Well for starters, every time I want to talk about it I have to hunt down the way to get that stupid é in the name, and I really don't feel like keeping it on my clipboard or memorizing the alt code formula, so, it's just going to get called Pokemon from now on. Deal with it.
Anyways, Pokemon is a phenomenon. Seriously, a freakin' worldwide global pandemic that has swept across the nation, taking down everything in its path. Hey, The Pokemon Company, here's my new pitch for a brand new mon to add to your games: 'Cashcow'.
As a kid growing up in the early 2000's, Poke-Fever still definitely had it's yellow, electrically charged paws in a death grip the youth of the day. You couldn't escape the trading cards, the cartoons, the movies, the toys, the t-shirts, the backpacks... oh yeah, and the Video Games. You see, no matter how prevalent these games have become, no matter how much acclaim they get and how much praise they earn... I've just never really gotten the appeal, and can not fathom why anyone really likes Pokemon.
Now, to be fair, I still like Pokemon. As in, the Pocket Monsters, not Pokemon. I think a lot of them have really cute or cool designs (except for this dork), I like the general idea behind most of the series. I just can't for the life of me find any enjoyment out of the games. I remember trying to play Pokemon Pearl when I was younger, and then when I got older I went ahead and tried an emulation of Emerald Green, but to no avail. Nothing about either of them appealed to me and I found myself bored with them before they could even really begin.
I think one problem I have with it is pretty simple: I hate JRPGS. I sometimes call them 'Menu Fighters' in my head, cause that's what they are to me: navigating menus. Now, there are some games I've played that use this turn-based system I've loved: As you may already know, I love Dungeons & Dragons, which is also very much turn-based combat, and I was also a big fan of Darkest Dungeon. No, I don't think the connective tissue between what separates them from Pokemon is having the word 'Dungeon' in them (Though I do remember playing the Pokemon: Mystery Dungeon games and enjoying those, so... I'll get back to you on that one), but that in both of those I could say there's generally more going on outside of the menus. Darkest Dungeon had the whole aspect of team positoning, managing your stress meters, party composition questions that are more than just 'make sure you bring the fire monster to the ice monster gym'. And D&D has... well, a whole lot.
To get back to Darkest Dungeon for a moment, while I did enjoy it, there was something I heavily disliked about it that it happens to share with Pokemon... grinding. Oh goodness, I hate grinding. Pokemon seems to have a fascination with making sure your Pokemon are strong enough to pass certain level-gates as they were, and the only way to make sure they're at peak fighting condition is to go walk in circles in tall grass and beat up weaklings for a while until they're all buff enough to pass. Similarly, Darkest Dungeon will have you doing lots and lots of paltry missions with your heroes to level them up and eventually have your perfect party composition to take on that final tough level... only to have them all completely killed, leaving you to need to do another several hours upon hours of grinding just to get your preferred party back.
So, I think it's just a combination of these things that tends to turn me off from the mainline games themselves. Maybe there's some secret complex mechanics to the combat I just don't know about, but frankly I think I'm a bit too lost to it at this point. If I haven't found it at this point, I don't think I ever will. But hey, it's still the highest grossing media franchise of all time, so people still like it. When has a large majority of the population ever been wrong about something in the past, huh?