Highlights
- Despite the success of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, fans have voiced criticisms about the recent generations of Pokemon games.
- Pokemon's recent gimmick features have not captured the staying power of past innovations, leading to a more divided community.
- Mega Evolution had the potential to shine a spotlight on any capable Pokemon, but its flaws, such as limited availability and lack of balance, need to be addressed if it were to return in the future.
The ninth generation of Pokemon that started with the release of 2022's Pokemon Scarlet and Violet has been a prosperous one for Game Freak and Nintendo, but fans of the franchise who have been around since its early years have also voiced plenty of criticisms regarding the titles. Having sold over 20 million copies in less than a year from their launch, the success of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet is inarguable, but that hasn't stopped many outspoken players from being disappointed in areas where the games may have fallen short. One groundbreaking feature of the past, however, could reinvigorate the perception of Pokemon moving forward into the next generation.
The concept of mainline Pokemon titles available for a home console would have seemed like a dream to fans of the series during its original handheld days, but reception to the past two generations of Pokemon games has been less than unanimously positive. With even avid supporters of the franchise being taken aback by the cut Pokedex of Sword and Shield, Pokemon’s community has become more divided over the past few years. The Pokemon Company’s recent focus on endeavors like spin-off mobile apps and a revolving door of gimmick features has likely wrought incredible financial success across the experiences of millions of casual players, but the recent repeated formula hasn’t captured the staying power of past innovations.
Pokemon's Gimmicks Need More Lasting Impact
Pokemon has always had gimmicks, as some would even consider the Hidden Moves (HMs) used for traversal in the first generation as the original example. Complimenting the core battle and catching mechanics, features from the introduction of berries and held items in Pokemon Gold and Silver to the double battles in the subsequent Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire formed the identity of their respective titles while also forming the DNA of the series. HMs in particular may have become infamously disliked, but their long-term presence still undeniably helped to define the identity of Pokemon’s gameplay in their own way.
As Pokemon has stayed a massive franchise and one of Nintendo’s core pillars over the years, Game Freak has continued to innovate with the introduction of many more gimmicks. Diamond and Pearl may have modernized the series with online play and the Global Trade System, but those games also carried on the now discontinued Pokemon Contests. With the forgettable Poffins and Contest Conditions taking up focus then, it makes sense that future titles continued to experiment. The fifth generation’s introduction of features like rotational and triple battles would instead begin a trend of gimmicks that would not end up lasting between titles at all.
Despite the victories of Mega Evolution, even Pokemon X and Y had the all but forgotten Sky Battles fought with special Sky Trainers. With Sun and Moon then pushing Mega Pokemon into their post-game and instead focusing on Z-Moves, a trend of replacing the gimmick with a new iteration each generation truly began to form. The eighth generation’s Dynamax feature and ninth generation’s Terastal have shown that Game Freak has likely shifted the series’ gimmicks toward being more generally useful to any Pokemon throughout the journey, but these features haven’t matched the unity with Pokemon’s identity that Mega Evolution was built upon.
Mega Evolution's Near-Limitless Potential and Fundamental Flaws
The sixth generation may have changed the series forever with its transition into 3D graphics, but the desire for more of the core franchise concept of simply seeing Pokemon change into new and more powerful forms was satisfied in an unprecedented way by the introduction of Mega Evolution. Giving brand-new forms to 48 Pokemon following Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire's additions, Mega Evolution competitively changed the landscape of Pokemon for its singleplayer and multiplayer experiences alike.
From bringing attention to lesser known classic designs like Mawile and Kangaskhan to pushing the limits of the game with Mewtwo’s two forms and the infamous Mega Rayquaza, Mega Evolution had the potential to shine a spotlight on literally any capable Pokemon during its heyday. The features that followed may not have lasted, but have certainly continued to take inspiration from the influence of Pokemon X and Y's unique era.
While it may have had some of the greatest potential of any gimmick featured in Pokemon, Mega Evolution also turned out to be far from perfect in execution. The limitation of only 48 Megas being available out of over 700 Pokemon at the time further decreased the pool of competitively viable picks down to a predictable handful, something that future gimmick features seem to have been made to actively combat. Between the unique Gigantamax forms of Sword and Shield and regional variant Pokemon of the past few generations, the need for new transformations has arguably already been met anyway, only highlighting the flaws of Mega Evolution even further.
There is certainly a case to be made for leaving Mega Pokemon behind entirely, and they would likely need some significant updates to thrive if they ever were to return. Despite the obvious failings of the pigeonholed metagame that Mega Evolutions ended up establishing during their prominence, a nuanced approach in the next generation of Pokemon could remedy the problems that came with them. The competitive fatigue of Mega Pokemon may have been overbearing for some fans, but it could be considered a symptom of the greater lack of balance that has led many competitive Pokemon players to become dedicated to external, self-imposed rules that level the playing field.
If the roster of Mega Pokemon had continued to grow throughout the years following Pokemon X and Y, there would likely be an assortment of diverse and possibly even well-balanced Mega Evolutions available by now. If Game Freak can manage to balance an emphasis on continuing to give new Mega forms to older Pokemon with also providing an appropriate amount of similar attention to the newly introduced Pokemon of the next generation as well, some of the core problems with Mega Evolution could finally be addressed. With Pokemon's 10th generation likely still far off, however, rumors of unique Tera Forms in Scarlet and Violet's DLC have some players anticipating the next best alternative for the time being.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are out now for the Nintendo Switch.