentioned. However what the Split did was allow these Pokemon, plus the Dark-types you mentioned, just get more utility. However, maybe Dark-type is just a bad example, like before the split it always felt odd it was Special and then when the Split happened almost all Dark-type moves became Physical and they specifically had to create Dark Pulse so that Special Dark-types would have a STAB to use!
BUT, with all that said, I maybe wouldn't mind a special battling mode that reverts all Types into either being Physical or Special like the pre-split (Fairy being Special as I mentioned). Probably too powerful to be a "Room" move, though I wonder if maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea for a held item...
Not like it matters anymore as they removed Hidden Power. Though if they did bring HP back I think they should just have a way to change it from being either Special or Physical, though maybe also lower its Power to like 50.
That's sadly a problem with the core battling UI being essentially the same as it was since Gen I. I do think GF should update the battling UI to somehow allow Pokemon to at least access to more moves during a battle, even if they make it so after choosing 4 moves you then get locked into just those 4 moves.
I think the point is that earlier on a species was more constrained, by the types being locked to physical or special and by the more limited movesets. The could mean that different species were more distinct from each other, whereas now it's more like everything gets everything, and that makes at least some pools of 'mons seem more homogenous and may give you less reason to use something that would've had a niche before. There are definitely many exceptions and many ways, through abilities, new typings, etc., etc., that things have gone the other way, but broadly speaking I think (having recently played FRLG again for the first time in a long time) there is clearly truth to that. In other words, through the addition of things like new, unique abilities and so on, more niches have been created. But things like the split have also saturated existing niches more than they were before. (I am definitely in favor of the split though.)
It's part of a broader point about how quality of life improvements and things like moveset expansions and easier availability of powerful moves, items, etc. are great in many ways, but also make things feel much less meaningful when you achieve/attain them. I'm sure on balance it's positive, but there is a clear downside. When you learn a semi-powerful move in Gen III, it usually feels like a major achievement for your team. It's meaningful. Now, everything gets everything. It's probably good ... it probably makes sense for mostly everything to have powerful STAB, but it does cheapen everything somewhat.
Wait are you talking about the Gen 2 Sp. Atk/Sp. Def split rather than the physical/special split? I don’t see how the physical/special split affected how Ice-type Pokémon matched up against Water-types.
Regice lost its ability to check the likes of Gyarados. Though it might just be Regice only though.
I feel like this is more of a problem with early Gen games than the actual mechanic. We all know how mechanically deep Pokemon is, and yet it's been a fight to get any recognition of the mechanics explained in the game. EVs went unexplained in the game for years, IVs are still difficult to understand without the Internet, Natures went unexplained until HGSS, etc. The pre-split categories are in the same boat here, because Gamefreak really sucks at explaining their games' mechanics.
To be fair, I wouldn't 100% fault GameFreaks there. Back when those games released, it was pretty common for games to have hidden / unexplained mechanics (also as a excuse to sell guides). Even games as big as, say, World of Warcraft have for a lot of time had complicate mechanics (like weapon skills, hit %, damage scaling, etc) that were never officially explained but rather got either datamined or manually calculated by players.
It's only in more recent times (I'd say, last 5-6 years) that gaming companies have committed to be more transparent about what's going on and explain mechanics more in depth. Probably a after-thought due to the fact datamining has become more common, and the internet exploded to the point all data is available easily, so there's little reason to try to keep a mechanic hidden or make players "discover" how it works.
Obviously, GF has been relatively slow at picking up on it, but at least they actually have.
(I'd say same happened when it comes to getting competitively-ready Pokemon, it took them a while but they did realize that if they want to keep players hooked to their games online functions
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With the newly leaked June 2006 build and how unpolished it was just 3 months before release, yeah, it makes DP look more a rushjob and Platinum like the intended release at the cost of another game. Kinda ironic how only now people giving the franchise flak for SwSh and praising the older games, while these time constraint issues seem to have been always present (you can glitch the entire land with some quick bike movements).
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Also Fire didn't resist Ice Gen 1, so RIP Charizard and Moltres
Something that boggles me is that nowadays, "typing" alone isn't really what makes a distinction in pokemon viability. The last big "issue" of typing (Stealth Rock weakness) was sort-of addressed with Heavy Duty Boots becoming a thing.
Now, obviously as far as defensive pokemon go, typing plays a important part in what they can tank and what they cannot, but when it comes to offensive ones (and, even some defensive ones), the stats moveset and ability play a much bigger role.
