Since its initial introduction in 1996, the Pokémon franchise has grown into the most valuable entertainment property in history. In that time, there have been nine generations of the mainline video game franchise, and each one has been a commercial hit.
While Pokémon is still as popular as ever, some elements of game design and gameplay have grown tired. Game Freak would do well to bring an end to these franchise cliches before they wear thinner than they already have. Many of these frustrations can be seen on Reddit, where the Pokémon community is over 3.5 million strong.
Pokemon Games Must Stop Dropping Successful Features
Each new generation of Pokémon games adds new features and gameplay mechanics to the series, but many of these are abandoned in the next franchise entry to many players' dismay. While some of these unique gimmicks may be best left behind, Redditor ActivateGuacamole describes how, "Like a jenga tower, the Pokemon franchise sacrifices older resources to build itself to new heights."
Some of the most popular features include a real-world day and night cycle, Mega Evolutions, secret bases, and the battle frontier. Some of the best Pokémon spinoff games have utilized these features, but fans hope Game Freak will keep positively received mechanics moving forward.
Pokémon Games Must Move On From Linear Narratives
Pokémon games have always been labeled as RPGs, but they've traditionally been very light on actual role-playing elements. Pokémon themselves can be customized with various move sets, but there isn't any way to make player decisions besides what clothing to wear.
Many fans, such as HydreigonFeather, would like to see this change, stating "I want my decisions to have more consequences then losing against a Pigeot because I used Hitmonlee." One popular suggestion for adding more player agency is for the Pokémon franchise to move away from linear plotlines. Letting fans make decisions in-game that affect the game world and story would bring the franchise closer to an actual role-playing game.
Pokémon Gyms Need To Stop Being Mono-Typed
Every mainline Pokémon game except Sun and Moon has featured Pokémon Gyms, and every single Pokémon Gym so far has been restricted to one type. While this can sometimes make for memorable encounters, players such as DragonTypeEnjoyer think "it'd be cool to have a game where the gyms are themes rather than types."
Possibilities could include battle tactics (such as a Trick Room or Weather Gym), playstyles (a Speed or Defensive Gym), or visual styles. This would diversify the Gym challenge experience and also allow Game Freak to make them more challenging.
Opposing Pokémon Trainers Shouldn’t Have Static Team Strength
Each Pokémon game challenges players with opposing trainers that are positioned around the map. The teams that these trainers use have always been predetermined and static. While this has been done to keep them appropriately challenging for players, it's easy to out-level them and strip the game of its challenge.
Redditor Darak-A presents an idea to make battles more relevant, stating "If I could change one thing, it would be that the levels of the other trainer's Pokemon corresponded to YOUR pokemon's levels." This would ensure that battles are always as challenging as they're meant to be and take the guesswork out of matching player progression.
Pokémon Games Need To Stop Being So Easy
Pokémon games have always been child-friendly, and their difficulty has always reflected that. However, each game seems to streamline game systems more and more, resulting in a franchise that some fans think is too easy. One such fan, jared2294, requests "... a hard game mode where everyone has fullish or great teams with levels that match my highest Pokémon."
This optional setting could increase the strength of opposing Pokémon, make resources rarer, and let trainers use more advanced battle tactics. This mode would require players to better learn the game's mechanics instead of leveling up only strong attack Pokémon.
Starter Pokémon Need New Typing
Every starter Pokémon in the franchise may be cute, but Redditor kuriega-san echoes a widespread belief when they posted "As someone who is bored of the same fire/ water/ grass starter types, I'd like to see Pokemon games experiment with different typings." To date, each mainline game has presented one Grass, one Fire, and one Water monster for players to choose from.
This was originally done to show how weaknesses and resistances work, and the aforementioned trio forms a rock-paper-scissors triangle of weaknesses. However, this isn't the only combination that would work as such. Rock, Fighting, Flying and Ground, Water, Electric would achieve a similar relationship between starters.
Pokémon Games Should Support Multiple Save Files
Even after the mainline Pokémon franchise transitioned from pure handhelds to the Nintendo Switch, they still only support one save file, though there is now a workaround. As one anonymous Redditor commented, they "Would love to have more than one save file so I'd be able to try out each starter and maybe play different styles on each file instead of resetting my entire game every time."
Currently, the only way to have an additional save file is to create a separate Switch account. This is admittedly an improvement over past titles that didn't allow alternate saves under any circumstances, but it still leaves many fans wondering why the extra step is necessary.
Pokémon Needs To End Trade-Only Evolutions
Most Pokémon with multiple stages evolve when the pocket monster reaches a predetermined level, but some only evolve when they're traded to another trainer. This may have been initially implemented to promote collaboration between friends before the advent of online trading, but now that it no longer requires people to get together, fans like Miss_Bookworm are unsure why the extra steps are necessary. Additionally, the act of trading a beloved party member in hopes of it being returned can be challenging.
As Miss_Bookworm articulates, "This is why I hate Pokemon that require trades to evolve. I have enough anxiety in real life, and now I can't ever know if I'm going to get my beloved Pokemon back!" This franchise cliché is particularly frustrating because it makes Pokemon like Gengar, one of the most popular Ghost-type Pokémon, and Machamp challenging to use beyond their Stage 1 forms.
Pokemon Needs To Ditch The Gym Challenge Plot
The original Pokémon Red and Blue centered on the protagonist, Red, as he traveled to defeat eight Gym Leaders and the Elite Four. The story was simple, but it was effective, and it introduced fans to several memorable leaders like Brock and Misty.
The sequels, Gold and Silver, also centered on the Gym Leader Challenge, as did the following games and each subsequent mainline entry until now except Pokémon Sun and Moon. While the most challenging Gym Leaders in the Pokémon franchise can be fun to battle, fans like Livael23 think that Game Freak can be doing a better job with stories, claiming "I need an engaging region and storyline to make me want to play a Pokémon game. So YES, I would LOVE it if GF put more care into their stories, they don't need to be overly complicated or super serious like BW, I just want a well crafted and engaging story."
Pokémon Games Need To Stop Releasing Yearly
Pokémon games have always had short gaps between releases because of the way that generations were released (two main games then a third version the following year), but the loss of third versions and the uptick in remakes has seen a mainline Pokémon game release every year except one since Pokemon Platinum in 2009.
JimMcTim explains that "I think the issue is not so much game freak’s laziness, but the expectation of having a near yearly release of Pokémon games." Some fans have been disappointed with recent games' lack of polish, content, and graphical fidelity, and spacing out releases may give the developers more time to release a high-quality product.