Pokemon GO is a great success story in the ranks of mobile gaming. From the moment it was announced, Pokemon fans were thrilled at the aspect of traveling around the real world in search of their favorite Pokemon. While Pokemon GO was pretty basic at launch, Nintendo has gone far in adding features that make it feel more and more faithful to the base games. Nowadays, players can battle in all kinds of formats, find lots of interesting items, and trade Pokemon in the franchise's tradition. It's been an interesting experiment in finding creative new takes on thoroughly explored aspects of the franchise.
Although Nintendo and Niantic have gone a long way in expanding Pokemon GO, there's still some aspects of the franchise that have yet to shine through in the game. For instance, there's a pretty small number of Pokeball types that players can use. While the main three types that players use are perfectly fine, the process of catching Pokemon could be a lot more compelling if Nintendo just added some more niche types of Pokeballs from the core series into Pokemon GO. It'd go a long way to helping Pokemon GO continue to connect with its roots in the core games too.
The Case for New Pokeball Types
Anyone who's played some of the main installments in the Pokemon franchise is well acquainted with the Pokemon catching system: in the heat of battle, Trainers throw Pokeballs to catch their target. There's a crucial piece of strategy that takes place in that step, though: Trainers have to choose what kind of Pokeball is most appropriate in the moment. In Pokemon GO, that mostly means players have to think about what tier of Pokeball strength they're willing to spend on a catch. While that's what any Pokeball boils down to, Nintendo has introduced more complicated and specific types of Pokeballs with strengths and benefits beyond raw capture power.
Some Pokeballs like Dusk Balls provide even greater catching power than Ultra Balls in the right situation. Others, like Luxury Balls, have a tremendous impact on a Player's relationship with their Pokemon. Nintendo realized after Pokemon's first generation that catching Pokemon was one of the most important parts of the game, and that that mechanic deserved some more layers of strategy. The same goes for Pokemon GO -- in fact, catching Pokemon is arguably even more important in Pokemon GO than in base Pokemon games, since catching Pokemon is the vast majority of its gameplay.
Walking around and catching Pokemon in Pokemon GO is still fun after all these years, but it can feel repetitive when played for long stretches of time. One great way that Nintendo can fight this sense of repetitiveness is by giving players new types of Pokeballs as rare drops from Pokestops and quests. If a player has a few Luxury Balls and Level Balls on hand when they find a coveted catch, it'll encourage them to think a little more deeply about how they want to approach their target as they weigh some powerful but limited resources. That new level of strategy would go a long way to Pokemon GO's longevity.
Integrating New Pokeballs
Some of the Pokemon franchise's established Pokeballs seem like they would adapt pretty easily to Pokemon GO. For example, Net Balls are specialized to catch Bug and Water types, so they could go completely unchanged and continue to be particularly good at catching those types of Pokemon. Repeat Balls would also be easy to add, giving players a catch bonus if they've already caught the target. That'd be a big help for the types of catch challenges that Pokemon GO is running a lot lately. Similarly, Luxury Balls could be a huge boon to Pokemon GO's Pokemon friendship mechanic, helping players befriend buddy Pokemon caught with Luxury Balls more quickly.
Other Pokeball types would be harder to put into Pokemon GO, but if Nintendo and Niantic found a way to make them work, they could still have great effects on the game. For example, Quick Balls are designed to be used at the start of battle before anything else. That doesn't mesh well with Pokemon GO's catching mechanics at a glance, but instead, a Quick Ball could have a really high catch rate if it's used before any other items, meaning players would sacrifice Berry benefits to get access to a Quick Ball's brief window of potency. Another example is the Heal Ball, which is supposed to restore a wild Pokemon's wounds on catch. Instead, maybe Heal Balls could passively heal the Pokemon inside it after a battle, whether that's a percentage of HP after battle or steady regeneration over time. Battle-loving trainers could get a lot of use out of a Pokeball like that.
Pokeball Mastery
The topic of Pokeballs in Pokemon GO can't be brought up without acknowledging the question of the Master Ball. Fans have spent years wondering if Nintendo will ever let them use Master Balls in the mobile game. Apparently Nintendo has thought about it, because code for the Master Ball exists in Pokemon GO, although it hasn't been distributed to players just yet. If it ever comes around, it'll surely be unbelievably rare. Regular access to perfect catches could completely upheave the game's balance. It wouldn't be surprising if Nintendo is waiting for a really special anniversary to give players a Master Ball. Maybe the Pokemon GO's eventual 10th anniversary will be a worthy occasion for such a powerful gift.
In the meantime, though, Nintendo can help out Pokemon GO fans by giving them other kinds of equipment for Pokemon catching. Rare and special Pokeballs are part of what makes catching Pokemon so interesting in the core series. Using exactly the right item at the right moment and getting rewarded for it goes a long way to player satisfaction in any game. Pokemon has spent years proving how rewarding intelligent item use can be. Pokemon GO has done well so far as far as items are concerned, with its clever Berry system and other useful items like Incense and Lucky Eggs. Even so, it has a lot of room to grow in one of the most basic items types in the Pokemon world.
Pokemon GO is available now on Android and iOS.