History YMMV / PokemonBlack2AndWhite2

* {{Woolseyism}}:
** In Roxie's Gym, she still sings DOGARS, but it's heavily overlaid with POKÉ BALL and POKÉMON in English versions.
** The title cards of the Pokéstar Studios movies are in several languages, giving them an "international" flair and also reflecting the real world, where countries might be famous for a certain genre of movie. In text, the movies are reflected either by their translated titles or their subtitle.

* CriticalDissonance: These games are some of the worst-reviewed main series Pokémon games (if still well-reviewed), with many reviewers complaining ItsTheSameNowItSucks due to the games being {{Mission Pack Sequel}}s that reused a lot of assets from ''Black'' and ''White'' and returning to a more formulaic story setup after their predecessors' deeper storyline. However, they're also among the most beloved entries by dedicated ''Pokémon'' fans (particularly of the hardcore variety) for their expansive postgame and selection of bonus features.

%%* EvilIsSexy:
%%** Colress and Ghetsis both fit the bill.
%%** The Shadow Triad, now that they appear to be less androgynous and more masculine.
%%** Magic Queen Bellelba, played by Kanto Gym Leader Sabrina, of all people, who is just about equally as attractive (and equally evil [[Manga/PokemonAdventures in some]] [[Anime/{{Pokemon}} adaptations]]).

[[YMMV/{{Pokemon}} Back to main Pokémon YMMV page]]

* AntiClimaxBoss: The boss battle against Kyurem. Being a Legendary Dragon that absorbed the version mascot would make you think quite a challenge awaits you, especially considering they have the highest (Special) Attack stat of any non-event Pokémon in this generation. Except this game is loaded with the some of the strongest Fighting-types in the series, including the Mienfoo line, the Musketeer trio and the Riolu line. And all of them have high attacking power and, with the exception of Lucario, all of them are faster than Kyurem.
* SugarWiki/AwesomeArt: The previous games already boasted high quality graphics, but it seems as if Game Freak went out of their way to make the graphics of the sequel even ''more'' detailed. The overworld sprites have more frames of animation given to them, the general 2D artwork has more dynamic shading, and each individual trainer class that you encounter now have their own unique battle animations. Especially considering this is the final [=2D=] Pokémon game in the mainline series before switching to [=3D=].

* BestBossEver: The final battle against Champion Iris is insanely awesome, from the amazing background (which is something like fighting on a stream of lights against a starry sky) to the energetic music and the battle itself as she has a whole team of pretty tough Pokémon which can be incredibly fun to battle against, especially on Challenge Mode where those Pokémon get buffed up with items and 100-120 and even 150 power STAB attacks.
* BestLevelEver: The Pokémon World Tournament (PWT) is often cited as a selling point for the games. It's a battle facility where the player can challenge ''all'' of the Gym Leaders and Champions in the series up to Gen V, including the ever-popular [[MemeticBadass Red]]. Not only that, but the tournaments are available in a variety of formats and styles (including a unique ruleset where you and the opponent exchange a Pokémon with each other), can be played as many times as desired, and can be used to grind for BP.

* ClicheStorm: The movies in general. Stereotypical villains, strange machines with weird powers, giant monsters and the like, a stereotypically selfless protagonist; you name any old movie cliché, Pokéstar Studios most likely has it. Based on the [[{{Narm}} sheer]] [[HamAndCheese cheesiness]] of the movies and the [[ComicalOverreacting gross overreactions]] of the fans, it's likely this is [[NarmCharm intentional]].

