Design your perfect game

[Puddle]

Imagine that you were the director of an upcoming Pokémon game, and had free reign to do absolutely anything. What would that game look like? Which aspects of the series would you change, and which would you keep the same? What kinds of Pokémon, characters, locations, storylines and features would you include? Let your imagination run wild!

I'd move the series back onto a more affordable handheld console, and make the price of the game the same as that of the DS and 3DS titles. I'd scrap the idea of paired versions and release a single game, but to keep the classic duality theme I'd put two legendaries on the box art.

Completion of the region's Pokédex would be made more accessible, with a smaller roster consisting of somewhere between 150 and 250 Pokemon. All Pokémon with trade evolutions would be retconned to evolve with a new method, and with the paired version system gone, it would now be possible for anyone to complete the Pokédex on their own. At certain points in your adventure, however, you'd be asked to choose between two or more Pokémon - not just the starters, but also fossils and a few special gift Pokemon. All the Pokémon you didn't choose, even the starters, would be available in the postgame, but would be rare, so there would still be an incentive to trade in order to obtain those Pokémon sooner or more easily.

There would be no Mythical Pokémon in the game, or at least, none that become unavailable after a certain amount of time has passed. I really liked the QR code system for obtaining Magearna, so I might try to incorporate something like that.

The story would be deep and thought-provoking, but there would be significantly less cutscenes than before (I'm of the opinion that a good story could be told with a fraction of the cutscenes that Gens 6, 7 and 8 have). There would be memorable characters who develop as you progress through the game, but most importantly, the story in this game would be all about you. The player character would seem more like true protagonist, rather than just an observer - I'm thinking perhaps they set out on a journey partly to uncover a secret about their own past.

Your decisions would influence the plot sometimes. For example, right at the beginning of the game, you'd make a decision which determines which of the two box legendaries you encounter at the story's climax (and the other one would appear in the postgame instead). The game would encourage the player to be introspective, to think about what kind of person they are and what kind of trainer they want to be.

There would be no villainous team in this game, but rather, a single antagonist or pair of antagonists.

I'd either bring back Mega Evolution and introduce new ones, or have no special battle mechanic at all. There'd be regional forms, because I think they're great fun and should become the series staple that Mega Evolution never was. The whole region would be like a Wild Area, with a fully controllable camera and huge expanses of wilderness to lose yourself in (I'm pretty sure the series is headed in this direction anyway). I'd merge Pokémon Camp with Pokemon Refresh, so you could play with all six of your Pokémon at once, but still pet them with the touch screen and feed them berries when they come up to you. EVs, IVs and the stat-altering effects of natures would be removed to streamline the process of getting Pokemon ready for battle against other players.

I'm not sure what I'd do about Dexit. Including every Pokémon would be the obvious answer, but I'm of the opinion that the ever-increasing number of Pokémon is beginning to cause other problems besides using up time and resources for the developers (legendaries being stripped of their mystique by being crammed into postgame areas, for example). All I know is that I'd spend an extra year developing the game to make it jam-packed full of content, so that there'd be no need to follow it up with an enhanced version or DLC later on.

 

[Poke Dragon]

For the perfect Pokemon game (my own version) that I would direct:

No version exclusive version legendaries whatsoever and you can catch every single legendary without trading or any other external source, plus you won't get locked out of a single one if you choose which one to catch first. A second Cosmog and Kubfu can be obtained later on in the game. Cosmoem now evolves based on time of day rather than the version that it's in, it evolves into Solgaleo during the day or into Lunala at night.

The game touches upon every single mystery that the franchise has ever introduced and will allow the player to solve every single one.

I would lower the stats of Primal Kyogre, Primal Groudon, Ultra Necrozma, Complete Zygarde, and Eternamax Eternatus and make all of them become forms that you can access outside of battle. Likewise, Zacian and Zamazenta's Crowned forms are now viewable outside of battle. Mega Rayquaza is also nerfed to some extent.

