10 Amazing Features That Every Pokemon Game Should Have

Game Freak are renowned for introducing revolutionary features only to proceed to toss them aside and take a step back when it comes to releasing the next installment, claiming that unique features make a game worth revisiting. There’s an argument to be made that some of these features should absolutely remain in future games and these are just a few that I’d like to see the most!

1. Shadow Pokemon

Introduced in Genius Sonority’s 2003 title Pokemon Colosseum, Shadow Pokemon are corrupted versions of the monsters with their hearts closed off that need to be purified by the player. In their original iteration they only knew one move, Shadow Rush, which did high neutral damage to every Pokemon with the cost of recoil damage. This was later expanded in Pokemon: XD with a plethora of shadow moves being added such as weather inducing and status afflicting moves which fleshed out the shadow concept into something unseen in the main games to this day. Shadow Pokemon were recently added to Pokemon GO and has shown to be a great success within the GO community. Seeing this, it’s not out of the question for this feature to return in an evil scheme in a future game, especially now that XD’s art director and Shadow Lugia’s creator James Turner is now the lead art director for Sword and Shield.

Shadow Lugia with its unique form in Gale of Darkness

2. Varied Battle Facilities

Introduced in Crystal, extra battle facilities for post game content is nothing new to the series but it hit its renaissance in Generation 3 with Emeralds Battle Frontier and Generation 5’s Pokemon World Tournament. Battle Facilities are still in modern Pokemon games but as of X and Y, they have been solely Battle Tower styled buildings with endless battles in different formats rather than the gimmick and complexity of what the Battle Frontier used to consist of. We need more variety to stop us getting burnt out on endless no-thrills battles.

Emerald’s battle frontier is the most unique facility to date

3. Difficulty Settings

This is a unique concept only attempted once by Game Freak in a very convoluted way. Difficulty settings existed within Black and White 2 but were locked behind clearing the game and the key system. What this meant was if you wanted to change your difficulty to easy or challenge mode, you had to first receive the key from another player who had cleared Black and White 2 via infrared and then toggle that mode, as starting a new game erased the keys you had earned too. Challenge mode entailed of having higher levelled Pokemon, better stats, different held items and movesets, an improved AI and the major characters having an extra party member on their teams. Having this as an option in the new games from the beginning would alleviate most players concerns that the games have gotten too easy.

Black and White 2 Introduced multiple difficulty options

4. DexNav

The Habitat List was also introduced in Black and White 2 (it seems like most of the best features did in hindsight) and then greatly expanded on in the Hoenn remakes into the DexNav system. This system basically lists all of the Pokemon you can find on any given route and grade you accordingly so you can keep track of what you need to catch and where they live with relative ease. In addition to this, the DexNav introduced a system where you could chain Pokemon to get higher IVs, egg moves, hidden abilities and even increased shiny odds if you were patient enough, making it the ultimate system to find rare Pokemon with the best abilities.

Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire expanded on Black and White 2’s Habitat List

5. Following Pokemon

Although technically introduced in Yellow with Pikachu, Heart Gold and Soul Silver is where this series saw its full potential with every Pokemon in the game being able to follow you at any time, giving you a close and personal bond with your team members and adding to the overall immersion. This feature was brought back in Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee and recreated beautifully with every Pokemon having unique animations whilst following. Even giving the ability to ride select Pokemon as a means of faster travel through the region was added. This was brought back in the Isle of Armour expansion for Sword and Shield but it feels quite undercooked compared to how Let’s Go managed to implement the feature, especially as you can only do it on the island.

Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee greatly expanded on the following Pokemon concept

6. Mega Evolution

One of the best gimmick features to be added in recent memory, Mega Evolution was the leading element in Generation 6 stories and competitive scene. A temporary transformation, 48 Pokemon were capable of this temporary transformation making usually nonviable choices see the spotlight and create new team possibilities. Although a little unbalanced at first, Mega Evolution was adjusted and correctly balanced in Generation 7 but is absurdly absent from Generation 8. (likely to not take the attention from the new Dynamax feature) The return of this feature would make long time fans very happy and allow weaker Pokemon with the trait to return to their former glory!

Mega Evolution is a powerful temporary transformation

7. Rematching Gym Leaders

This is as simple as it sounds. In every game the post game should allow you to battle the regions gym leaders with beefier teams and more intelligent AI. This feature almost always seems reserved to remakes or in some rare cases definitive versions like Platinum but it should seriously be a series staple at this point.

Heart Gold and Soul Silver allowed you to call up all 16 gym leaders for rematches in the fighting dojo

8. Seasons

Shockingly only included in the Generation 5 games, seasons are an aesthetic change to the games overworld that happen once a month. Changing the spawn rates of certain Pokemon and causing snow/leaves to pile up in other months, this also allows you to access secret areas for cool rewards. This change in weather had an affect on Deerling and Sawsbuck which underwent a transformation depending on the season which could have opened the floodgates to seasonal transformations. But alas, we haven’t seen this feature since 2012 and with the 3D engine it’s unlikely we’ll see this for a long time again.

Changing Seasons brought new discoveries and a different aesthetic depending on the month you played

9. In Game Events

When Mythical events were introduced, you were usually given an item such as a boat ticket or a letter which you then had to take to a certain place or ride a boat to travel to the Pokemon. Then you had to complete a few battles or complete a puzzle, sometimes both, to then encounter and catch the mythical Pokemon. In Generation 6 they did away with this in favour of just giving you the Pokemon at a Pokemon Center, and if you were lucky some flavour text. Make us work for our mythicals, Game Freak!

Mystery Gift Events used to require you to complete a small quest and catch the Pokemon

10. Player Search System

X and Y had their flaws, but their online communication system was not one of them. They did away from union rooms and colosseums and introduced a seamless local and online system on the bottom screen where you were never more than 3 taps away from a trade or a battle. They took a huge step back with the festival plaza and the Y-Comm in Sword and Shield uses finnicky codes rather than a friend list which still doesn’t hit the potential that the PSS had. Don’t fix what isn’t broken and don’t pull another Festival Plaza on us please!

The PSS is the most intuitive multiplayer menu in the series to date

And these are my picks for the 10 features every Pokemon game should try to include. Do you agree with my choices? What features would you love to see come back consistently? Let me know in the comments!

Video game completionist and 3D platformer connoisseur, Riley is a fan of the whimsical frenzy of bright and colourful characters that blessed us in the late 90's. Their favourite game's are Spyro, Persona 5 and Super Mario Sunshine.

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