alright, so here's the thing. i feel like we're mostly on the same page, but disagreeing on a few things.
criticism is fine for any game in particular. that's pretty much the nature of the beast when you're a game developer. you have to take criticism coming your way and hopefully the next product you make is better than the last. but let's be clear about this, and i don't mean to be so direct, but you (as well as I) don't know what went on in Game Freak's own headquarters to come to decisions they make. as I said, they can most definitely stand to work on a consistent PR message without giving off weird vague answers on dexit in particular and they could definitely stand to be more truthful and straightforward, but that's absolutely no excuse to be toxic and resort to harassment on a personal level for any reason, i don't care what your (general "you", here) beef is with the game, that's absolutely unacceptable.
that being said, here's where we might see differently on:
think about the whole tree ordeal. you've seen poketubers all over pretty much dissecting that tree and comparing it to N64 Ocarina of Time and it became pretty much a gag for how apparently little Game Freak really cared. and then there's the reused animations. people started overanalyzing that too. the straw that broke the camel's back was seeing how many pokemon were actually cut. for the sake of spoiler reasons for those that might be perusing this thread, i won't say, but all i'm going to say is that people overanalyzed the hell of out that too, and used that as more fuel for more harassment towards Game Freak/TPC.
you're right on one thing, criticism doesn't always amount to negativity, but the bigger point is that criticism isn't an excuse for negativity either, which is where we may see differently on and i think is important to keep in mind. there's a difference between legitimate warranted criticism and toxic negativity just veiled as criticism and i've never really seen what point the latter tries to accomplish.
I deleted that post because upon further reflection I really didn't want to have this discussion, but I suppose I'll bite, because why not.
I'm not going to defend or try to justify excessive negativity, or the hyperbolic lengths some people have gone too, because I agree with you: it's ridiculous. It's an embarrassment that completely obscures serious, valid points that have been made. It's a small point to make, not to obsess over, and not only that, it fails to acknowledge where there are improvements made - everyone focuses on that Double Kick animation, but these same people won't say how amazing those Gigantamax special moves look. They'll cry the models are re-used, but they won't admit the textures are a hell of a lot better. It's very one-sided in a lot of cases, and that only hurts the arguments being made. It's not all bad. Just because someone may feel the bad might outweigh the good doesn't mean that the good should not be acknowledged for what it is. That's the nature of a balanced argument, and often the difference between a reasonable criticism and a hyperbolic complaint.
I would say that in many ways Game Freak brought the negativity - not the harrassment, the negativity; again, there is a clear line - on themselves by failing to provide adequate justification or explanation for their decision. Of course their reasons are going to be probed and analyzed and dissected to hell and back: it's a hugely controversial issue that people genuinely care about. Does that mean they should take any conclusions drawn as fact? Of course not. But the lack of transparency, the conflicting statements, the deliberate antagonism from Game Freak (I refer here to the "no regrets" comment made, and the slightly odd case of Masuda thanking a fan for their enthusiasm to explore Galar with a Pokemon that had been cut from the game) and the lack of honesty and transparency just invite this sort of thing. They need better marketing, they really do. I mean, look at Pokemon Masters: that is a fantastic way of acknowledging mistakes were made, and addressing concerns in a constructive fashion. Game Freak cannot do this...why, exactly? That stands out very strongly.
What you and I see as negativity is clearly a different thing, though...and therein lies another problem. It's subjective, and it's dependant on the language used, the length of the explanation provided, and so on. But one thing I think is worth bearing in mind is that for a lot of people who are really angry about this, and really care, is that Pokemon has formed a major part of their cultural identity for the better part of their lives. A lot of people have grown up with Pokemon, and the Pokemon they want to transfer to the games. People, whether they're angry or happy, are excited for more. It's not an unreasonable expectation to have, because continuity has been a part of the franchise since the very beginning, and Masuda has been quick to say in the past that another incident where you cannot transfer as with Gen 2 to 3 is something they wanted to avoid. The love and care Game Freak has put into the franchise, and the respect they have shown their fans, has been utterly trampled with this. Of course some people who care about this are going to be upset. It doesn't excuse those who perpetuate toxic behaviour, no. But it doesn't mean everyone who criticises the games should be tarred and feathered with the same brush, or that people are being negative without cause...and there are times when criticism absolutely justifies negativity. Although that, again, is subjective. But just because you see a lot of it doesn't mean that an individual's reasons are invalid, or following a trend. Just as the developers are people, so are the individual fans who are all saying what amounts to the same thing, and not everyone is saying it just because it's the popular thing to say...although I will admit that herd mentality undoubtedly plays a factor in this. But then, that goes both ways to include the people who are sick of the criticisms and complaints. So yeah. It's complicated.
...and I haven't even touched on the behaviour of those who are excessively positive about the games to wind up the people who are upset about it - because there are a lot of people like that. I'm not sure why any of it needs to be personal, truthfully - let people have their opinions, have your own opinion, and just respect that they're different. It's really not that difficult in practice...or it shouldn't be. Just let people get on with what they want to get on with. I mean, sure, condone insults and harrassment because they're not acceptable, but that doesn't give you carte blanche to return it to someone else.
Honestly I think everyone with a current interest in Pokemon - be it positive or negative - could stand to thank Game Freak, because it's important to take a historic view. One screw-up doesn't amount to the destruction of an entire franchise, and it doesn't erase all the good that they've done over the years. But at the same time, context. It's alright to not be thankful for something, and to express that at the same time.