Black Kyurem can now fuse with Reshiram, likewise, White Kyurem can now fuse with Zekrom. Either way would result in the same Original Dragon form that Kyurem can become. The key item for this fusion is either the God Stone or a similar looking item.

Dialga and Palkia get their own Origin forms, with the form change being exactly like Giratina's own Origin form, requiring their respective orbs to change.

Arceus gets a new form by holding a plate that's the combination of all typings.

Nidorina and Nidoqueen can now breed, being in the same egg group as their male counterparts.

All battle mechanics are implemented into the game, but you cannot combine their effects, for example, you cannot Dynamax a Pokemon who has already Mega Evolved.

All mythical Pokemon can be caught without an event. Genesect now gains two for new forms, the high-speed form for when it becomes a flying saucer and a non-mechanical form which has no cannon attached. Likewise, Arceus gets a new, god-like form when it holds the new combined plate item, having its stats become the highest of any Pokemon in existence.

All trade evolutions are now evolved via leveling, those that don't have specific held items to evolve would need to hold a new type of mechanical held item called the "Trading Module".

Instead of 8 Gyms, there would be 18 Gyms, one for each type so the player is encouraged to catch more than 6 Pokemon or having coverage moves on all 6 during their main journey.

All of the previous starter Pokemon can be caught in the wild, but they are incredibly rare.

In the post-game, the player will be able to challenge the regional Pokemon professor to a battle. The player gets the unpicked starter Pokemon as a reward for winning against the professor. The player will also have a battle against the rival in which when won, the rival gives the player another member of the rival's starter Pokemon species.

Seviper and Zangoose are part of different egg groups, now unable to breed with each other, likewise, Heatmor and Durant remain in separate egg groups.

The game itself will only be a single version.

Online battles will have toggleable rules, like 3vs3, 6vs6, no Z-Moves, No Mega Evolutions, etc.

All side activities from previous games return, including the controversial Game Corner (everything to do with gambling is removed).

Pokemon Amie, Pokemon Refresh, and Pokemon Camp are now combined, giving the player so many more options of interaction with their Pokemon. The interaction box distance between larger Pokemon is now shrunk to allow for their interactions to happen while the feature is used in a Wild Area without pushing one another.

You will see other players' lead Pokemon following them.

You can change the original Poke Ball that you caught a Pokemon in, but the original Poke Ball is lost in the process.

Berries can be grown again, allowing players to farm them without too much random chance getting in the way. Mulches are used to speed up the growth of berry plants significantly. The Wiki Berry's description is changed from Sour to Dry, so when making curries, players won't get confused.

Outfits and pieces of clothing heavily referencing other Nintendo games are accessible for the player to use, like a Mario cap or Captain Falcon's helmet or a blue Inkling's Topknot tentacle style as a hat. A backpack can even have the same color scheme as the Hylian Shield or Bowser's shell.

 

[WyndonCalling]

Sword and Shield with an extra year in development.

 

[RK9]

Waiting for the inevitable mention of Pokemon Z or Gen 4 remakes.

 

[Esserise]

I feel like I'd actually be really flexible in terms of what a game under my jurisdiction could look like - there are a lot of aspects of Pokémon that I don't think I have enough of an investment in to really have an opinion about how *I* would handle them. Ultimately, I suspect I would simply insist on just a handful of key elements:

