But can anybody relate to them, at first?
A series isn't about what you just want to achieve, it's also about what you gain while moving on. Friendships and relationships (not pairings) are the most required when it comes to driving a series. Every season had the same formula, but that's what made it enjoyable. Even though the story may be a little off at times (seems like many are exaggerating them), the character development is what makes a story well done.
All I've read from comments is that the production team was terrible while making some (or many to all) episodes. And yes, the long waits too. But, to me, it was quite worth it. Though, I got to admit that some of the game characters didn't meet the expectations in the form of their anime counterparts (Like the Ash vs Steven Masters battle. I got to say it wasn't like the Steven I knew in XY, but Ash's creativity was still the same).
To me, I hardly complained when it came to a series as a whole. I did make a few complaints regarding the story of certain episodes though. In fact, I hardly cared as long as the character dynamics were the same (interesting).
Every studio makes mistakes (like countless filler episodes like those of Naruto and Naruto Shipppuden). Even though Pokemon outlasted Naruto in episode count, people still say that Naruto is better than Pokemon in terms of story. But, ironically, they also complain about the fillers of the former, since it was derived from manga, which Pokemon doesn't. It is to be noted that despite Pokemon anime being based on games, the characters are well known today. Additionally, other than criticisms regarding Ash not becoming a Pokemon Master until Alola and PWC, when those episodes (Ash's victories), many of the audience came together to criticize the episodes instead, which was not to be expected. The studio delivered but (some of) the audience didn't like it? This is unfair.
Furthermore, being a Pokemon fan, I really loved the way Pikachu (Ash's very first Pokemon) ended up defeating Leon's Charizard in an incredible fashion. I was back in college eating in the canteen (after the day ended), when I was excited watching it.
To be honest, while I don't care much about how the story goes (even though I, like everyone, gets annoyed by waiting), as long as the characters develop before they achieve their objectives (along with some comedy, seriousness and excitement, which this anime has been entertaining us with all these years), then the series isn't low in my eyes.
I will give some of my views on SM and JN after sometime, but please appreciate that the anime hasn't given up on the above mentioned factors. The studio really deserves a lot of credit.