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Main Series or Spinoff?

You mean main series staples like battling wild Pokemon and breeding that they already confirmed to be gone? Yeah, of course they won’t remove them! /s

Seriously though, what is hard to believe about the removal of held items and abilities in these games? It’s just continuing LGPE’s simplification philosophy.

Not battling wild Pokemon at least connects back to the whole Pokemon Go gimmick for the games. I did forget that breeding wasn't available though, but I thought that was due to focusing on just the first generation and not wanting to explain why we couldn't get baby Pokemon like Pichu. Plus, while breeding is a significant game mechanic too, I think it's used more often by players trying to get the best IVs for their Pokemon, so it's absence might not be a huge issue for the more casual players of the games.

I know that the games are trying to go for a more simplified version of a Pokemon game, but going back to pretty much the first generation aside from the new types, regional forms and Mega Pokemon just sounds weird to me. Granted, part of it might also be due to how I don't think that the games are that complicated and in that much need of simplification to attract new fans or Pokemon Go players into the main series, so the notion that they have to remove a lot of gameplay mechanics to get people interested in the Let's Go games already just sounds strange to me.
 
I don't know if it means anything to anyone else, but the 2019 VGC rulesets mention Z-Moves, Mega Stones, and Primals which indicates that USUM will still be the primary games used for that format. I haven't heard any announcements of LGPE being used. Obviously, GF considers the games as main series, but perhaps the conversation should be about whether the games are core or sub series. I think this announcement indicates sub series.

It is a known fact that Let's GO is an even more casual version of the main series games, with the intention of bringing GO players into the core series. With plenty of strategic elements of battling removed from Let's GO, why would they use it for official competitive battles?

Let's GO is just as much main series as our current one, but it is seperate. Assuming Let's GO will be turned into a series, Pokémon will have two different main series' of games, and the series that will be used for official tournaments will be the the traditional main series, with all competitive and strategic components intact.
 
I personally see it as more of a spin-off but I can see how fits as a main series too.

I think when we hear of main series, we instinctively think there can be only one type of main series game as that is how it's always been. It seems they are going in the direction that there will be two main series titles, the Let's Go games and then core RPG games like ORAS/SM Etc.

I personally wouldn't mind this direction as the Let's Go games look really good and the more quality Pokémon games the better.
 
How soon people forget that RPGs with the mechanics of the main series can be spin-offs too... Colosseum and XD are proof that can be the case. Let's Go is clearly a spin-off designed to ease people who enjoyed Go but haven't played a main series Pokemon game into trying out the series itself.
 
Yeah. But it has also become unclear whether Game Freak considers the terms "core series" and "main series" the same thing or not. At least in my eyes.

Has Game Freak ever used the term "core series" before?

Generation 8 and LGPE were called "core series" in two adjoining sentences:

View: https://mobile.twitter.com/eurogamer/status/1001642194271272961?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fs9e.github.io%2Fiframe%2Ftwitter.min.html%231001642194271272961
 
How soon people forget that RPGs with the mechanics of the main series can be spin-offs too... Colosseum and XD are proof that can be the case. Let's Go is clearly a spin-off designed to ease people who enjoyed Go but haven't played a main series Pokemon game into trying out the series itself.

Not quite. Colosseum and XD are side games, side games share a fair bit in common with the main series games, spin-offs are the ones that hardly share any mechanics or even the rough play style with a main series game. Ranger, Mystery Dungeon, etc are all classed as spin-offs, Colosseum and XD are side games, and Gens 1-7 including LGPE are main series games. There is no difference between core and main series games, they're interchangeable terms and have been used as such, the fact that this is still even a debate months after the announcement is mind boggling. We as fans don't get to classify the games, that's Gamefreak's and TPCi's jobs, and they've classed them as main series games.

Refer to this article for game classifications: Pokémon games - Bulbapedia, the community-driven Pokémon encyclopedia

As @PkmnTrainerV showed, the term core rpg has also been used to define LGPE, as well as main series titles in other forms of media, further proving that they are essentially interchangeable terms, the two are the same thing.
 
People (particularly those who dislike the game) seem to be classifying these games as spin-offs as an attempt to disavow their Main Series-ness and thus not 'taint' what it means to be part of the Main Series. In addition, they use the word 'spin-off' as a shield to believe that the franchise as a whole isn't moving in the direction of LGPE's less popular mechanics.

Which, hey, if I had the power to classify what was or wasn't a 'main series' game based on my personal tastes, Colo/XD would totally be main series while the entirety of Gen V would be a spin-off. But I don't get to make that call. None of the fans do. Like it or not, it seems LGPE is by all accounts main series. The sooner we as a fandom can accept that, the sooner we can collectively get ready for what comes next (whatever that may be.)
 
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Not quite. Colosseum and XD are side games, side games share a fair bit in common with the main series games, spin-offs are the ones that hardly share any mechanics or even the rough play style with a main series game. Ranger, Mystery Dungeon, etc are all classed as spin-offs, Colosseum and XD are side games, and Gens 1-7 including LGPE are main series games. There is no difference between core and main series games, they're interchangeable terms and have been used as such, the fact that this is still even a debate months after the announcement is mind boggling. We as fans don't get to classify the games, that's Gamefreak's and TPCi's jobs, and they've classed them as main series games.

Refer to this article for game classifications: Pokémon games - Bulbapedia, the community-driven Pokémon encyclopedia

As @PkmnTrainerV showed, the term core rpg has also been used to define LGPE, as well as main series titles in other forms of media, further proving that they are essentially interchangeable terms, the two are the same thing.

Should be noted that Colosseum/XD are spinoffs as well. The whole "side-games" is still a fanmade term. As for main games, has it been pointed out here that all of them, including LGPE, has "Pocket Monsters" in the title? Everything else doesn't.

Also TPC made pages to define what is what:

Main games: ゲームを探す(ゲーム ポケットモンスターシリーズ)

Spinoffs: ゲームを探す(そのほかのポケモンソフト)

Apps: アプリ
 
Should be noted that Colosseum/XD are spinoffs as well. The whole "side-games" is still a fanmade term. As for main games, has it been pointed out here that all of them, including LGPE, has "Pocket Monsters" in the title? Everything else doesn't.

Also TPC made pages to define what is what:

Main games: ゲームを探す(ゲーム ポケットモンスターシリーズ)

Spinoffs: ゲームを探す(そのほかのポケモンソフト)

Apps: アプリ

Those are some really neat links, I didn't know they had something official like that, I just wish the discussion would die, it's been beat to death that LGPE are in fact main series games. Anyone trying to argue otherwise is just a blinded hater at this point.
 
Please note: The thread is from 6 years ago.
Please take the age of this thread into consideration in writing your reply. Depending on what exactly you wanted to say, you may want to consider if it would be better to post a new thread instead.
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