Historically, what has been your all time biggest gripe about the Pokemon games?

[Dark Knight]

I'm not talking specifically about the upcoming release, but really the entire series. The beloved franchise has so many outdated gameplay elements and quirks that takes them many generations to fix, if they ever get fixed at all. Basically, if you could fix or change one thing about the series for the better, what would be your pick?

My biggest gripe? That only final evolutions are viable for late game and competitive play. I know there's that one holdable item that lets lower and mid-tier have a higher potential/power boost, but if I recall correctly it isn't that great and is only useful on a few. There are so many awesome designs that aren't the final evolution of that line but the game gives you zero reasons to keep using the forms you like/want. I assume this isn't being addressed in Sword/Shield, either.

Let's not turn this into a thread about the grievances people are feeling about the new release specifically because there's tons of other threads for that discussion.

 

[Anth0ny]

unskippable dialogue and tutorials

became unbearable during the 3ds era

 

[Stef]

The "need" to buy different, almost identical games.

 

[DNAbro]

That innovations and good ideas in one game do not always make it to the next one.

 

[Lotus]

That innovations and good ideas in one game do not always make it to the next one.

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[Quinton]

The transformation of edgy, love-to-beat-em rivals into weaker-than-you afterschool specials

 

[Richietto]

That innovations and good ideas in one game do not always make it to the next one.

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Yup. I get not having contest and what not in every game and it being region specific but there has been so much shit that I wanted them to keep that they pushed as a "regional" thing and I hate the excuse.

 

[Unkindled]

Pokemon hasn't evolved to the potential it is capable of.

 

[Dr.Ifto]

While I know most people like the sameness between the games, I feel the series is seriously begging for a change-up. I thought it would get it once it got to a 3d world, but it appears the sameness is still there.

 

[Birdie]

I don't have an issue with a large amount of Pokemon but I wish they'd condense some of the various items and evolution/form change methods.

Maybe they have in Sword and Shield though since none of the leaks seem to address it yet...like if Rhydon is now a level up that'd be amazing.

 

[Jessie]

It has to be the handholding.

Gen 1 had the "coffee" guy who wouldn't let you pass until the game gave you a tutorial on how to catch a Pokémon. But otherwise it didn't tell you anything else. Stuff like Zapdos and Mewtwo were a total mystery.

Then you have Gen 7, where you can't go twenty steps without your rival showing up to heal your Pokémon and tell you where to go next.

 

[Cosmic Voyager]

The very annoying fact that some Pokemon are exclusive to certain versions (or the legendaries you can only get from special events). I get why they do it, but it kills me. Also, having to trade certain ones to make them evolve. I mean seriously?

 

[Ushojax]

Cutting good new features always immediately. Seasons, difficulty levels, DexNav, following Pokemon etc. All that stuff should have become standard.

 

[Sparks]

The sounds and how rigidly they stick with the same damn mechanics, I get the core fans are happy about that, but that would be the case for any game.

The sounds bug me the most, it's 2019 and things still sound very similar to the gameboy game. Not saying scrap all of it, but evolve it like Zelda has, have the essence of it still there but not like its from 1998.

 

[Jessie]

Also the lack of L = A in the virtual console rereleases.

 

[Cousin From Boston]

The one thing I don't like about Pokemon games is that they're almost too good.

 

[Skulldead]

Overall Easy difficulty. I'm suprise they never really push to make it harder because the main player get older and just better at pokemon game. But no they make game like nobody had never play a pokemon game....

 

[TDLink]

Biggest gripe is how slow the games are to change and evolve (which is ironic for a series about evolution). On top of that, when they do add some cool new features, they often take them away in the very next entry. So it's this constant two steps forward, one step back when most franchises take LEAPS forward with each new entry. It's really disappointing.

 

[Violet]

Fanbase

 

[NoKisum]

Less and less things to do in the post game. Also, cutting mini-games.

Cutting good new features always immediately. Seasons, difficulty levels, DexNav, following Pokemon etc. All that stuff should have become standard.

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Also this.

 

[Moltres006]

Probably the amount of threads that spawn in Era about it every single day.

Oh. ........And no Azumarill or Porygon2 is my biggest problem with sword and shield.

 

[painey]

The games became so easy that it's just playing a 40 hour let's play with no real payoffs

 

[Deleted member 17402]

EV/IVs not being something as simple as choosing where you want to allocate those points, but instead going through super training for EVs - which, granted, was an improvement, but that didn't always exist - or breeding ad nauseam for the perfect IVs.

Then Sun/Moon came along and the hand-holding and tutorials were dialed up to 11. These are the only mainline Pokemon games I've never beaten.

 

[srtrestre]

Lately too many cutscenes, a lot of them pointless, and triggered practically every other step.

This leads into my second pet peeve: since they are explaining everything all the time, it inevitably feels too handholdy to the point of being overbearing.

 

[Alric]

Final evolutions being humanoid ala digimon, and certain elements for Pokemon making no sense or being weak to ones that make no sense.

 

[Cenauru]

They throw the baby out with the bathwater every game, they're constantly trying to reinvent the wheel and keep on throwing out the good while keeping the bad.

 

[Deleted member 11008]

The transformation of edgy, love-to-beat-em rivals into weaker-than-you afterschool specials

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Say that to Hau and his Alola Raichu.