• Rather than basing the region off of any real-world location, I think I would prefer to try to create my own setting from scratch. I would enjoy the creative freedom of that.
• I think I would want there to be something of a 1980s atmosphere. I don't have much of an interest in the real-life mainstream cultural fixation with the '80s, but I've always been interested in seeing elements of the Pokémon world that draw aesthetics from the more recent past, rather than the ancient. That seems like a period that would still seem relatively "modern" without necessarily requiring the aesthetics of the literal present day.
• To this end, the story would involve the primary antagonist attempting to create a new Legendary Pokémon. Enough with the awakening of ancient deities and long-lost forgotten cryptids. I want something ugly and industrial. Something a bit steampunk. I'm not sure what exactly the result would be, but I'm sure I'd put like, Machinedramon on the mood board.
• Despite the older aesthetics of the setting and the narrative, I would prrrrobably take the opportunity to add my proposed Cyber type, if testing showed that could indeed add a useful element to the type chart balance.
• I would look into streamlining the breeding system, and would introduce hybridization, at least for a select range of species.
• I'd probably feel compelled to come up with a new regional battle mechanic. I'm not sure what exactly that'd be, though. What comes to my mind first, to sort of mirror the hybridization feature in breeding, is Combination Attacks. Kind of like Z-Moves, kind of like Linking moves in Mystery Dungeon, kind of like the whole Tag Team concept from the TCG - the loose notion in my head is that you could link two of your Pokémon and, at least once per battle (I'm not sure what the precise limitations would be), you can have one of those Pokémon draw power from the other in order to deliver a Combination Attack, which could do some interesting stuff with type combinations and could have useful effects. It's hard to say anything exact - these mechanics have always been complex features that likely go through a lot of testing and revision.
• I'd definitely want to retain some sort of cooperative feature like Max Raids. It definitely wouldn't be exactly like those, but I feel this is a vital area that the series has discovered, and it should continue to build upon it. Perhaps I could work Combination Attacks into this as well, to where you can link your Pokémon with one of your partners' Pokémon for an even stronger Combination Attack.
• I would absolutely 200% bring back Funfest Missions. I swear, they were just a little ahead of their time. As something that players across the world could partake in together, I feel like they would really shine.
• I would definitely like to carry on certain aspects of SwSh that I enjoyed the most, such as the open-world elements and post-game battle gauntlets that focus on resource management.
• In keeping with the '80s aesthetic, I think for the bonding feature I would rework it as Pokémon Clubs. In a certain urban section of the region, kind of like Black City, you can set up and design your own Club, which is kind of like a Super Secret Base, and kind of like Poké Pelago. You set the music, fill it with certain activities (probably tying into Funfest Missions), and can invite other players to your Club to hang out and interact with each others' Pokémon. There'd be lots of benefits for using this feature.
• In addition to Switch/Set, you could also choose to take on the game entirely in Single or Double Battles (perhaps barring some scripted exceptions to each).

 

[Neyo]

I would make a game where you have (logically constrained) choice. You can choose to either become an Elite 4 member, a Gym Leader, a Champion, or you can just retire post game.
There would be cut Pokémon, but if you have Home or Bank, you can bring them into the game. The cut Pokémon would be(for the most part), unpopular, single-stage Pokémon like Luvdisc or Volbeat.
The starters eventually evolve into fairly rare typings. For example, the water starter is a weed that turns into a carnivorous kelp plant that is a Water-Grass type. Megas make a return, too, as well as new ones.
The legends are a lot darker. One is a monster of the abyss, and the other is an interstellar being wandering the galaxy. You can actually choose which you want to catch, because the games already have so many differences between them, but it is recommended that you catch each in their respective games.
The games, Abyss and Void, have major differences: half of the gyms are different, and half of the Elite Four are different. Your rival varies between the games, too.
Lastly, you don’t have to choose between being a boy or a girl. You can be non-binary if you want to be.

There is probably more stuff, but this is all I could think of as of now.

 

[Esserise]

Lastly, you don’t have to choose between being a boy or a girl. You can be non-binary if you want to be.

This! I would absolutely make it a priority to expand the degree to which you can customize the player character template.

 

[Juliko]

Personally, I would add...

1. A feature where you can choose whether you want Pokemon to follow you around or not, rather than having it be mandated like HG/SS did. SwSh had following Pokemon limited to locations (DLC content).
2. Being able to cross dress (Like having a boy wear dresses and so on. Recent Harvest Moon games have done this).
3. Almost everything else Poke Dragon mentioned in their post, barring a few select things.
4. Bringing back the Exp Share being optional rather than mandated, getting rid of things like Exp Candies and PokeJobs.