Look at Darmanitan: his Galarian form is ridicolous but not really because it's a "ice type", but because its stats and ability work well. It could have been normal type, or rock type, or anything really, and it'd have still been probably banned from OU anyway. Or look at Avalugg, we meme a lot about "defensive ice types", yet in gen 7 Avalugg had a legitimate OU niche due to a combination of unique traits allowing him to check certain OU staples and rapidspin in their face.
I occasionally make a similar complaint/unpopular opinion about Fairy type, where it's not really the typing that's broken, rather, the latest released fairy types have happened to have combinations of stats and abilities that are ridicolous (Tapus, Magearna, Xerneas to mention some).
The typing alone doesn't really make a pokemon broken or bad: there's plenty of fairy types, or ice, or steel, or pick whatever, that are barely viable in lower tiers if even, simply because the combination of type+stat+moveset+ability doesn't really hold up.
Honestly, I wish people would stop being genwunners in their head and realized that the game has evolved since gen 1, and the viability of a pokemon isn't made by a single perk, but by a combination of multiple traits.
And to respond to your last sentence...
Less bad, but still bad, would have had a niche in lower tiers, but we already had a high Spatk bulky pokemon with better typing (Glaceon) and it still never got anything done due to basically not having an ability and having a lackluster moveset (issues shared with Articuno).
And to get 125 SpA, it'd have to have given up some other stat to maintain the BST.
If it kept the bulkyness, with HDB, it could probably act as less-passive defogger, but then again, there's a fierce competition for that spot.
If it actually was faster, now, that'd have made for a potential wallbreaker (combo of Hurricane + Freeze Dry with access to U-Turn is pretty difficult to eat)
But again, that has little to do with its typing, and more to a combination of how his stats are distributed, and if it had an actual ability to use.
Other than psuedos, there aren't really any dragons.
You have Kingdra, Altaria, Flygon, Druddigon and Haxorus as the pre-Fairy non-psuedos, with only Haxorus having any competitive impact (other than Kingdra rain). Dragonite, Salamence, Garchomp and Hydreigon really carried the type in Gen 5 and are really the only reason we got Fairy.
Dragon wasn't terrible offensively. It arguably is now thanks to Fairy, but before Gen 6, the only thing that resisted it was Steel, which also happens to be the easiest type to trap and eliminate thanks to Magnet Pull. So once the Steels are out of the way, you're pretty free to spam Dragon moves to your heart's content. The means Outrage's locking isn't much of a drawback, and you don't need to predict when dropping a Draco. It's obviously not great for coverage, but it was a damn good STAB, which is true regardless of a Dragon Pokemon being a late bloomer or not.
There’s also the Eon Duo and Cover Legendaries, the majority of which are Dragon. Speaking of the Eon Duo, Dragon Gem Latios was the Cream of the crop in Gen 5. People who played Gen 5 will speak of how lethal Latios dropping Dragon Gem boosted Draco Meteor was. Speaking to players who played Gen 5, they told me that Gems were basically Z-Moves except that you could use multiple per team, and that they didn’t get burned through Protect or if you used it on an immune Pokemon. They were arguably better than Z-Moves.
If that’s the case, they should have nerfed the BP of Draco Meteor and Outrage.
Now that I think about it, I’m sad that I didn’t play Gen 5 Competitively. I wanted to use Latios and Palkia when they were top tier, especially the latter, since it’s one of my favorite Pokémon.
Definitely should have nerfed BP of Draco/Outrage if that was the case, but also I just wanted to say, I wish I played Gen 5 comp too. I skipped the game because of IRL issues.
However I still think that Gen 4 is the best gen.
