Pokemon’s Battle Gimmicks Shouldn’t Overwhelm Each Region’s Narrative

gamerant.com:

After a long wait, fans are just a month away from the release of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. The latest Scarlet and Violet trailer finally gave gamers an extended look at what awaits them in the Paldea region. The 15-minute showcase featured new Pokemon, features, settings, and another extended look at the region’s Terastallization ability.

For all of its well-deserved praise, the Pokemon franchise’s recent games have been divisive among fans. As one of the best-selling games of all time, Game Freak never has to worry about fans showing up on release day. However, it seems that the recent games have favored battle gimmicks over telling a good story set within the Pokemon universe.

Farigiraf's New Abilities Are a Game-Changer for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet

Game Freak has added new battle features in each Pokemon generation, but the newer ones have been one-offs that were abandoned in the next entry. The earliest ditched gimmick was Pokemon Black and White’s triple battles. While they added a new dynamic to the typical battle grind, they were left behind in the next generation.

Pokemon X and Y introduced Mega Evolution. With a Key Stone and your Pokemon’s Mega Stone, players could Mega Evolve one monster per battle, seeing them grow in both size and power. Mega Evolutions gave Game Freak the chance to put a fresh design on existing Pokemon, and could seriously swing battles in an instant. This gimmick also carried over into Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, adding a twist to their original entries.

After Mega Evolution came Z-Moves. The concept was similar to Mega Evolution but lowered the overall power of the gimmick after fans complained about the outsized impact of Mega Pokemon. Rather than enhancing one monster for