* CriticalDissonance: These games are some of the worst-reviewed main series Pokémon games (if still well-reviewed), with many reviewers complaining ItsTheSameNowItSucks due to the games being {{Mission Pack Sequel}}s that reused a lot of assets from ''Black'' and ''White'' and returning to a more formulaic story setup after their predecessors' deeper storyline. However, they're also among the most beloved entries by dedicated ''Pokémon'' fans (particularly of the hardcore variety) for their expansive postgame and selection of bonus features.
* CultClassic: Comparatively speaking. ''Black 2'' and ''White 2'' are among the most ignored and least widely recognized ''Pokémon'' games overall and only barely sold more than other third-version games except for ''Yellow'', making them the worst-selling original paired titles in the series (if still incredible sellers compared to most other series). The main reasons for this are because the games came out quite literally at the end of the life cycle of the DS and were overshadowed by the VideoGame3DLeap that ''Pokémon X and Y'' (the newest games on the new 3DS) did a year later. However, they're also considered to be among, if not ''the'' greatest games in the series by devoted fans.
* EnsembleDarkhorse:
** Roxie, the new Poison-type Gym Leader, has been especially well-received by the fandom.
** Yancy and Curtis. Despite meeting them being completely optional, they are very well-liked by many players largely for serving as an actual ({{Implied|LoveInterest}}) {{Love Interest|s}} to Nate/Rosa.

** Poké[[UsefulNotes/NewJersey Jersey]] For the expanded part of Unova.

** The rival has one of a sort. After a demo on ''Pokémon Smash!'' had the girl playing the game naming the rival "[[RepetitiveName Hihihiroshi]]" as a joke, some fans thought it was the rival's official name. Even after the misunderstanding was cleared up, fans adopted the silly name until the official name, Hugh, arrived. Sadly, you can't name him this in the English translation due to CharacterNameLimits.

** You can easily grind up the levels of the shops in Join Avenue as soon as you get there by rapidly trading Magnemite with other players on the GTS, or by simply visiting other people via the Dream World. With just a few dojos/diners and the [[MoneyForNothing giant surplus of money]] you usually get in Pokémon games (Amulet Coin helps), you can remove any semblance of effort from the rest of the game.
** Just like the Arceus event in ''Pokémon [=HeartGold=]'' and ''Pokémon [=SoulSilver=]'', playing on a Nintendo 3DS and using Pokémon Dream Radar with a Generation IV game lets you get a Level 5 [[OlympusMons Dialga, Palkia, Giratina, Lugia or Ho-Oh]] for use in the game with its Hidden Ability[[note]]which is especially helpful for Ho-Oh and Lugia since they get the very useful Regenerator and Multiscale, respectively[[/note]] and your own Trainer ID,[[note]]which allows the Pokémon to obey you regardless of how many gym badges you have[[/note]] which gives you a very powerful DiscOneNuke that continues to dominate later on in the game since its stats are higher than ''anything'' else you can obtain during the story due to Reshiram/Zekrom and Kyurem being locked away until the postgame. The best part is that this method doesn't rely on the now-defunct Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection or a second DS system, unlike other ways of obtaining older Legendary Pokémon -- although the Gen IV games themselves can get fairly expensive online nowadays, especially the Johto ones.

* GoddamnedBats: Pokémon Breeders now will rematch you with the Pokémon levels same as before whenever you walk in front of them. This gets really annoying when you're trying to get through an area you've already been to and beaten the trainers.
* GoodBadBugs: Pokémon Breeders will rematch the player if they reenter that route. It also applies to Small Court and Big Stadium. If a Breeder pops up there, one can beat it, get a Rare Candy, leave and come back for another fight and another Rare Candy.
%%** Like in ''Black and White'', Trick Room doesn't apply to Pokémon who have a Speed of 1809 or higher.

** One of the possible Ferris Wheel scenes involves a businessman taking a break in front of the Nimbasa ferris wheel, which has been run down and neglected since its first appearance. Because of this, his company plans to tear it down because it doesn't get business anymore. This was the fate of Japan's iconic [[https://soranews24.com/2022/08/26/tokyos-giant-ferris-wheel-is-closing-for-good-so-its-time-for-one-last-ride【video】/ Giant Sky Wheel]], which ended its run on August 31, 2022.

* JustHereForGodzilla: Some fans who prefer the first set of games mostly play the sequels to keep up with the competitive scene, or to get the new Pokémon formes such as Black/White Kyurem and the Therian Genies.

