As in any standard Pokemon game, collecting Legendary creature has always been a major goal for fans of Pokemon GO. Through the Raid and Candy systems, collecting and training Legendary Pokemon is entirely different from most other games, but the challenge of capturing these creatures means they're still worthy objectives. However, Legendary Pokemon have some notable restrictions that arguably make them less useful than pseudo-Legendaries like Metagross. In order to counteract this, Niantic may want to consider converting certain Pokemon GO landmarks into a special location catered towards Legendary Pokemon, which would reward players for putting the time into catching them.

For a game based around real-world exploration, Pokemon GO is surprisingly short on landmark types. PokeStops and Pokemon Gyms litter populated areas, but aside from these, there aren't many kinds of in-game locations to discover. In the mainline Pokemon franchise, Legendary Pokemon have a long history of relationships with special locations, so they seem like the perfect way to diversify the map of Pokemon GO. In the process, Legendary Pokemon could become significantly more powerful. While they have their uses in PvP and Raid Battles, Legendary Pokemon deserve to shine in Gym defense much like their more common Pokemon peers.

RELATED: Every Franchise Getting 'Pokemon GO Clones' From Niantic

Legendary Pokemon Deserve a Pedestal

Pokemon GO Legendary trio

At the moment, Legendary and Mythical Pokemon can't be used in Gyms. This is likely because maxed-out Legendaries and Mythicals are bound to be far more powerful than normal Pokemon, so they would make Gyms much harder to contest. However, this also means players can't use Legendaries and Mythicals in one of the most important functions of the game. Not only are Gyms the free source of PokeCoins, but they're a great way for fans to show off their most honed Pokemon. These creatures are much harder to show off when they can only be glimpsed in PvP or in the background of Raids.

This is where a new landmark could help Pokemon GO. Niantic could consider introducing a new Gym-like landmark called something like a Shrine, Lair, or Dungeon, taking inspiration from the many Pokemon landmarks where Legendaries and Mythicals hide, like Cerulean Cave or the Spear Pillar. These Shrines could exclusively accept Legendary or Mythical Pokemon as defenders, stacking up to three or four, offering a demanding new type of Gym-like battle while giving these rarer Pokemon the attention they deserve. To amp up the challenge and showcase lore, Niantic could provide a stat boost and unique aesthetic to Shrines guarded by Legendary or Mythical Pokemon families, such as Regice, Regirock, and Registeel working together.

A new Gym-like landmark wouldn't be particularly hard to integrate. Niantic sometimes converts PokeStops into Gyms already, so it could survey its current list of PokeStops and settle on a group to upgrade into a new Legendary-themed location. Potential benefits for players are clear too. While this new location might not copy PokeCoin generation from Gyms, it could provide Pokemon GO players with bonus Candy for Legendary Pokemon. Legendaries' Candy is pretty hard to generate aside from extensive use of Rare Candy, so a new landmark could give fans more flexibility.

Many updates to Pokemon GO add new Pokemon such as Cosmog and Mareanie, but few of them focus on reworking the game's landmarks. Niantic's relatively recent update to PokeStop levels is at least a modest sign that the studio is interested in keeping its landmarks fresh and interesting. However, something entirely new might be what the game really needs. As exciting as it is to have Cosmog's evolution line join the game, these creatures would be much more compelling to train if they had a special landmark to make them more useful. Maybe a future Pokemon GO season will put a renewed emphasis on Legendaries and give them special locations in the game's world.

Pokemon GO is available now on Mobile devices.

MORE: Pokemon GO: Professor Willow's New Look Should Lead to More Visual Updates