The almighty 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Pokémon series needs no introduction. Since established its beloved formula, the original critter-catcher has gone on to achieve world domination. From the games themselves to the anime, the merchandise, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:the trading card game and beyond, it seems there’s absolutely nothing Pokémon can’t make a success out of.

RELATED: 5 Reasons The Next Pokémon Game S🐼hould Have The National Dex (ꦇ& 5 Reasons It Shouldn’t)

However, this isn’t to say that the series in untouchable. 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Pokémon Sword & Shield attracted a lot of controversy with the cuts to the National Pokédex, while the series has long been criticised for resting on its laurels and playing things too safely. Here are some reasons why Pokémon needs to change, along ꦿwith some ꦕways these things could be achieved.

10 ꦰ NEED TO CHAN▨GE: TemTem Represents Real Competition

Of course, it’s far too early to consider whether 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:TemTem will become a phenomenon in its own right. It’s also more than a shade far-fetched to suggest that it’ll snag Pokémon’s crown right from under Pikachu’s furry ꦿnose. One thing we can say for sure, though, is that the game has attracted a heck of a🦋 lot of attention this early in its life.

Previously, Pokémon had precious little to worry about, up there on its pedestal. As its shortcomings are being highlighted more and more and other genre entries beꦺcome increasingly prominent, however, G𝄹ame Freak may need to watch their backs.

9 WAY THEY SHOULD CHAN🦩GE: Expand 🍨Into MMORPG Space

How long have Pokémon fans been ཧcrying out for the series to expand into the MMORPG space? About🐼 as long as MMORPGs have existed, that’s how long. With the idea of trading and battling rival trainers being so central to the concept (since the days of chunky, awkward Game Boy Link Cables), it’s a natural fit, after all.

Nintendo and Game Freak aren’t exactly at the pinnacle of online gaming, though. Going forward, the franchise is going to need to come to grips with this, as it’s set to be one of the main draws of TemTem.

8 NEED TO CHANGE: Other RPGs Are Becomꦇing Increasingly Ambiti𒈔ous

Now, Pokémon isn’t the most involved and lengthy RPG series around. It isn’t supposed to be, granted, but the fact remains: the genre has been steadily expanding in size and scope since Pokémon began.

RELATED: Pokémon: 5 Ways Sword & Shield Moves The Franchise Forward (& 5 Wꦚhy It’s Stuck In The Past)

Open-world RPGs are bringing us incredible, ambitious worlds we could scarcely have imagined a decade or so ago. As this trend continues (just imagine what the next generation of consoles and gaming PCs will have to offer in this area), the Pokémon series is in danger of being left behind, considered a quaint relic🌳 of the past.

7 WAY THEY SHO🐻ULD CHANGE: Take The Wild Area Concept And Run With It ꦆ

Sword & Shield weren’t exactly revolutionary, but they went a fair way towards expanding the scope of the franchise. Most importantly, the Wild Area was introduced, a great, expansive location that gave players a taste of what an open-world Pokémon title could be.

T🐬he camping mechanics are a little rudimentary for sure, but this is the sort of thing fans have wanted for a very long time. The Wild Area provides a solid foundation to build upon in the future.

6 🌺 NEED TO CHANGE: The Story And General Formula Is J𒊎ust Too Repetitive

For many Pokémon players, the main story itself is just a route to the meat of the game: competitive⛄ play. By progressing through the story, players unlock the facilities, TMs and such that they need to breed and prepare their own teams for serious battles, which is sometimes the only incentive to do so in the first place.

After all, no one is here for the complex and surprising plotting, are they? Even the staunchest fans have to admit that the whole "journey around the region while dealing with the shenanigans of an Evil Team™" thing is ཧmore than a littl💫e played out at this point.

5 WAY THEY SHOULD CHANGE: Tweak Th🦂e Formula

In this sense, 𝓰Game Freak are stuck in a no-win scenario. Long-term 👍franchise fans hate change just as much as they hate developers playing safe, so what are they to do?

An approach similar to that of Pokémon Sun & Moon may be the answer. Generation VII didn’t rock the boat a huge amount, but the Island Challenge and trials system felt a little fresh. Other subtle quality of life improvements from Sun and Moon, such as dispensing with HMs in favor of the Ride Pager, brought something new without compromising what every Pokémon is and should be.

4 💞 NEED TO CHANGE: Too Many Silly Battle Gimmicks ⛄

While each new Pokémon release doesn’t really change very much, they do need an interesting hook to keep players engaged. In recent generations, we’ve seen the addition of Mega Evolutions, Z🦄-Moves and the Dynamax/Gigantamax mechanic, each adding a unique wrinkle to the familiar P𓄧okémon combat.

RELATED: Pokémon: 5 Reasons Why Dynamaxing Is Better Than Mega Evolutions (& 5 Reasoꦓns Why Mega Evolutions Are Better)

The issue is, each of these factors have proven🦩 controversi꧅al. Do they really add to the combat, or are they mere gimmicks for the sake of adding something new? There’s no real consensus on that, but the fact that there’s such a debate in the first place speaks for itself.

3 WAY T💎HEY SHOULD CHANGE: Stick With (And Improve) The Core Combat Mec🌄hanics

We don’t know whether Dynamaxing/Gigantamaxing wil🌳l return to the series after Sword & Shield, or even whether we want it to. We do know that Mega Evolutions and Z-Moves have vanished (at least for now), leaving us to won🐎der whether these sorts of mech🦩anics are really necessary in the first place.

They add an undeniable wow factor to Pokémon battles (which aren’t just about competitive play, after all). For the competitive crowd, though, maybe that isn’t necessary. A lot of serious players would surely be happier with all of this stripped away (perhaps the RNG-heavy elements toned down too) and th❀e move animations being made more dynamic.

2 💎💖 NEED TO CHANGE: Excessive Hand-Holding

Speaking of competitive players and newer/younger/less serious players, this is another hot-button topic that the community often debates. It’s no secret that the Pokémon games are super, super ꦓaccessible, but sometimes𒆙, they try a little too hard.

If anyone remembers Hau stopping the player to pass on some ‘useful’ tutorial tidbit or other, everyone will probably agree that the handholding in these games can be just a little too severe at times. Long-time fans really don’t appreciate being taught how to catch a Pokémon for the 85th time.

1 WAY THEY SHOULD CHANGE: Keeping Thiওngs Optional And Sꦇkippable

If Pokémon will have a genuine rival to compete against in the future, it’ll need to keep its fans ons🌳ide. At the same time, new players are the lifeblood of the fandom and need to be cಞatered to. Some haven’t ever caught a Pokémon before, after all.

A tidy solution to this issue, then, wꦺould be offering all the in-game tutorials and help that a new/younger player could want, while allowing old hands to opt out. It’s a bit of a balancing act, but it could be important to the future of the series to get it right.

NEXT: 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Pokémon: Every Rival, Ranked