** [[MadScientist Colress]] is the [[DragonInChief acting leader]] of [[Characters/PokemonBlackAndWhiteTeamPlasma Team Plasma]]. A scientist looking for the best way to bring out a Pokémon's strength, Colress travels across Unova and battles trainers to craft a theory for him to test out. As part of Team Plasma, Colress invents a machine to maximize the full extent of Kyurem's power and fire it upon the world, freezing Opelucid City in the process. Admitting that he doesn't care about his cruel actions, Colress engages the protagonist in battle to test out his theory on hidden potential and upon defeat allows them to face off against Ghetsis to develop his theories more. Showing no loyalty to Team Plasma or Ghetsis, Colress is such a [[AffablyEvil nice person]] that it is easy to forget that he never regrets almost destroying Unova.
** Pokéstar Studios films:

*** ''Invaders'' series: [[WellIntentionedExtremist E]] is an [[HumanoidAliens alien]] whose home planet was destroyed by a supernova, leaving the remaining members of her species homeless. Seeking to [[KillAllHumans destroy all life on Earth]] so her people can inhabit it, E leads [=UFOs=] into the Unova region to attack people and Pokémon. Disguising as a human, E convinces the player, a member of the Unova Defense Force, to help set up a decoy UFO to lead the aliens' mothership to Earth and humanity to extermination. E is eventually forced to leave when the mothership sees Earth as dangerous, but keeps the player’s proposal for the two species to coexist in mind. In the worst endings of the final movie, E instead takes advantage of the player's emotions and turns them into her servant to assist the aliens in world conquest.

** Once people began to realize that the new parts of Unova are based on UsefulNotes/NewJersey, the Jersey Shore jokes started flooding in. Poké fist pumps!

** The music in Roxie's gym. Chanting "P-O-K-É-M-O-N"[[note]]in Japanese, "D-O-G-A-R-S", the Japanese name for Koffing[[/note]] non-stop isn't exactly the first thing that comes to people's minds when they think "underground punk rocker." The incredibly forced "ON" in Pokemon doesn't help.

** One particularly unsettling instance occurs in Lostlorn Forest. A backpacker staring at a rock (very likely the same one who warned you about the disguised Zoroark from the first game) will ask you about the Pokémon Zoroark and then give you the [=TM95=] Snarl. He'll then talk about Zoroark's visit to the forest two years ago and talk about its devious ability to create illusions. [[spoiler: Then just as he's walking out, he suddenly transforms into a Zoroark -- much to not only yours, but your character's surprise as well - and runs off immediately.]]

** Some of the Bad and Strange endings to some of the Pokéstar movies can be quite creepy, [[TheManyDeathsOfYou many even implied to result in the death of the player.]]

* ObviousJudas: Colress is dressed in the colors of Team Plasma (blue, black and white), is usually met in areas where Team Plasma have been operating, and is constantly talking about how his research is about drawing out the true potential of Pokémon no matter what it takes. Players are thus seldom surprised when it's revealed that he's the one Ghetsis replaced N with as acting leader of Team Plasma.

** After the backlash over the lack of older Pokémon in the ''BW'' Unova Dex, the New Unova Dex was very well-received by the fandom and, for many people, helped the Gen V Pokémon feel like a more organic part of the franchise. It helps that many of the new (old?) additions were already fan-favorites in their own right, such as the Eeveelutions, Lucario,[[note]]which went on to become one of the most-used Pokémon in the game due to its early availability, usefulness and popularity[[/note]] Tyranitar, Heracross and Metagross, not to mention that ''even more'' National Dex Pokémon are available during the post-game.
** The sequels also have considerably better post-game content compared to its predecessor. This includes more available legendary Pokémon to capture, access to more locations such as the Nature Preserve, being able to rebattle N after speaking with him at the Ferris Wheel on Fridays [[note]]though he can only be rebattled once every season, with his Pokémon team changing to correspond with that specific season (for example, in the winter, his team consists of ice-types)[[/note]], and newer challenges in the Pokémon World Tournament (most notably being able to challenge the gym leaders and champions from previous games like Lance and Red).
** For the first time since ''[[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire Emerald]]'', you're finally given an actual reward for completing the Pokédex. If you've ''seen'' all the Unova Pokémon (excluding Mythicals), you'll be given access to the Nature Preserve which has a shiny Haxorus you can capture. If you've ''captured'' all the Unova Pokémon, you'll be given an oval charm which'll increase the chances of there being an egg at day care. If you've captured ''every single Pokémon'' in the National Dex (again, excluding Mythicals), you'll be given a shiny charm which'll increase the chances of finding a shiny Pokémon in the wild.
** In the first games, Zorua and Zoroark could only be captured via transferring event Celebi, Raikou, Entei, and Suicune, essentially rendering them as Mythical Pokémon when they aren't. Here, a Zorua is given to you as a gift.

