"Hot take: X and Y were better than Diamond and Pearl"

There are a couple reasons I think this, and I'll list them here:(This got long, sorry.)PokédexThe XY pokédex is one of the best - if not the best - in the series. There's massive variety, with the highest total pokémon in a regional dex in any game. Additionally, the routes are packed with pokémon, a first for the series. Comparatively, DP's pokédex is so bad it destroys almost all of the replayability - there's a reason everyone's Sinnoh teams are basically identical.StoryWhen it comes to story, that's more subjective, but DP's story without the Platinum extensions is just kind of bland. Cyrus is boring, the Admins aren't that memorable, Looker doesn't exist yet, the Legendary storyline is anticlimactic when Giratina disappears. XY's story has a lot more potential, with the relationship between Lysandre and Sycamore being interesting, and AZ's story being fascinating, if only it had been developed a bit more. If a third version had been made, I think the story could really shine.CharactersI'll concede there are too many rivals in XY, but some of them are actually good. Serena's similar to Hop in terms of character arc, except she's more determined and less friendly. Shauna's the friendly rival and she has genuinely good character development and an arc. Barry is a good character, but Lucas is just a little bland, and without much personality.HMsDP has way too many HMs. There are 8 in total, meaning 2 of your party slots have to be taken up by hm slaves unless you want to have to sprinkle sub-par moves on your proper team. Additionally, you need five to get through Victory Road. Five!! In XY, there are five HMs total, with only two of them being necessary to get through the game.DifficultyDP is more difficult, sure, but not everyone is looking for difficulty in a pokémon game. That's why we have nuzlockes and rom hacks and challenge runs. Also, no one is forcing you to use the XY Exp Share. All you have to do is turn it off. It massively reduces the need for grinding, which I think is good actually.New MechanicsXY introduced the Fairy type, which was a much needed nerf to the overpowered dragon type. (Personally I think if it had been introduced in Gen 4, Cynthia wouldn't have been nearly so hard, but I digress.) It also introduced Pokémon Amie, and the ability to actually play with and pet your pokémon was an excellent addition for a series focused on friendship. Super Training made for an easy and efficient way to control your pokémon's EVs, making it accessible to even very casual players, who didn't have a solid understanding of the mechanics. And, can't forget Mega Evolutions. Love them or hate them, they had a massive impact on the series and introduced some really cool new designs.DP introduced the Underground, the Pokétch, and poffins. All are cool (the Underground in particular) but overall, the pokétch and poffins are more gimmicks than real features. The Underground is great, but without wifi and friends to play with, it feels kind of sad trawling around empty tunnels.Edit: I completely forgot the physical/special split! Thank you to the lovely people in the comments who reminded me. Overall, I think that had a much bigger impact on the game than the introduction of the fairy type, and it made a lot more pokémon viable for playthrough teams and just generally made the game funner.OnlineThe PSS is the best online system there ever was in a pokémon game. Intuitive to use, on the touch-screen for easy access, responsive to internet updates. The Union Room isn't bad, but it does require you to go to the pokémon centre and enter the room, which is tedious and impractical most of the time.Anyway yeah, that's my rant over. Please do not eviscerate me, this is just my opinion. If you think that DP are superior to XY that's your opinion and that's fine. via /r/pokemon https://ift.tt/3dPERWz