The future of Pokémon is currently a mystery, but the next steps taken by the franchise may change how Pokémon is for the rest of its career.
Like many of Nintendo’s franchises for Nintendo, Pokémon has long been eliminating new mainline and spinoff titles. Although many older games are considered classic by classic fans of the series, newer titles have been examined much more closely.
It’s easy to argue that the criticism of the latest mainline Pokémon titles, Pokémon Sword and Pokémon shield, is justified. After all, these games were some of the most expensive main lines Pokémon games for sale with many players finding their adventures full of bugs, errors and some questionable game design choices. Many have also found the story to be duller compared to previous titles, and all this despite the fact that it is a generation that is generally well received.
Click the button below to start this article in a quick view.
Fans also did not like the expansion content that is usually added with a definite version of the games like Pokemon Platinum was instead locked behind two expensive pieces of DLC. Despite the amount of disappointment this Pokémon company offers, the good sales of these games and their DLC can mean bad things for future Pokémon titles if they are continued. However, this can only really be known if the ninth generation Pokémon is released.
National Pokedex Permanently Retired
One of the biggest controversies with Pokémon Sword and Shield was the removal of the national Pokedex. This meant that there were many Pokémon that simply could never be found or captured Pokémon Sword and Pokémon shield with them is also forbidden to be transmitted via via Pokémon House.
There have been some updates that come with the DLC releases for Sword and Shield which older Pokémon transmitted, there were still many left behind. With Junichi Masuda responding to these complaints, it is very possible Pokémon House can stand as an eternal home for many Pokémon raised by players since the third year Pokémon generation. The apparent reason for the lack of national Pokedex is to force players to get to know the new Pokémon and get close to them, but many Pokémon games have the national Pokedex as a late feature. This means that players will be able to enjoy the main game with their new Pokémon and bring their old party after the main goal is completed.
If the national Pokedex does not return Pokémon‘s ninth generation, it’s likely that players will never see every Pokémon in one game ever again. This is at least until Pokémon GO pick the most important games in the amount of Pokémon implemented. With some less popular Pokémon, it can also mean that they can be retired as and never used in a main game again.
Mega Evolution and Z-Moves will never come back
There are a lot of Pokémon fans who agree that the two best parts of generation six were the fairy type and Mega Evolution. While Mega Evolution has not been used as much in generation seven Pokémon Son and Pokémon Maan due to the new feature of Z-moves, Mega Evolution was still made as an option for players who unlocked it. However, both of these new combat options that changed Pokémon battles were made completely unavailable in Pokémon Sword and Pokémon shield.
This would not be the first time that a combat mechanic has retired in Pokémon, such as triple battles and rotational battles introduced in generation five. However, many competitive and comfortable players were very fond of Mega Evolution and Z-moves. It was clear that Galar’s dynamics were the substitute for these mechanics, but many felt that this new mechanic was inferior to the mechanics that were no longer available.
In spite of Pokémon GO to fully embrace Mega Evolution, the possible failure of it to be implemented in the generation of nine games could mean its end and Z-moves for the Pokémon franchise. This means that the interesting new shapes and information behind these special shapes and capabilities are likely to be forgotten and may never be seen on the Nintendo Switch.
Content locked behind DLC
It used to be a tradition for Pokémon games are released in pairs with a separate third game that eventually appears with a more polished experience along with more content that players can experience. Although this tradition has long been broken, Pokémon Sword and Shield instead, DLC must be paid separately from the main game. The content of this DLC contains more Pokémon, more characters and more story that many players feel they should have landed in the base game instead.
The Isle of Armor and Crown Tundra DLC seem to have sold quite well Pokémon Sword and Shield‘s already impressive sales. This can lead to an echo with the release of PokémonThe ninth generation with content previously available in base games is rather reserved for future DLC, which may cause full Pokémon experiences to become more and more expensive. It may even be possible that entire features like Mega Evolution and the national Pokedex that players want back may be locked up behind this paid DLC. Pokémon fans who still buy the mainline games will probably buy this DLC to get any deal with their old Pokémon experience for the Nintendo Switch, but it’s not exactly consumer friendly.
Buggy initial releases are the norm
When Sword and Shield released, players found they were loaded with bugs and errors that were easy to execute and repeat, which also applies to the releases of the Isle of Armor and Crown Tundra DLC expansions. While many were eventually pasted, it did not give a very good light on the games and their DLC. If this attitude is continued when the ninth generation comes out, every generation thereafter will be an absolute mess when it is released. Since there are players who for whatever reason cannot connect their switch on the internet, there will also be many people will not get the necessary stickers to make the game work as intended.
While stickers are expected in the modern day of the game, clear bugs and errors must be corrected before a game is released. Even in 2021, players will find more and more mistakes Pokémon Sword and Pokémon shield which makes a bad impression. It will be a pity to see that this is the norm for the rest of Pokémonlife expectancy.
Pokémon Sword and Shield is now available for Switch.
About the author