I point to my above statement.
Pokemon, as a whole, is far more than just battling and has demographics all over the place. Giving players the ability to play with and interact with their favorite Pokemon? In a game series/ world built upon this very idea of connecting with these creatures and geared towards kids? A feature that the series has been missing because it could only be done in 3D?
Yeah, pretty big deal for Pokemon games. Sure, making one Pokemon in the party go super saiyan is a nice feature for battles (which is why I suggested that maybe a Mega Lucario or Blaze could be what we get) but the games are far more than that for many people and they know it ... which is why they put in all that effort.
Pokemon contest were never a big enough part of the game series to warrant any special treatment (which is why it's gone and has been for 2 gens now). It was just their attempt at pleasing female fans. And like I pointed out, those gens were more so defined by double battles/ P&M or Lucario. Plus, that's just one point on the list.