A Pokemon fan has created a chart imagining what their idea of a perfect installment would look like, blending various elements of several games together to better imagine how it would look. When looking at the franchise as a whole, Pokemon is known for sticking to tradition while introducing some features that never make it to future installments even if they are well-received.
While Pokemon Scarlet and Violet broke franchise norms in key areas, some believe that it remains too stuck in its past with the potential to grow even more. Because of how wide-reaching the community for Pokemon is, it would be natural for discourse to appear about what would make the definitive installment in a series that has now gone on for roughly a quarter-century.
Reddit user deathlesslamia1 is one of the latest fans to begin a discourse about a perfect Pokemon game by uploading a post that details what theirs would look like. The post lists in no particular order features from previous games that have been cut along with entirely new ones and expansions to currently existing ones, ranging from expansions to character customizing, an achievement system, and the return of the Safari Zone. Some interesting inclusions are improvements to animations, graphics, and framerate, no doubt a response to the poor performance found in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet.
Responses to the post have been largely in agreement with the proposed changes, with some chiming in with further tweaks. One user replied with an idea to have level scaling for Gyms, with another lamenting the loss of full-contact attack animations in Arceus Legends, echoing other complaints about animations in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. Despite that, the more open-ended direction the series has taken with the last couple of installments has been acknowledged, with deathlesslamia1's original post having an open world on the list. This comes along with further expansions to one that embraces players tackling objectives in any way they want and keeping conveniences such as sneaking up on Pokemon to catch them and seamless Pokemon Centers.
Whatever direction mainline Pokemon entries take, the franchise is at a turning point with the conclusion of Ash's story in the anime approaching and Game Freak pushing the games in a non-linear direction. However fans respond to the next game, Generation 10 should be a landmark game in the series to commemorate that milestone, and a way to please many could be expanding on what has worked in newer titles while bringing back beloved elements that have been left behind.