** The Pokémon Breeder trainer class' new gimmick is to challenge you every time you re-enter the route they're on. It wouldn't be nearly as bad if they didn't retain their normal line of sight, which ends up making traversing old routes a bit of a chore. On the other hand, the battles are typically quick and easy, making them convenient for training lower level {{Mon}}s.
** At last, there's a Hard Mode to make ''Pokémon'' difficult without players having to rely on [[SelfImposedChallenge self-imposed challenges]]! Except only ''Black 2'' gets it. And only after you've already beaten all of the gym leaders and the Elite Four. And you can't unlock it and then restart the game with it. But wait, you can receive the "Challenge Key" from other players! ''Except'' there's a restriction on using Wi-Fi, so you'll have to use the DS's infrared port. Don't know someone else with ''Black 2'', or are unwilling to purchase a second DS and copy of the game? Sucks to be you! What makes it all the more frustrating is that this comes after the games have made it ''easier'' to trade Pokémon between versions, making it appear completely arbitrary.
** Grinding the Hidden Grottos is ''very'' time consuming. Particularly when your trying to catch the rare Pokémon that can only pop up within these Grottos. Refreshing the Grottos to get a new object to appear is only a 5% chance every 256 steps. Meaning that you could very easily walk over 5000 steps only to find out that the Hidden Grotto ''still'' hasn't refreshed. To make matters worse, you then have to deal with bypassing another random check where you need to hope that the rare Pokémon your searching for appears as the object within the Hidden Grotto rather than items or other Pokémon. The absolute worst search is the Pinsir/Heracross version exclusives where the opposite can only be caught within Lostlorn Forest's Hidden Grotto. Along with the mentioned 5% chance every 256 steps to try to refresh the Grotto, the exclusive Pinsir or Heracross only has a .75% chance of actually appearing within the Grotto compared to everything else.

* SpiritualSuccessor: ''Black 2'' and ''White 2'' are loose equivalents to ''VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver'' in that they serve as direct sequels to a fresh generation, add more Pokémon to the regional Pokédex, and make many of their predecessors' early areas visitable in the postgame. The main differences are that ''[=B2W2=]'' take place in the same region as their predecessors and are part of the same generation, and the "new" Pokémon introduced are actually older Pokémon not native to Unova.
* ThatOneAchievement: Getting 10 followers in Pokémon Musicals. What ''sounds'' like a relatively innocuous Medal requirement is actually much more hassle than it's worth. In order to get the 10th follower, you must get 12,000 cumulative popularity points, which, if you were to perfectly win every Musical you partake in, would be, at minimum, 120 Musicals' worth of popularity points before you can finally get your tenth follower.
* ThatOneBoss: The battle against Iris on Challenge Mode is one of the hardest Champion matches in the series alongside [[VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl Cynthia]]. Not only does she specialize in Dragon types, which are very powerful by themselves, but two of her Pokémon resist Ice moves, thus circumventing the rest of her team's main weakness. The two biggest threats are Hydreigon, which has the same moveset as [[ThatOneBoss Ghetsis']] in the prequel ''and'' is also equipped with an item that boosts special attacks; and Haxorus, which will quickly boost its own stats with Dragon Dance before using highly damaging moves like Earthquake and Outrage to wipe out the player's party.