It's funny cuz Gen 2/3 Outrage was 90 BP
Here's an unpopular opinion, I don't like how Gen 4 sprites are shaded
Here's what I mean
The pink arrows represent the light direction
Now normally Cartoons/Anime do a wonky thing where the light source is treated as if it's in the center of the scene, so things closer to the camera are shaded
That's "fine" due to not needing to worry about light direction continuity, making it easier for the animators
Problem is for Gen 4 the light direction isn't even consistent. What should be the front of the pokemon is lit is instead randomly splotched all over the body. Platinum even changed the arm shape (hence why my tweak is different) and lighting slightly, but it's still messily applied
This also annoyingly affects the colored outlines, since those also are based off of shading. It overall looks inconsistent, and even flatter since the colors are stretched to be using the darks (note the stripes)
Edit: attempted color outlines
Here's an unpopular opinion, I don't like how Gen 4 sprites are shaded
Here's what I mean
The pink arrows represent the light direction
Now normally Cartoons/Anime do a wonky thing where the light source is treated as if it's in the center of the scene, so things closer to the camera are shaded
That's "fine" due to not needing to worry about light direction continuity, making it easier for the animators
Problem is for Gen 4 the light direction isn't even consistent. What should be the front of the pokemon is lit is instead randomly splotched all over the body. Platinum even changed the arm shape (hence why my tweak is different) and lighting slightly, but it's still messily applied
This also annoyingly affects the colored outlines, since those also are based off of shading. It overall looks inconsistent, and even flatter since the colors are stretched to be using the darks (note the stripes)
Edit: attempted color outlines
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I don't think Game Freak has ever got lighting quite right. Look at the artwork for Gigantamax formes, for instance. Their lighting is all extremely wonky.
I think Venusaur takes the cake. It appears to be lit from below, yet its petals are dark on the underside. That leaf over its left leg is also lit as if from the side, but then the leg should have cast a shadow on its belly. The bottom of the petals are lit, suggesting a light source on the side, but the gap between them is not reflected in their shadows. Somehow, the teeth are lit while the lips aren't. The vines are evidently lit from below while the petals right next to them are lit from the side. Venusaur's right foreleg is in the shade, but it's not clear what's shading it. Can't be the belly, because the curve of the shade is concave while the belly is convex, and it can't be the chin (which is convex like the shadow) because then its face would be lit. The petals to the right of its face are lit from below while the leaves underneath them aren't.
Or take Eevee: The idea seems to be a light source below Eeevee, or at least to its side, so how is the bottom half of the face illuminated? Shouldn't the mane throw a shadow that covered the bottom half of the face? The only thing that could create such a light would be a floodlight hidden in the mane itself. The three clouds swirling around its ear appear to be lit from different angles, yet the ear itself is completely shaded. Somehow, half of Eevee's legs are shaded, yet they don't cast a shadow on the tail.
Oh, and a light seems to be reflected in Eevee's eyes, yet the reflections are in the shaded halves of the eyes.
Yeah, Game Freak aren't really masters of illumination.
I think Venusaur takes the cake. It appears to be lit from below, yet its petals are dark on the underside. That leaf over its left leg is also lit as if from the side, but then the leg should have cast a shadow on its belly. The bottom of the petals are lit, suggesting a light source on the side, but the gap between them is not reflected in their shadows. Somehow, the teeth are lit while the lips aren't. The vines are evidently lit from below while the petals right next to them are lit from the side. Venusaur's right foreleg is in the shade, but it's not clear what's shading it. Can't be the belly, because the curve of the shade is concave while the belly is convex, and it can't be the chin (which is convex like the shadow) because then its face would be lit. The petals to the right of its face are lit from below while the leaves underneath them aren't.
Or take Eevee: The idea seems to be a light source below Eeevee, or at least to its side, so how is the bottom half of the face illuminated? Shouldn't the mane throw a shadow that covered the bottom half of the face? The only thing that could create such a light would be a floodlight hidden in the mane itself. The three clouds swirling around its ear appear to be lit from different angles, yet the ear itself is completely shaded. Somehow, half of Eevee's legs are shaded, yet they don't cast a shadow on the tail.
Oh, and a light seems to be reflected in Eevee's eyes, yet the reflections are in the shaded halves of the eyes.
Yeah, Game Freak aren't really masters of illumination.
The weird thing, Gen 3 sprites were a lot more consistent for lighting for back sprites, and people hate those for color
I'd argue and say for the older mons they had to rush them in, so there's lighting errors. But they were both finalized before most Gen 4 mon sprites, and the Gen 4 mons have the same issue
I'd argue and say for the older mons they had to rush them in, so there's lighting errors. But they were both finalized before most Gen 4 mon sprites, and the Gen 4 mons have the same issue
I think Venusaur takes the cake. It appears to be lit from below, yet its petals are dark on the underside. That leaf over its left leg is also lit as if from the side, but then the leg should have cast a shadow on its belly. The bottom of the petals are lit, suggesting a light source on the side, but the gap between them is not reflected in their shadows. Somehow, the teeth are lit while the lips aren't. The vines are evidently lit from below while the petals right next to them are lit from the side. Venusaur's right foreleg is in the shade, but it's not clear what's shading it. Can't be the belly, because the curve of the shade is concave while the belly is convex, and it can't be the chin (which is convex like the shadow) because then its face would be lit. The petals to the right of its face are lit from below while the leaves underneath them aren't
So I attempted to fix it...
