The Story Needs a Massive Shakeup
I just know this one isn’t going to happen. I just KNOW it. But geez, wouldn’t it be refreshing if at least just this one time we didn’t go fight eight gym leaders while thwarting an evil organization and our rival, while on our way to become the Pokemon League champion?
It has seriously run its course. It’s impossible to take any of villains seriously at this point as they get more ridiculous with each passing generation. Team Rocket, essentially the Pokemon mob team, felt more intimidating as antagonists than some of the ludicrous groups featured in Ruby & Sapphire and beyond.
Hell, even your rival isn’t really your rival anymore. Gary (Blue) from the originals was a legitimate prick that you couldn’t wait to defeat. Serena and Calem from X and Y, on the other hand? Goody Two-Shoes that only ever have nice things to say about you.
For the love of Arceus, we’re celebrating the 20th anniversary this year and the basic premise of the games have yet to change. There’s something to that familiarity, yes, but many fans are ready for change. There’s not much exciting about whooping the Pokemon League anymore. Literally any idea that isn’t what we’ve been doing for 20 years now would be a step in the right direction.
Create a More Robust Online Mode
Pokemon is an incredibly thrilling game to both play and watch, and Nintendo/Gamefreak should be doing even more to tap into its competitive scene. Instead of simplifying things for the children – most of which won’t bother to take competition seriously anyway – take a page from Smogon, a competitive Pokemon community, and come up with a more fair and balanced competitive scene.
For starters, give Pokemon Sun and Moon a 6v6 ranked mode with some leaderboard action and tournament modes a la the anime. You’d think there would be a consistent 6v6 mode in Pokemon games by now, considering the entire single player game is played this way, but there isn’t for whatever reason.
While it’s unrealistic to expect Nintendo to keep tabs on Smogon’s tiers of Pokemon balance, creating a 6v6 game mode that keeps out legendary Pokemon would be a nice measure. There’s a lot more to it than that for true balance, but it’s a start.
If Nintendo really wants to make our wildest Pokemon dreams come true, give fans a way to set up their own Gyms and Pokemon Leagues in-game. It’s not that Pokemon’s multiplayer is currently lacking, it’s just that it has the potential to be a lot better.
Stop it With the Same Starting Pokemon
Death, taxes, and a new Pokemon game that features a Fire/Grass/Water Pokemon starter. Those are things you can always count on in life. Come on Gamefreak, shock us. Give players something different to choose from this time around.
Maybe when the Pokemon first debuted 20 years ago, those three types made a lot of sense to help you tackle certain type match-ups throughout the game. However, with 700-plus and counting Pokemon to choose from now, we can find a different Fire/Grass/Water to replace the starters. Seriously, we’ll be OK Gamefreak.
And if you’re worried about balance, why not try then Dark/Fighting/Psychic, three types that also have balance synergy. Gamefreak, just go ahead and try something new. We promise, it’s not as scary as it seems and you might just have some fun doing it.
And just a little baseless speculation before we move on. Maybe Sun and Moon is called what it is because they are two new types that could be featured as starters. Maybe, but probably not. Fully expect to have a Fire/Grass/Water starter.
For the Love of God Ditch IVs
This one is for the competitive crowd. Some people might like the additional challenge of getting that “perfect” Pokemon with the best possible stats. However, for many, getting the perfect Individual Values (IVs) on your Pokemon is a barrier to entry to the competitive scene.
Getting the right nature and building up Effort Values (EVs) are much more palatable. Although those two aspects of breeding battle-ready Pokemon can be a little time consuming to get right, it’s something that anyone can wrap their heads around. More importantly, it allows players to create a unique Pokemon that fits a build they have in mind. We’re certainly not suggesting to completely remove all of Pokemon’s strategy.
IVs, on the other hand, require a great deal of luck, constant trips to the daycare, and add nothing more than additional stat bonuses. Unlike natures and EVs, where there are times you’d want to mix things up for strategy, there is never a time where you wouldn’t want max IVs (well, almost). All it does is act as a hurdle that you must clear in order to be truly competitive.
And if you’re taking Pokemon seriously, it’s incredibly important that you get those stat bonuses right. For example, just having one less speed than your opponent can be the difference between attacking first and gaining the advantage, or being knocked out before even getting a chance. The influence of IVs is one reason why it’s easier to just play competitively on third-party websites (where you can just max out your IVs like it should be) instead of through the game cartridge.
Sometimes less is more, and for something so reliant on luck, and 6 IV Dittos, this is a feature that should be left behind.
Honestly, Just go Buck Wild Gamefreak
There are now over 700 pocket monsters, even without the inclusion of Sun and Moon. We have explored six generations of game worlds. At this point, just go buck wild Gamefreak, it’s fine. We’re all addicted, provided you stick to the basics of capturing, collecting, and battling Pokemon. There really isn’t anything you could do to turn us away.
For example, how many more generic fish Water type Pokemon do we need? Believe it or not, it’s not a law that every new Pokemon game needs a boring weak fish and a Normal/Flying bird. Get creative with the typings, designs, and hell even the world we explore, if that’s what it takes.
Just a reminder that Pokemon aren’t real. Just be as creative as possible and make sh!t up. Why not create a fire spewing leaf monster thing that has a Grass/Fire type. Giant Bug/Dragon type? Sure, go for it. Hell, that actually sounds pretty badass. The fine folks at Smogon have a list of some pretty awesome Pokemon ideas that they have been updating for years now, so it’s certainly not impossible to come up with striking, new ideas.
It’s understood that Gamefreak likes making Pokemon based off of everyday objects, and that’s nice and all, but it’s reaching a limit. There are keychain, garbage, and ice cream Pokemon, so how about we let the imagination run wild and come up with some unique ideas that draw from some other kind of inspiration.
Still, if we’re being honest, Gamefreak can (and will likely) employ none of these ideas, and we’re still gonna pump 100-plus hours into Pokemon Sun and Moon when it releases later this year.
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