** Earning one of the stars for the Trainer Card requires getting a good ending for almost every movie in Pokéstar Studios, but this is a lot tougher than it sounds. Filming ranges from either somewhat annoying to LuckBasedMission because you are often at the whim of the AI's choices and other RNG shenanigans, which can screw up your filming attempt with just one out-of-place move.

** The only way to get Garchomp in ''any'' Generation V game without trading or transferring is to clear the Black Tower, which is ''only'' in ''Black 2'', upon which Benga will give the player a shiny Gible when visiting him in Floccessy Town. While not overly difficult, it can be time-consuming and requires very high-leveled Pokémon to complete. Although there are similar shiny reward Pokémon accessible by completing lengthy and difficult sidequests,[[note]]Dratini for the White Treehollow in ''White 2'', Haxorus for the Nature Preserve,[[/note]] others of their species can otherwise be caught normally in the games and are not version-exclusive, meaning that ''White 2'' players are screwed out of a rare and popular Pokémon with no exclusive equivalent (such as Bagon, which is only available in White Forest in the original ''White'' and only if the player is lucky enough).

** Some fans were infuriated when they changed the "DOGARS" chants ([[DubNameChange Koffing's Japanese name]]) in Roxie's Gym to "[[{{Woolseyism}} POKÉM-ON]]".

** A special Pokémon was stated to be found in the Nature Preserve. Even before there was word that it was a dragon, fans were excitedly hoping the Pokémon would be the Original Dragon, even if it couldn't be caught. It turned out to be just a Shiny Haxorus[[labelnote:*]]Of course, whether or not this is a genuine disappointment [[SidetrackedByTheGoldSaucer depends on the type of player]][[/labelnote]].

* ToughActToFollow: The [[PlayableEpilogue postgame]] of ''Black 2'' and ''White 2'' has enforced this on all future games, due to the sheer number of sidequests that can be undertaken and due to the games having no fewer than ''three'' separate battle facilities - the PWT in particular is praised as [[BestLevelEver one of the coolest postgame features in the series]]. As such, fans who judge ''Pokémon'' games based on the depth and longevity of their postgame tend to judge the subsequent 3DS entries rather harshly for not living up to the standard set by ''[=B2W2=]'', despite the fact that some of them (such as the ''VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire'' remakes and ''VideoGame/PokemonUltraSunAndUltraMoon'') have decently-sized postgames in their own right.
* UnexpectedCharacter: The Pokémon World Tournament (available after beating the main game) lets you battle ''all''[[note]]excluding Koga (Kanto Gym Leader in ''Red and Blue, Green, Yellow, [=FireRed=] and [=LeafGreen=]'') and Iris (Unova Gym Leader in ''White''; [[spoiler:Unova Champion in ''Black 2 and White 2''.]])[[/note]] the Gym Leaders and Champions in the history of the ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' franchise. It was likely a surprise [[spoiler: that even [[TheDon Giovanni]] was included here, but he is.]]

** In Roxie's Gym, she still sings DOGARS, but it's heavily overlaid with POKÉ BALL and POKÉMON in English versions.
** The title cards of the Pokéstar Studios movies are in several languages, giving them an "international" flair and also reflecting the real world, where countries might be famous for a certain genre of movie. In text, the movies are reflected either by their translated titles or their subtitle.

** Kyurem. It's trapped and used as a living weapon by Team Plasma, controlled (to whatever extent) by Ghetsis, and forced to absorb N's dragon (which, according to N, could detect Kyurem's suffering), only to be beaten up by ''your'' Pokémon and separated from it again.

* ContestedSequel: Some consider these to be among the best (if not ''the'' best) games in the franchise for their sheer amount of content and features, for their direct-sequel nature making them more tantalizing than the usual UpdatedRerelease, and for having a massive and well-distributed regional Dex. Others criticize the games for suffering from [[BonusFeatureFailure poor design that relies too much on local and (now defunct) Wi-Fi communication for their bonus features]], for not doing enough to endear players to the story or characters unlike their predecessors, and for having an awkward regional Dex that seems to say, "we're saving all your favorites for ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY''!".

