Future Pokémon Games Should Focus on Variants, Not New Creatures
Pokémon games are getting increasingly bloated as new species join the Pokédex with every new generation. It’s time for a different design direction.
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The Pokémon franchise has grown over the years, and not just in terms of sales or brand awareness. Every new generation of games brings a new Pokédex and introduces tons of new Pokémon to catch. However, as the series heads towards its ninth generation of main series games, the list of Pokémon is getting bloated. This may mean it’s time for The Pokémon Company to slow down when it comes to adding new Pokémon and instead shift focus to the existing ones already beloved by the fanbase — and it already has the perfect way to do just that.
Pokémon Sun and Moon introduced the concept of regional variants for some Generation I Pokémon like Sandshrew and Vulpix. Not only do they look different, but they also have different typing from their originals. This puts a cool spin on existing Pokémon while making the world feel more alive. While there have been other variants in spinoff titles and the anime, Alolan forms were a great way to revitalize classic designs. Sword and Shield took things a step further by introducing Galarian forms for Pokémon outside of Gen I, as well as new evolutions to region variants like Sirfetch’d and Cursola.
There are currently 898 Pokémon in the Pokédex with more on the way in Pokémon Legends: Arceus. Of them, only 27 have regional variants, which means there are far more independent species to track down, capture and raise. There are so many species now that they don’t even fit across two games anymore as evidenced by Pokémon Sword and Shield and its controversial decision to exclude many old creature from the games.
The sheer number of Pokémon also presents problems for some players. When there were just a couple of generations, it’s was fun to catch ’em all, but now it’s a daunting task. Plus, some fans feel that the monster designs have taken a dip in quality, pointing to inanimate object-based Pokémon like Trubbish and Klefki as evidence that the developers are running out of ideas. With that in mind, it seems like a better idea for the designers to go back to what is already there and craft new looks for existing Pokémon.
There are so many Pokémon the designers could work with, and it would likely make it easier for players to keep track of them. More Pokémon like Vivillion, which has 20 potential patterns based on the player’s real-world location, could encourage trading and collecting without making it a requirement to complete the Pokédex. All in all, doubling down on giving old Pokémon new forms could solve some issues players have with recent games while increasing the quality of Pokémon designs overall.
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