As I said above, the series hasn't had a good plot in over a decade. The graphics have been ugly ever since they took the 3DS art direction. I'd argue that the environments are at least pleasing to look at. Dynamaxing is a better mechanic than mega evolutions, so it wasn't really shoehorned in, but rather replaced an old one. The wild areas are also Victory Road reimagined, which is, again, another replacement. Neither of these can be considered filler. I feel the latter needs fixing, though. I'm not going to say that this wasn't obviously rushed, but I don't feel it deserves the negative attention it's getting when people can't take off their nostalgia goggles long enough to even play it.