* EvenBetterSequel: After being VindicatedByHistory, ''Black 2'' and ''White 2'' are, at least, considered to be this to ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'', due to the plethora of new features (especially the PWT, considered the games' main selling point) and the return of older Pokémon during the main story.
%%* EvilIsCool: Colress comes off this way. Ghetsis to a lesser extent.

* FandomRivalry: With the 3DS entries. Fans of ''[=B2W2=]'' frequently claim them to be "the last good ''Pokémon'' games", and decry the subsequent Generation VI and VII games for being more streamlined and "casual-friendly" but having less overall content. Meanwhile, fans of Gens VI and VII praise them for their various unique features and innovations, claim that the features that ''[=B2W2=]'' are praised for are too "niche" to be meaningful and/or have direct 3DS equivalents that are arbitrarily ignored, and decry them for their bizarre selection of catchable Pokémon and overreliance on online features that quickly became defunct. This also serves as an extension of the general [[VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite Gen V]] vs. [[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue Gen I]] rivalry, as ''[=B2W2=]'' are direct sequels to ''Black'' and ''White'' while the 3DS entries [[PanderingToTheBase deliberately cater to]] [[FirstInstallmentWins Gen I fans]] in various ways.

* ThatOneBoss: The battle against Iris in Black and White 2 on Challenge Mode is one of the hardest Champion matches in the series alongside [[VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl Cynthia]]. Not only does she specialize in Dragon types, which are very powerful by themselves, but two of her Pokémon resist Ice moves, thus circumventing the rest of her team's main weakness. The two biggest threats are Hydreigon, which has the same moveset as [[ThatOneBoss Ghetsis']] in the prequel ''and'' is also equipped with an item that boosts special attacks; and Haxorus, which will quickly boost its own stats with Dragon Dance before using highly damaging moves like Earthquake and Outrage to wipe out the player's party.

* ThatOneAchievement: Getting 10 followers in Pokémon Musicals. What ''sounds'' like a relatively innocuous Medal requirement is actually much more hassle than it's worth. In order to get the 10th follower, you must get 12,000 cumulative popularity points, which, if you were to perfectly win every Musical you partake in, would be, at minimum, 120 Musicals' worth of popularity points before you can finally get your tenth follower.

* Obvious Judas: Colress is dressed in the colors of Team Plasma (blue, black and white), is usually met in areas where Team Plasma have been operating, and is constantly talking about how his research is about drawing out the true potential of Pokémon no matter what it takes. Players are thus seldom surprised when it's revealed that he's the one Ghetsis replaced N with as acting leader of Team Plasma.

* ThatOneSidequest:
** The Yancy/Curtis Xtransceiver sidequest, mostly for being riddled with GuideDangIt just to be able to contact them[[labelnote:*]]It requires the player to walk over several very easy-to-miss panels over the course of the game in order for them to call. At least half of the possible panels have no reason or lure for the player to walk over.[[/labelnote]] and generally resulting in nothing major up until the player has called them back 15 times. Your reward for all the trouble? The ability to trade them any ComMons for extremely rare mons that not only are unavailable anywhere else, but also have their Dream World abilities. Anyone with steady access to the GTS will likely pass this one up, though.

* HarsherInHindsight: One of the Shadow Triad, as well as Ghetsis, mention that if N had simply become King of Team Plasma and "liberated" the Pokemon/Ghetsis's first plan succeeded, Unova would've remained beautiful without his adoptive father having to use Kyurem to freeze over the region. Well, [[VideoGame/PokemonUltraSunAndUltraMoon as an alternate Unova shows]], [[TheBadGuyWins THAT is what exactly happens if Hilbert and/or Hilda weren't around to stop Ghetsis's plan of Unova with everyone's Pokemon forcibly taken from their Trainers via "liberation"]].