 

[Silktree]

My "perfect" Pokemon game would be a Kanto/Johto sequel with lots of time travel and resurrected prototype Pokemon. But I created a thread about that years ago and it hasn't paid off yet, so I'd rather not repeat myself.

For the 25th anniversary, I'd like to see a very atypical, meta-like game set in the "real" world about playing Pokemon games. The setting would be a big city, probably Tokyo, where Pokemon show up as a result of the player character's involvement with the Pokemon world via playing old games (it would work like Stadium's Dodrio Mode without having to buy separate cartridges, and some games would probably be DLC). Basically, after you finish each game, you get to transfer your Pokemon and live alongside them in an urban setting where the majority of people are taken aback by their presence, and it's up to you to protect your friends even from people you used to trust. Think Digimon Tamers but more subdued in terms of shenanigans, as the overall message would be, well, that many people have loved Pokemon for 25 years (or a decent chunk of their lives).

Oh, and the Unown would play a big role as they're the most metaphysical Pokemon and are known to distort reality based on desires. There would be something different about battles in the "real" world, but I am not what it would be (I wouldn't use Go as a template).

 

[Esserise]

1. A feature where you can choose whether you want Pokemon to follow you around or not, rather than having it be mandated like HG/SS did. SwSh had following Pokemon limited to locations (DLC content).

SwSh lets you choose whether you want to activate it or not, as well. There's NPCs in the Master Dojo and one of the houses in Freezington (kids dressed as Pikachu and Eevee, respectively) who function as a toggle.

4. Bringing back the Exp Share being optional rather than mandated, getting rid of things like Exp Candies and PokeJobs.

Usually the argument for bringing back the optional Exp. Share emphasizes letting the players choose how they want to gain experience, which kind of seems at odds with wanting to take away other optional methods (power leveling with candies or passive leveling with Jobs) that other players may prefer.

 

[Minya_Nouvelle]

1. I would design the region based on Virginia and the south eastern portion of West Virginia. Most of it would be pretty rural with a couple large cities (like actually pretty big)

2. The 'starter trio pokemon' would not be chosen at the beginning of the game. Your first starter would be a non-traditional choice of pokemon and you'd be able to get the more traditional starter a little bit later in the game.

3. I would bring back rotation battles and make a facility similar to the battle chateau where they are the primary focus (as in; available early to mid game and scales up in levels as you progress). The facility would be a secret disco/music club. The music would react to certain things that happen in battle and the battle background would act as a visualizer. Everyone in the club has a DJ nickname or something silly. You can choose your nickname from words you unlock by completing certain achievements throughout other parts of the game (think like animal crossing passport titles combined with medals from B2W2). I have considered that it might be fun to make the battles "real time" but also like a rhythm game. I might have to think more on it.

4. I would implement a side quest where you explore a cave that has a randomly generated layout. Your goal is to reach the very depths of the cave. You would not be able to bring items with you, but you can find items along the way. It would basically be a little mystery dungeon-esque side game similar to the Battle Pyramid, but much longer and you find a rare pokemon at the end and get lots of treasure items and maybe other rewards that I can't really think of.

5. There would be a an antagonist with actual character development. I would like for the protagonist to get to know the antagonist pretty well and not just get backstory on them from random hidden dialogue.

6. Gyms or whatever similar thing I would decide to implement would be a post-game feature. I would want the main game to be story focused. The reason you are exploring the region is more focused on actual exploration and discovery and the lore of the region. I envision that you are doing jobs for the professor or something similar; discovering and exploring new areas; encountering rare Pokemon for the first time. I'd probably bring back and utilize Totem Battles once or twice. Maybe there would be a few one-off mini villains.

That's all I can really think of for now. I do have sort of an idea for the story, but I guess its not important to go into.

 

[Puddle]

In keeping with the '80s aesthetic, I think for the bonding feature I would rework it as Pokémon Clubs. In a certain urban section of the region, kind of like Black City, you can set up and design your own Club, which is kind of like a Super Secret Base, and kind of like Poké Pelago. You set the music, fill it with certain activities (probably tying into Funfest Missions), and can invite other players to your Club to hang out and interact with each others' Pokémon. There'd be lots of benefits for using this feature.

