Pokemon Sun and Moon should be arriving by the end of this year and after playing a lot of Pokemon last year, I have a lot of opinions on what I would like to see in this coming generation of Pokemon.
Firstly, this request I highly doubt will happen, but I definitely want all Pokemon to be able to be caught in the game. After playing the hacked version of Pokemon Soul Silver and Black and Black 2 where this is possible, going back to a very limited in game wild list would be disappointing, but expected. I know this won't happen because the major selling point for having two versions of Pokemon is to either get customers to buy two copies or to convince a friend to get the opposite version so they can trade with one another. While I'm on the subject of trading, let's get rid of trade-triggered evolution. Having to catch a Pokemon, trade it to a player, and trade it back is a really convoluted way of adding another entry to your Pokedex and not to mention the other player could just take your Machamp and run, it's even sillier when some Pokemon require a held item in addition to the trade. Aside from the trade element, Pokemon from past gens can be sparse sometimes and being a Hypno and Hitmonlee fan, it would be disappointing if the only way I could get these two Pokemon were from trading and I also dislike real life events for getting mythical Pokemon. In sum, a 750+ wild list would be stellar.
The second most important thing for me would be trainer customization. Since your playable character is silent and devoid of personality I feel you should be able to customize him or her at least. As a black man, I find people that look like me are sparse in games anyway, so it would be nice if I can create one in the game and if customization comes back having some choice in afro-textured hairstyles is a must. There are far too many games where all you get is an afro and some cornrows. This probably won't happen either, but it would be nice to play with an adult trainer for a change. It would be funny if I could make my trainer look that Rihanna pic.
A third thing that strikes me being true in this day and age is that you can still only have one save file at a time. We're in 2016 right now. I figured back in the GameBoy days it was hardware limitation, but the hardware has gotten more powerful with each generation, that I just don't understand why players are still limited to one save file per cartridge. It would be a blessing Game Freak.
I mentioned earlier that Hypno is one of my favorite Pokemon. One thing that has bugged me about it and Drowzee is that they're incapable of learning Dream Eater without a TM when Drowzee's Pokedex entry emphasizes its dream eating powers. It doesn't make sense that it can't learn it naturally and it makes it frustrating in games like Silver and Black where you can't get the TM until after you have beaten the game. In overall terms of Pokemon balance, I can't speak much when it comes to certain Pokemon as I never dabbled into playing competitively, online or at tournaments, but I would like to see some type effectiveness change. Ice-Types need serious buffs. They have a lot of weaknesses with little strengths. Currently the only type that it's resistant to is itself. It should at minimum be resistant to Water, but I would also throw Bugs in because insects seem to be non-existent when there is snow and ice on the ground and I might remove the rock weakness as well. Psychic types are just a bit out of balance. They have three weaknesses, two resistances (one being itself), and non-effective against one type. I would personally get rid of Bug as a weakness. It doesn't make sense to me in the first place. The last two types I think should be worked around a little are Fairies and Steels. Fairy Pokemon were created to give a new weakness to dragons, but since the Steel type was already resistant to Dragon, it should've just been changed to be super effective to Dragon types and a dragon falling dead to a steel sword has more precedence than fairies killing dragons in fiction. Also, who throws rocks at a fire? Remove that weakness.
Next, but not last I would just like some good designs for this gen. I am a little surprised that some common animals and bugs still don't have Pokemon representations. A cockroach Pokemon seems like a no-brainer and it could be a Bug/Dark type, a combination that has yet to be represented. They should try and fit in as many unrepresented type combinations as possible. A Fire/Ice type would be particular interesting design-wise.
My last wish is of lesser importance to me, but it would be cool if we had a more difficult game or with a choice for difficulty options. I can't comment on the current state of game difficulty as I have been playing a ton of Pokemon hacks where the difficulty is vastly modified, but if the majority of the base games are a breeze, then I would like to see something like the hack versions, but probably toned down a smidge with difficulty options to make it that hard. The AI in the hacks are well prepared. They don't only use moves from their Pokemon's type, but often have a move or two to take out a Pokemon that would threaten its weakness. Gym Leaders would often use U-Turn or Volt Switch to switch out to a Pokemon that would either make your attack ineffective or a type that your current Pokemon is weak to. If the new game ends up being easy, I wouldn't be that disappointed as I could battle trainers online for challenge.
That's it for my wants for Pokemon Sun and Moon. What are you looking forward to in the game? Let me know in the comments below.
