New gimmick(s)

[Eitarou]

Please no. Not another 10 months of Pokemon/Trainer fusion theories. Not again.

 

[PinkIceFox]

Hehehehe that's my feelings on the topic.

For the love of all that is good, Gamefreak. Announce the gimmick as early as possible. Don't leave us here amongst the theories.

 

[Articfoxgamez]

Y'know sometimes Gamefreak not listening to the fans is a plus, we don't have to risk the crazy people resulting in the Pokemon/trainer fusion actually becoming a thing.

 

[blitzle stan]

Man as long as I don't fuse with my pokemon I'll be fine. I don't wanna do that. It was dumb in digimon and it'd be even more dumb here in pokemon. At least in digimon it made more sense. Using a fusion device on a trainer and a pokemon feels like something an evil team would do for their villainous plot. Creating super soldiers capable of wielding the power of pokemon to get whatever their leader desires.

Okay I absolutely love it in Digimon shows because it was very much a one tamer, one partner adventure and they’re digital so it all worked.

Pokémon is about teams. It would never make sense.

 

[Vulpixely]

So I’m thinking the gimmick will have something to do with stats. The 6 points of the crystal thingy in the Japanese logos match up with the stat hexagon that every Pokémon has. Maybe it maxes out a stat for a turn or something like aegislash with the stances. Who knows, but I feel like there’s a chance it could be something to do with it based on the shape of the crystal.

 

[Articfoxgamez]

Makes more sense then people saying it relates to the Type Circle thing because it has points... Despite the type circle having more points than the icon.

 

[Primal Dialga 4629]

Maybe, the new gimmick could be related to Stat boosting auras or related to types, we won't know until we get the next info.

 

[Poke Dragon]

No thank you on yet another battle mechanic. What else could they come up with anyways since Dynamaxing was essentially Mega Evolution and Z-Moves combined? Personally, battles against all 18-types Gym Leader style to progress during the story is what I hope for.

 

[blitzle stan]

So I’m thinking the gimmick will have something to do with stats. The 6 points of the crystal thingy in the Japanese logos match up with the stat hexagon that every Pokémon has. Maybe it maxes out a stat for a turn or something like aegislash with the stances. Who knows, but I feel like there’s a chance it could be something to do with it based on the shape of the crystal.

View attachment 156535

Oh that’s a really cool point! Six stats, six points to that crystal.

It being related to types is because it also looks like light shining out from a point, and the 18 types cover the whole light spectrum, etc. I can definitely see a temporary extra type being added to one Pokémon per battle, kind of like Dynamax if you could choose which Pokémon and when DURING the battle. Some Pokémon could even react to the crystal’s light and change forms, like mega and g-max.

The idea of every Pokémon being able to temporarily get a third type (with the player choosing WHICH type) can make for so many unique battle experiences that are hard to plan for and counter. It would be really fun for both players and spectators (thinking of competitive!).

 

[Kallyle]

I know I commented on this thread before with the type-thing everyone is guessing but I honestly think that whatever the new gimmick ends up being should tell us something about the way the way certain aspect of Pokémon in general work. For instance, I like the fact that Mega Evolution led to us learning about Infinity Energy: a type of energy made of Pokémon's life force that is responsible for evolution. It allowed for an existing concept to be fleshed out some more as an extension of it, leading to a vital piece of the puzzle for how Pokémon themselves work. Have we had anything like this for any of the other burst mechanics (battle gimmicks) since then?

• Z-Crystals (and Z-Moves) run on Z-Power, which we learn is practically the same thing as the Ultra Wormhole energy which Totem Pokémon were exposed to and the Ultra Beasts ended up adapting their bodies to store and handle. It also introduces us to the concept of Fallers, and the wormholes themselves reinforce the idea that traveling through space-time can mess with someone's memories. While it does tell us about specific phenomenon happening in those games and explains why Ultra Beasts in particular, Z-Power doesn't really tell us anything about Pokémon in general since the energy itself is ultimately a result of Necrozma's energy leaking out.
• Dynamax doesn't tell us anything about the Pokémon themselves, and the energy (Galar particles) that ultimately powers this phenomenon is not only region specific but also comes directly from the Legendary Pokémon known as Eternatus. While Gigantamax could have told us something about Pokémon considering that it's a subset of Dynamax that has unique effects on specific Pokémon, the Isle of Armor merely handwaves it through the use of Max Mushrooms which is exclusive to the Isle of Armor. This opens up a plot hole on how other areas in Galar obtain Gigantamax and why it only works on a specific set of Pokémon. Basically, Dynamax itself isn't even explained properly, nor does why the energy Eternatus radiates ends up affecting other Pokémon in the first place. It basically just exists because Game Freak said so.
• Mastering Moves & Agile/Strong Style: This comes close to Mega Evolution in regards to telling us something about Pokémon as a whole, though in a more subtle manner than the former mechanic. Considering wild Pokémon can master moves and use the styles alongside trained Pokémon during the colonization period of Hisui/Sinnoh, this suggests that the way Pokémon use moves is either very flexible or simply changed over time (though it's most likely both). The flexibility of how Pokémon can utilize their moves could technically be supported by the existence of Z-Moves and Max Moves as well, but this is the first time we observe this without much external influence (aside form the Seed of Mastery item, but that's an optional method of mastering moves anyways). This isn't really made out to be a huge deal in Legends: Arceus though, so we kind of have to infer this ourselves.

Basically, I don't want the newest battle mechanic (if there is one) to just boil down to "[insert burst mechanic/battle gimmick here] is possible due to [insert Legendary Pokémon here]" but rather be used that tell us something new about the titular creatures themselves; whether it be why Pokémon have types, how Pokémon stats function, or even something else entirely!