I would bring back rotation battles and make a facility similar to the battle chateau where they are the primary focus (as in; available early to mid game and scales up in levels as you progress). The facility would be a secret disco/music club. The music would react to certain things that happen in battle and the battle background would act as a visualizer. Everyone in the club has a DJ nickname or something silly. You can choose your nickname from words you unlock by completing certain achievements throughout other parts of the game (think like animal crossing passport titles combined with medals from B2W2). I have considered that it might be fun to make the battles "real time" but also like a rhythm game. I might have to think more on it.

I love the nightclub ideas. I'm a big fan of EDM (electronic dance music) and would love to see Pokemon draw some inspiration from that culture, with an area based on Ibiza or the Tomorrowland Festival, or perhaps a whole region based on the Netherlands, where there's a big EDM scene. That's probably the one thing Game Freak could do, besides basing a region on the UK, to make me completely crazy about a game.

I could imagine a DJ, like Diplo's character in Detective Pikachu, being a Gym Leader, perhaps a Normal specialist with two Loudred and an Exploud on his team (much like how Norman used two Vigoroth and a Slaking).

 

[Nicolas721]

• Open world, inspired by many Latin American countries. And it's an gigantic region that takes dozens of hours to explore, 1/3 of it is unlocked in the postgame.
• The region is also divided in districts and each one has their own capital with its own features and sidequests, which range from Contest to Pokeathlon to whatever you can think of.
• The main feature of the postgame is a gigantic city, which has access to all of the features of the other cities, its own Battle Frontier and important trainers' rematches. Also it has a forest which is a mix of the Wild Area and the Friend Safari, some of the Pokemon are locked but other change via events and passwords.
• Some cities and routes contain references to other regions (Kanto is ignored because ) in their design.
• The whole National Pokedex is available. And I don't mean it in a "Stop Dexit" way, but in a "Literally everyone can be caught" way. Legendaries aren't restricted to a single feature, they are integrated in the world in ways that make sense.
• No cheap animations.
• Gym leaders or their equivalent have very hard puzzles and you can replay them. Them and the Elite 4 are the only trainers in the game that have type specialties.
• Aether Foundation as the villains, this would be their home region. Perhaps it would be a prequel to Sun & Moon so we can see Mohn and Lusamine's parents. (And before anyone says "Then they would have no reason to be villains" I say "Let me dream!")
• You can play as other characters through special missions and get to know them better. For example, you go to Misty's house and if you press A in a picture, you'll play as her in an important moment of her life, and when you're done with the sidequest you return to the usual world.

 

[Galactic_V]

Ever since Gen 3, I believe, I've seen people asking for a game containing all regions, along with all gyms available for challenging. I'd personally ask for that.

 

[Daenerys]

Ever since Gen 3, I believe, I've seen people asking for a game containing all regions, along with all gyms available for challenging. I'd personally ask for that.

That seems impossible to achieve these days given how much data is used in the newer games just to fit one region per game. In order to fit all the regions, GF would have to scale everything down and then a lot of players would complain about the graphics downgrade.

 

[Boss1708]

My perfect Pokemon game would be a combination of Emerald and HG/SS: all the best content of both these games, combined.

 

[Lanstar]

My perfect game would have...

