Bottom-line is they're not aiming for the same audiences, Palworld doesn't affect Game Freak because they aren't making games like this. The success of Palworld speaks to how entrenched Pokemon still is in the heads of people who don't play it anymore, even "anti-Pokemon" sells!

On the other hand, Palworld's fans seem to be driven by the gameplay, which is just a new entry in a long-running genre - not monster-catching, but survival crafting game that's fun to play with friends. Well that and the fact that it's basically everyone's "edgy Pokemon" dream

It seems to me that people against Palworld just hate the idea that they have such success from "uninspired design" (which you could say about most games these days). Even as someone who still enjoys modern Pokemon for what it is (severely lacking), it's really not that deep

It's the eldest boy's time

Must be cathartic, my sister struggled for years thinking she was just bad at school until her diagnosis, and everything just clicked afterwards. Hope you're able to find what works for you