honestly, im getting bored with the kanto pandering. no matter how many angles i try to look at this from, i can't help but feel... unimpressed. not with the designs in particular, mind, but unimpressed because i feel like there's nothing really new that excites me. kanto is old news, and has always been old news for several generations at this point.
yes, they're marketable. i get it. Game Freak is hoping to pander to all the millenials with big fire dragon, cute multi-evolutional fox and electric mice. but that's exactly why im bored. charizard is ok (although my opinion on it is really starting to sour), eevee is cute, and pikachu is ok, but every time a new kanto 'mon gets another form, im just kind of like "oh..." at this point. i have this reaction because it's expected. maybe zigzagoon/linoone really are the lone exceptions (i damn well hope they aren't), and we're going to get majority kanto galarian forms.
and then gen 9 will come along and rehash kanto some more. maybe the old armored pokemon rumour would come true next generation and we'll see charizard in good ol' magma armour.
don't get me wrong, i'll likely still get these games because i've been without a new pokemon game for a while (due to skipping LGPE), but this kinda makes me long for the days where i was excited for past generations. the marketing for these games sure leaves something to be desired.