• Only one title, with all pokemon obtainable in it without requiring trading at all.
• A large, expansive open world built with exploration in mind.
• Starter pokemon with a neutral type circle, Like Fairy/Ice/Ghost
• A Pokedex of at least 500 Pokemon, but only 50 new ones.
• Double Battles for trainers by default, single battles vs. wild Pokemon.
• Shininess as solely a cosmetic that anyone can apply to a pokemon.
• HM's that are auto applied to the Pokemon in your party, but do not require learning attacks.
• The IV system completely dismantled - No more needing to hatch eggs for exclusive moves either.
• Following Pokemon as a given - similar to HGSS.
• Minigames galore throughout the region, similar to Super Training, Amie, and the Pokeathlon.
• The dex nav and online features from ORAS.
• A good plot involving a clash of two contrasting organizations, with each having very dubious ideologies. Something like in Emerald, but much, much deeper.
• Wild Pokemon scaling to the number of badges you have, and Trainer pokemon scaling to the levels of Pokemon you have.
• The later Gyms not based on typings, but on battle formats and special rules like Triple Battles, inverse battles, etc. These gyms would double as battle facilities with that format after you become champion.
• Something like an old-style "Master Sword" gaming curve, quite often used in older Zelda games. How it works: You get to explore the entire region and almost all the towns, but only 3-4 simple type-based Gyms are accessible throughout it at first. After you complete them, you enter another challenge that ranks you as a good Pokemon Trainer. Completing it will expand what you can find in the region substantially - and the difficulty rises quite a lot! The last 7 or so gyms are no slouches at all, and as they use different battle formats, they require much more strategy to beat. Then, beating the champion unlocks another layer of expansions - broadening the region's borders and size even more.
• The postgame unlocking a heavily enhanced version of the battle pyramid from Emerald, with various semi-randomized terrains (caves, waterways, forests, etc.)
• The full adventure actually sending your Pokemon to very high levels, like around the low-mid 90's.

There's probably a lot more I could add, but it's a start!

 

[Lanstar]

I suppose I'll add on to my list of features.

My perfect game would also have...

• A region with a mixed climate that isn't based on a real life area. Its culture would stand on it's own, and would be quite the melting pot of people migrating there from many existing regions in the franchise.
• Lots of clothing and customization options, of which are all accessible for any gender.
• Secret bases like in ORAS, but you can terraform the layouts, and there are way more spots in the open world to choose from. You can even save multiple base layouts in case there are differing terrains and locations you'd want to move to.
• Lots of diving spots in the open sea, with plenty of biodiversity within them - and the ability to make secret bases underwater.
• Only one primary rival in the game, with a very mysterious persona and a deep backstory that keeps you guessing.
• A much more balanced metagame, where well over half of all available fully evolved Pokemon are viable for competitive play.
• A complete overhaul of the movepools for each available pokemon - Primarily to combat moves that are just too universally distributed. To me, moves like Toxic, Double Team, Substitute and Swagger really shouldn't be learnable by nearly all Pokemon - And some Pokemon, such as Clefable, have way too large a movepool compared to other Pokemon.
• No labelled routes whatsoever - The whole landscape is a giant wild area that fluidly blends into the various towns and cities.
• The trainers you defeat sometimes mark the locations of a Pokemon they battled with on your map - So to make trickier ones easier to find.
• Daily changes in weather, terrains, trainers appearing, outbreaks, shop selection, various tasks, and even whole designs of certain areas and terrains. It's all designed to keep the game feeling fresh each time you come back to it!

At this rate, I may end up making a whole design document. x)

 

[Shib]

Gen 1 - 3 remakes for mobile...

...but here’s the twist...

All the artwork done in the style of Pokémon Smile!

 

[Morningstar]

Alright the idea a more general take on a concept I expressed before on this forum (both on the Gen9 speculation thread and the "if you make Gen 9" thread). It is a generalized list of choices made at the start of the game that would affect the experience, ranging from the mostly aesthetic such as the Seasons (which affects Deerling forms and weather)
to more explicit gameplay-based options.

The general gist of those choices would be...

1. Difficulty: Ala BW2 cards...minus the requirements to clear the game and version locking ofc.
2. Which gimmick would be available until the post-game (at which point theother oens are unlockable): Z-moves, Dynamaxing or mega Evolution
3. The Season you're campaign takes place in
4. a whether to have a time offset set to 12 hours (precendented by Sun/Moon) or not.
5. Less likely (moslty for thematic reasons in the former case) but still possible options for an offical Nuzlocke or Randomizer run

Would having these options be available from the start (and unchangeable once you set them) be an improvement to the games or no?