 

[Deleted member 10726]

Cutting good new features always immediately. Seasons, difficulty levels, DexNav, following Pokemon etc. All that stuff should have become standard.

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That innovations and good ideas in one game do not always make it to the next one.

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A thousand times this. They have some neat ideas and need to keep building on those instead of scrapping them for another gimmick. I legit forgot at this point that Gen 5 had seasons and I'm disappointed they never returned.

 

[udivision]

Pokemon hasn't evolved to the potential it is capable of.

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A great way to put it.

 

[Garlador]

I like Charizard.

I am so sick of new Charizard forms.

 

[BennyWhatever]

-Until this gen, they never had online PvE. Gen VI tried it with the Battle Maison, but it was only available via local play which infuriated the heck out of me.
-Even with legendary bans, PvP is always terrible because there are always like 25 pokemon and 1 oddball in every match. Out of 800 or whatever pokemon, seeing the same ones all the time is really unfun. I want my Sandslash to have its place, dammit!

 

[Linde]

the fact that they havent been able to create a cool competitive mode that rivals emeralds battle frontier in forever

 

[Zacmortar]

Trade Evolutions are garbage

 

[Mekanos]

The removal of postgame content and focus on streamlining the regions and game design since 3DS (the streamlining began with Black/White but it only got worse from there).

 

[Weebos]

The removal of post-game facilities like the Battle Frontier. We still get a Battle Tower, but it's not nearly as expansive.

Shout-out to Hard Mode in second place.

 

[WolfeTone]

Having to mash A over text boxes telling you which pocket of your bag items are being placed in. Zelda Skyward Sword got roasted for this, but it's way worse in Pokemon.

I also personally wish the games still used sprites for battles.

 

[Grapezard]

The best new features and "gimmicks" are taken away or compartmentalized between games. Now it's spread to the Pokedex itself, which is a whole other can of worms.

 

[Coolduderedux]

I hate the idea that Gamefreak makes and designs their games only with children in mind which makes them very easy for its adult fan base.

I alsofeel that Pokemon should evolve into a game as a service and be essentially an ongoing MMO

 

[InfinitePotat0]

The milking of gen 1. And that's coming from someone who's played every Pokémon game since red and blue. Even the spin offs

 

[Quinton]

Say that to Hau and his Alola Raichu.

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Oh, I just meant the added goof of the friendly rivals not even choosing the starter that's strong against the player's anymore. Hau's Alolan Raichu is indeed a tough boi.

 

[Glio]

The fanbase.

 

[Twister]

The fact that they keep adding features just to remove them again. I HATED that they removed Pokémon following you after HGSS (the best games in the series imo)

 

[Deleted member 24021]

Removed features.

 

[Axe]

The increasing lack of post-game content. I put so many hours into all the older games simply because it was worthwhile to do so. With all the recent games I play through the story and then never touch it again.

 

[RuudGullitsittingonashed]

The "need" to buy different, almost identical games.

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Ding! Ding! Ding!
What reason is there for Sword and Shield? Its not like there is a technical issue as to why they can't. Was this ever explained?

 

[ggdeku]

Lack of ambition in general game design, shrinking post games.

 

[Yiazmat]

Pokemon hasn't evolved to the potential it is capable of.

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This.

 

[Flame Lord]

• I haven't kept up with this for awhile, but the whole EV/IV stuff needs to be brought more in the forefront. Last time I tried getting into it I had to do it manually and it was so boring that I fell asleep during it. If they made that stuff easier to see, and easier to level up I'd be more likely to put time into it and play online which would a lot of value to make up for...

• Lack of post game content. I remember wanting Pokemon Emerald for years because of all the cool stuff they added, and from what I hear that seems to be the benchmark to this day. Considering how easy the main stuff is, not having something in the back end of any kind is pretty ridiculous, it makes it all feel like a waste, especially if you don't get into the online.

• Lastly I'd like for them to improve on the story and writing front. I can put up with a lot of shit if there's a decent story. People love to jump on you when you ask for a better story from properties like this because "It's for kids!", but being for kids doesn't mean you can't come up with a story that people care about. I remember starting up X/Y way back and thinking that the dialogue and everything just felt childish. I recently played through LG, SS, and EM and I never felt like that with any of those games. Again though, the last series I played all the way through was Black and White, so maybe things have gotten better on that front.

If they could improve on these fronts I'd probably be a lot more likely to put up with things like wiping out half of the pokedex.

 

[Bit_Reactor]

Hand holding and backtracking (in terms of mechanics).

The fact that they leave baby forms, mega evolution, and tons of other ideas to the wayside instead of trying to iterate makes them seem like what they are: Gimmicks. And knowing that instead of perfecting or adding more variety to existing systems with different types/abilities/etc we get things like "Pokemon but big" and "Rip off of Soultimate moves from Yokai Watch" I get wary of the series moving forward.

We have Elemental stones that are rarely used for evolution, we have Forms that are just now being really tapped into, and a ton of pokemon that could use new kits to be competitive but instead we ditch old mechanics for some reason. It's kinda irksome.

 

[Eppcetera]

I've always thought it was dirty how Nintendo releases two versions of each game and locking content so that it's impossible to get everything from one version.