Honestly, the "subjective" bit was as much a response to "that doesn't prevent bad ones from being made in the future" as it was to "there have been mediocre ones."

Sure, maybe there will, some day, be a truly bad Pokémon game. But I won't know until I play it because my opinions don't always align with the popular ones, so there's no way for me to make a decision based on what people say. So whether it's bad or not, I'm still going to have bought it. That's what -GoIden was saying: the possibility that a game just might be bad, especially going against all of your other instincts and experiences that tell you otherwise, is not going to stop any fan from being willing to try it.

And then there is again the issue that I know I will be missing out if I don't play it, so I'm not likely ever to use an excuse like that to skip a game. If I have as much faith in and love for the series as I do, it's worth it to me to set aside a mere $4 per month to buy the game and play it until the next comes out.

And another thing: you're interpreting happy fans as proof that Game Freak isn't getting the criticism they "need," or - in other words - you think that too few people are criticizing certain aspects of the series.

It sounds less like people are too optimistic for their own good and more like your criticisms just aren't an accurate representation of what the majority of people actually want. That doesn't mean they're not valid criticisms or that they aren't good ideas, but it does mean that people who don't complain 24/7 aren't doing it out of laziness or somehow failing their sacred responsibility to define Pokémon games by one mind's standards - they're doing it because they actually don't care and don't see a reason to criticize it.

I honestly see plenty of criticism for Sun and Moon and for Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, so it's not as if you're some lone wolf in a sea of sheep - it's a pretty even split. But most of it is stuff with which I genuinely don't agree - same as how I see plenty of praise for ORAS and HGSS and much of it doesn't align with my views on the games. Heck, I liked the dozens of cutscenes and enjoyed the story of the games. So I'm not going to complain about it and petition for change, because it's what I love in the first place. I'm not going to pile on criticism for my favorite part of the game just because other people didn't like it, especially not with the intention of getting rid of said favorite part of the game! Your idea that Game Freak has to receive mass criticism for the parts of the series you don't like is simply not how opinions work.

The people who complain can complain. The people who are happy can be happy. If enough people complain and you get the changes you want, awesome!! The series might get even better! But if enough people are happy and it means the series remains as it is, that's awesome too!! because it means the series makes people happy and is probably how the majority of people want it! It's really not fair to tell people they're not allowed to be happy with what we have and should be complaining with you just because you want something better. If they don't, it's their prerogative to pile on the praise as much as it is yours to crunch down with criticisms.