I enjoyed sword but now that I've played Arceus.... i cannot see ever going back to sword. Sword isn't the dumpster fire people make it out to be.... but it isn't great either.

Y'all haven't played X/Y

I completely agree. I find myself actually waiting for either Kadabra or Alakazam (can’t remember which) to throw the spoon in the air which then hits them on the head when they faint. Pokémon Stadium really was imbued with so much personality. Man, I love that game. 

Regarding OP, yeah I would say they’re the worst. I disliked them so much at first that I actually thought I had outgrown Pokémon as a video game series (I still and always will love the franchise); I think it was an overreaction and now I’m playing Shield again, played Diamond and preordered Legends (which I haven’t played yet as I’m playing the Shield dlc). I enjoyed diamond and I’m enjoying Shield a lot more this time around (enjoying it for what it is, rather than what I want it to be) but Sw/Sh are the weakest main entries by far and I hope GF have learned their lesson and realise people weren’t upset with the games for any other reason than Pokémon is an IP so close to millions of peoples hearts; we want to see it excel and be the best that we know it can be. It really deserves it. 

Thats my favorite one lmao

For me it certainly was. For the many reasons listed in this thread that I guess theres no reason to repeat them. It left a very sour taste in me.   

Havent played Arceus yet, but I read very positive things about it. Coming from Sw/Sh the franchise def. needed a fresh take.

Rightfully so. Support characters aside, It was good. 

Since I was child I wanted a game were I could see the wild pokemon in a large area, chase it, or run from it.
First time I got that feeling was ShSw. Technical issues didnt change it.
Yeah, we had it in small scale in lets go, but I didnt quite feel like in ShSw, lets go seems like a rehearsal for it.
And Im yet to play Legends Arceus and seems I will love it.
However, i like the formula of beating gym leaders, being champion, training/breeding and go online for competitive play, and I will maby miss that part.

I have played all the pokemon games except for arceus as it looks ugly ( one of ugliest swotch games for me) 1and reviews say its bare bones with technical issue. However i own sword and shield. For me compared to the older pokemon games, i found it to be the best and most entertaining ones. Did everything in the game. My only gripe was how shitty online play was as i struggled to game with my friends online. I will probably get arceus but i will wait till they fix the game and update it more.

X/Y was way better.

Fairy type added

Mega-evolution which was a huge strategical addition unlike that horrible and awful dynamax

Best online

All around better cities, world and routes.

they almost took the cake... Legend of Arceus is the wrost, but not by a long shot, both are bad and a deception.

I haven't actually played all of them to completion, unfortunately. I played every Pokemon game up until Black and White. Then I returned with Sun and Moon. I did go back and buy Pokemon Y, but haven't finished it. I wish I could find Black/White 1 and 2 for a good price online, but I really don't want to spend over $60 on each copy. It's a little ridiculous.

Anyway, to answer the question, 100%. It's the worst mainline game I've ever played. They removed a bunch of content from past games, it was really short, and it was just overall extremely derivative. I did enjoy the wild area and having Pokemon in the overworld, which is honestly the best thing it did. Anyway, it reeks of a rushed product. I still think it's a good game on it's own, but when you compare what it took out from past games it's pretty bad.

That said, going forward I wouldn't mind if they do continue to limit the dex. I know there are still some dexit die-hards on here (no offense intended), and the way Sword and Shield did it I agree is ridiculous (keeping most of the same models and animations). But I couldn't imagine the time it would take for all the animations in a game like Arceus, for example. I think it would be overwhelming and the game would suffer for it. In addition, if they update the models for the Switch 2 I wouldn't want them to spend years creating the models and animating each one. I wouldn't be opposed to "Pokemon Paks" though. Get rid of the two Pokemon per release idea (it's outdated), and give us DLC and add new Pokemon like they had with Sword and Shield. I think that's the way to go in the future.