* BonusFeatureFailure:
** The Nature Preserve, unlocked after seeing all Pokémon in the new Unova Pokédex, is touted as having a bunch of rare Pokémon... but the only Pokémon there that you can't already find elsewhere (and that includes the shiny Haxorus, since you could conceivably find a shiny Axew and evolve it all the way) is Nuzleaf, which ''could'' be useful if you hadn't already beaten the game.
** The UnlockableDifficultyLevels are only available after beating the Champion -- which makes having a difficulty feature basically pointless -- and they're wiped from your file if you start over. So you can't play with them on a fresh file... unless you go through a convoluted process that involves using the Unova Link with a completed game to connect to another copy to unlock the difficult modes for the latter.
** While due to unfortunate circumstances beyond Game Freak's control, ''Black 2'' and ''White 2'' are infamous for heavily relying on Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection for many of their features, but for only having those features actually usable for ''one and a half years''.[[note]]Actually slightly under 2 years in Japan.[[/note]] ''Black'' and ''White'' also suffer from this, but they were at least active for longer, while the Generation IV games have been less crippled in comparison due to their lower reliance on Internet features. As a consequence, features like Join Avenue and the Nature Preserve are far more difficult to use and access.

* ImprovedSecondAttempt:
** One of the major criticisms leveled against ''X and Y'' was how bland, annoying and underdeveloped the main supporting cast were. ''Sun'' and ''Moon'' fix this, as Lillie and Hau [[spoiler:and later Gladion]] are much more developed and useful characters, and consequently are much more well-liked as a result.
** Team Flare were often regarded with Gen III's Teams Magma and Aqua as being one of the worst villainous teams within the series; in Flare's case, this was due to the members' garish uniforms, higher-ups being given almost zero characterization, their underwhelming teams containing only a limited range of lines, the grunts having ''better'' teams than the said higher-ups - who in turn suffered from having sporadic appearances until the climax of the campaign against them, in which many felt was rather rushed - along with the poorly-handled reveal of [[ObviouslyEvil Lysandre]] as their leader.[[note]]The anime and ''Manga/PokemonAdventures'' manga both did a better job, though; given how better their versions of Team Flare have been received.[[/note]] After ''Omega Ruby'' and ''Alpha Sapphire'' modified Magma and Aqua's goals to being more logical and following more interesting paths, along with fleshing out their members, they became some of the most beloved teams and this was seen as a step in the right direction. With Team Skull, Game Freak appears to have continued on that road, as the grunts are full of hilarious personality and seen as a joke by the majority of Alola, and many of the members have strong bonds between one another and some tragic hidden characterization with complications such as low self-esteem, poverty, abuse and homelessness. Fans latched onto them from the moment of their reveal and beyond, and many share the same sentiments for [[spoiler:Aether's surprise reveal as the true villains, diverse teams and even more character depth]].
** The FinalBoss appeals to fans in a few ways. One, the fight could be seen as an apology for [[spoiler:Sycamore not being the Champion, which disappointed many fans]] in ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY''. Two, the fact that the FinalBoss is actually really challenging and has a status as ThatOneBoss can make up for ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY'' having a rather disappointing FinalBoss fight. Three, the fight acts as a huge nod to [[spoiler:the dummied out fight with Professor Oak from Gen I]]. And finally, after going through the entire game of never seeing the starter that's strong against yours, it turns out that the ace Pokémon of the FinalBoss so happens to be the final evolution of that starter's line.
** Many people were disappointed that in previous games, the title Legendary served almost no purpose other than being used as a weapon for the villainous team, and thus being given very little time to develop. In ''Sun & Moon'', [[spoiler:Nebby is introduced at the beginning of the game, ''even before the player gets their starter'', and develops alongside the player throughout the game. Whilst it is still used by Lusamine for her plans, it is not the major point of them and is only used in its weak, un-evolved form.]]