Assuming there's a light near the clouds though
This is precisely why I think the Gen 3 games (as well as Gen 2, but especially Gen 3) are the best looking games in the entire series. All of the Gen 3 sprites have great shading.It's funny cuz Gen 2/3 Outrage was 90 BP
Here's an unpopular opinion, I don't like how Gen 4 sprites are shaded
Here's what I mean View attachment 264658
The pink arrows represent the light direction
Now normally Cartoons/Anime do a wonky thing where the light source is treated as if it's in the center of the scene, so things closer to the camera are shaded
That's "fine" due to not needing to worry about light direction continuity, making it easier for the animators
Problem is for Gen 4 the light direction isn't even consistent. What should be the front of the pokemon is lit is instead randomly splotched all over the body. Platinum even changed the arm shape (hence why my tweak is different) and lighting slightly, but it's still messily applied
This also annoyingly affects the colored outlines, since those also are based off of shading. It overall looks inconsistent, and even flatter since the colors are stretched to be using the darks (note the stripes)
Edit: attempted color outlines View attachment 264667
It almost seems like they tried to shade the Gen 4 sprites like they did with the Gen 2 sprites, but it doesn't look very good when the Pokemon has more than one or two colors in its palette.
I wouldn't say 3 is immediately the best looking. People have issues with the pallete, and a lot of FRLGs poses are basic. Some mons are pretty off too (Swampert especially). Though it had the sickest Nidoking sprite out of all, so there's that 
I do like how GF used models for maps in Gen 4/5, but here's one thing
Why didn't they have 8 directional movement and corner sprites by the time Gen 4 rolled in? Mystery dungeon and Rangers showed it can work. It makes the maps more boring to look at when all paths are up down or left right only
Pretty much why I like this Gen 1 art of Kanto
over LGPEs despite the latters better detail
Funny enough, Gen 7 and 8 experimented with less rigid paths, which I do think is good. Shame both are mediocre
I do like how GF used models for maps in Gen 4/5, but here's one thing
Why didn't they have 8 directional movement and corner sprites by the time Gen 4 rolled in? Mystery dungeon and Rangers showed it can work. It makes the maps more boring to look at when all paths are up down or left right only
Pretty much why I like this Gen 1 art of Kanto
over LGPEs despite the latters better detail
Funny enough, Gen 7 and 8 experimented with less rigid paths, which I do think is good. Shame both are mediocre
I hadn't thought about this picture in YEARS. It's printed in the middle of Pokemon Monopoly board.
I'm definitely biased due to Emerald being my only game, but while I'm indifferent to Gen 3's battle sprites (Crystal is by far my favorite in this regard) I think Gen 3's overworld sprites are the best in the series (comparison with 3D games is a bit weird, but I'd say it's still better than Gen 6). In particular, the character sprite art style was a huge influence for my own art style, along with Cyanide & Happiness.
Nah FrLg and HgSs are great, even if I play the originals equally as much. Only thing I enjoyed from ORAS was the DexNav. Level curve and movepools were atrocious for balancing even with exp share off.
I started playing Gen 1 and Gen 5 is actually my favorite. I actually think it's one of the least "grindiest" given Audinos and later Lucky Egg, a combo I prefer to modern exp share. Overall level curve is really sound. Great story, great balance, awesome mons, and amazing music. I have a soft spot for GSC/HGSS music as well but I think BW is essentially the pinnacle of Pokemon. It's hard for me to find something I dislike about it. Even the reusable TMs were introduced in a very balanced way.
I Don't know if it's an unpopular opinion or if it's not anecdotic, but honestly, I'm fed up to see the same Pokemon for team's grunts/admins/bosses. Always Rattatas, Zubats and new generation Pokemon that "fit" on grunts. At least, XY and SS did an effort on that, sometimes giving them Pokemon such as Manectric, Druddigon, Sableye and Pancham. I do think that Pokemon like Qwilfish, Gligar and Nuzleaf/Shiftry will fit well with enemy teams's characters, and I'd like to see more diversified Pokemon in their teams.
The Aether Foundation had a very diverse amount of Pokémon, ranging from Porygon2, Vanillish, Gorebyss, Machoke, and Huntail to name a few. I do agree with the sentiment that villainous teams use far too much Poison, Dark, Normal, and Bug. It does feel very small and predictable.