Pokémon Sword and Shield

Best: The raids

Sword and Shield’s Max Raid Battles are one of the coolest aspects of the Galar region because they’re a great and time-efficient way to grind, they’re a cooperative experience to play with your friends, and you get to battle a giant Pokémon. It’s dope. It takes the Pokémon Go staple and shapes it for the Galar region, and it helped solidify raids as a pillar of the franchise moving forward.

Worst: Max Lair

…that being said, the use of raids in the Crown Tundra expansion is a little questionable from a lore standpoint. The Max Lair is a place where legendary Pokémon from around the world gather to be caught by children in raids. The weirdness comes from the games’ repeated attempts to make as many old Pokémon obtainable in new games as possible, which means characters like Palkia or Kyogre, who are very directly tied to their home region, are here, and those worldbuilding discrepancies get handwaved away because we’ve gotta catch ‘em all. It’s a weird choice that I hope doesn’t become a standard as Game Freak moves away from the national dex, and starts to focus more on Pokémon specific to the region we’re playing in.