Very random question

Yes. In around 7 years, maybe a little longer, most Pokémon fans will have fond memories about SV, talking about how fun they found it was to explore the open world and how it's totally not empty and how much they loved the story and characters, just like how BW became suddenly popular when the people who grew up with it became adults. Though, I haven't been able to see the exact effect of this as I wasn't present when BW was hated to see the change and I haven't been part of the fandom outside of here in a while, so I can't really tell if there's been a change in how people see XY.

My partner is really enjoying the game. I don't have a Switch myself, so I've not played any mainstream Pokemon games since Sun and Moon. I think your commentary on people enjoying old stuff more is true, though. I think it just has to do with nostalgia. This may be controversial, though, I don't think the Pokemon games were anything too extraordinary, even back in the 90s. But, I think the premise and worldbuilding captivated people, and it was a series that was really accessible to children of multiple generations, so for that reason it has a big hold on people due to nostalgia. Of course, the games are still quite fun. This is just my take. As a series kind of built on nostalgia, it does not surprise me that the fandom trends towards this pattern.