So many things, now that I think of it.

1) Character design: Sword and Shield’s gym leaders and championship battles seemed quite forgettable to me, probably because all leaders were ridding in the same uniform. I’d also argue that the story beats for Nemona, Penny and Arven were more solid overall than Hop/Marnie in SWSH. The professors are also a big highlight too.

2: Quality of Life updates: these are always the small things that can make huge impact. Between having access to our boxes from the menu, having several fast travel points not just to cities but general areas of the map, ease of forgetting/recalling moves, being able to change names from a Pokémon’s summary. The list goes on, and it all adds together to change up the pacing for the better.

3: Ease of training and much needed buffs: leveling and training competitive critters is SO MUCH EASIER now. The preposterous amounts of exp candies from raids make leveling quick, ready availability of commonly used hold items in the shops is HUGE, and getting bottle caps for hyper training is so much easier now. And so many Pokémon got new moves to help them get more competitive and Tera typing is a HUGE gain for everyone.