** The reveal that Zygarde's other formes will be in the game has caused some fans to sigh in relief, as they were worried that because there wasn't a third version in the previous generation, Zygarde was going to become a MissingSecret, like the Azure Flute in Gen IV.
** Hyper Training makes one of the stats of your level 100 Pokémon to reach its "full potential" (i.e. make it as though it has 31 IV in that stat) without actually changing the IV.
** Emboar, Unova's Fire-type starter, was criticized for being the third Fire/Fighting starter in a row, with many fans wishing that it were a Fire/Dark type due to its slightly demonic appearance. Incineroar, Litten's final stage, is exactly that -- it's a huge, menacing, wrestling-themed Pokémon like Emboar, but it is indeed a Fire/Dark type and its {{heel}} status is heavily played up in its lore.
** After two decades of neglect, due to being overshadowed by SeriesMascot Pikachu, Game Freak has finally listened to fans and given Raichu some much needed attention, granting it an Alolan Form and its own exclusive Z-Move.
** The Dark-type was often seen as the ButtMonkey of all types, due to being the only one without its own Gym or Gym Leader (there are many Dark-type Elite Four members, but no gyms). When ''Sun and Moon'' stated that the Gyms would be replaced with Trials and Kahunas, many people thought that, at least for Gen VII, the type's fate was sealed once again. However, the Ula'ula Island Kahuna, Nanu, turned out to be the first non-Elite Four Dark-type specialist in the series, which stopped those fears and turned the character into an [[EnsembleDarkHorse Ensemble]] [[{{Pun}} Dark]] [[EnsembleDarkHorse Horse]]. [[spoiler:It helps that, in defiance of the above tradition, Nanu outright refused to become an Elite Four member.]]
** A very minor one that's easily missed, but Furfrou now reverts back to its Natural Form after removing it from the PC rather than depositing it in there. This means that you can now put Furfrou into a Battle Box and use one of its trimmed forms in multiplayer and at the Battle Tree--prior, you could only use its Natural Form.
** Another minor one, but fans were pleasantly surprised that Aether Foundation, as the true villainous team in the game's plot, averts PoorPredictableRock that villainous teams are known for by having wide and varied teams and strategies.
** The GTS has the option of filtering out potentially unfair trades when seeking Pokémon such as ignoring any trades demanding legendary/mythical Pokémon, specific parameters involving whether or not the Pokémon offered can be from your region, and only showing demands that match what you currently have in stock.
** You couldn't remove your character's hat in XY, and an interview Masuda stated that this was intentionally done, as hats were a sign of a player character. After a massive backlash, it seems Game Freak has listened, because this game allows characters to go hatless.
* SalvagedStory:
** In ''ORAS'', Zinnia's theory of there being an AlternateUniverse where Mega Evolution doesn't exist was seen as an out-of-place DiabolusExMachina that had no actual relevance to the plot. ''Pokémon Sun and Moon'' turn it into an actually interesting plot device by implying Anabel [[spoiler:is a faller that may have come from the ''Emerald'' universe, as well as connecting the theory to the Ultra Beasts and their wormholes.[[labelnote:Note]]A faller does NOT necessarily come from another universe, however, as this term simply defines anyone who has passed through an UB portal, including the player character.[[/labelnote]]]]
** Quite a few fans have considered the inclusion of Ash-Greninja to be this towards the anime, as if allowing fans to [[spoiler:grant it the victory it was denied in the Kalos Finals in the ''[=XY&Z=]'' anime. Additionally, the penultimate episode of the XY Saga featured Ash releasing his Greninja to help Zygarde, and the fact that it ends up in your possession with the OT "Ash" could suggest that it somehow ended up in your hands (although the anime and games are separate continuities, so this may be more of a MythologyGag than anything else)]].

* SelfFanservice: Like Hilda, Rosa's more mature (but still cute) design attracted a lot of lusty fan art, most of which greatly exaggerates the size of her breasts.

* ContestedSequel: Some consider these to be among the best (if not ''the'' best) games in the franchise for their sheer amount of content and features, for their direct-sequel nature making them more tantalizing than the usual UpdatedRerelease, and for having a massive and well-distributed regional Dex. Others criticize the games for suffering from [[BonusFeatureFailure poor design that relies too much on local and (now defunct) Wi-Fi communication for their bonus features]], for not doing enough to endear players to the story or characters unlike their predecessors, and for having an awkward regional Dex that seems to say "we're saving all your favorites for ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY''!".