It's not just their appearance, but their utility. In some games like ARK, they breathe ice, poison and lightning, a far cry from the classic "fire". Yeah, X and Y weren't the best for the franchise, there's nothing to do postgame besides raise a competitive team. France isn't the ideal place for a pokemon game, still waiting for Africa or one where you time travel to different eras. I can say Ultra Sun is a bit more "solid" with providing more mon's to catch, and a few fan favorites making a generous return. Since i raise competitive mons (or used to) it's great to have a game with so many options.
