It's a subtle change. If you're watching the new Pokémon anime, Pokemon XY, you might not have even noticed. But the battles are a little more "realistic."
The word is in quotes, because let's face it, Pokémon battles by their very nature are not realistic (they are, of course, in relation to the actual game).
As Japanese Twitter user Picca noticed, the abstract backgrounds that typically appear in Pokémon battle sequences are absent in the Pokémon XY anime. The background is "real."
Below, you can see a comparison (Pokemon Diamond & Pearl is on your left, and Pokemon XY is on your right):
Before battles start in XY, there is this animation, which certainly isn't very realistic and looks straight out of the game:
A variation of the abstract battle background can still be seen in Pokémon XY (For example, I've noticed it when Team Rocket was introduced in the first episode). However, I don't recall seeing the background in battles. I kind of miss it!
今更重大な変更点にきづいたんだけど [Twitter]
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