I Love Pokémon… But…

I love Pokémon. I may not have been able to play the original Pokemon Red and Blue as a kid, but I’ve practically been a lifelong fan. I’ve beaten Pokémon Diamond and Pearl more times than I can count, I’ve tried out competitive multiplayer a few times, and I make sure to keep my ear to the ground whenever there’s a new generation on the horizon or just some Mystery Gifts to get.

So, when Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violetwas released last year, I picked it up on day one. I really enjoyed Pokémon Sword and Shield, despite cutting out some of my favourite Pokémon, and this seemed to be an expanded version of that game and much more. An open-world game that doesn’t have a set path to becoming a champion? Sign me the hell up! Even though I was well aware of the criticisms about the graphics and the framerate shown in trailers, Legends: Arceus suffered those same problems, and yet I enjoyed it immensely.

And thus, when I got home, I sat down, turned on my Nintendo Switch, put in the game and started playing. Then I stopped two days later. Then I picked it back up and played again for a few hours… and then stopped.

I haven’t picked up the game since.

This was odd because it definitely wasn’t burnout. I still love collecting Pokémon and battling, but for some reason, I wasn’t getting hooked like I had been with previous games. After thinking about it for a while, it soon hit me why I wasn’t into the latest entry: I don’t like where the direction of the series is going.

I don’t mind lowered difficulty, the inability to really catch them all unless you use the Pokémon Bank, the need to introduce new gimmicks to keep things fresh, or the focus on a younger audience, I just don’t like what the developers are doing with the series overall. With the bi-yearly release schedule, I think this will only lead to increasingly worse games. This isn’t enough time to develop ideas and optimise systems to really make it the best that it can be. This isn't sustainable, as the cracks have appeared since the series jumped to 3D, and I'm worried that soon enough, there will be a breaking point. The technical performance of Scarlet and Violet is proof enough. I still want to play Pokémon games, but currently, none developed by the Pokémon Company.

So how do I get my Pokémon fix? Well… through fan games. ROM hacks. Pokémon games developed by fans who have similar feelings and want to create their own spin on the usual formula. There are literally hundreds available that can provide unique experiences. You can either play a classic Pokémon game with an edgier story and increased difficulty or play a roguelike with random encounters and events. Play as a part of Team Rocket, fuse Pokémon together into monstrous abominations, or just play through a world entirely made of sweets. These are all real fan games, and while I won’t link them here in fear that Nintendo will take them down, feel free to find them yourself, as they are all available for free. And guess what? ROM hackers have been able to backport features like Black and White’s repel system, Mega Evolution, and even Gigantamax into games that can run on a physical Game Boy Advance.

I would also seriously recommend getting one of the many Pokémon-like games like Nexomon. It’s a nice break away from the usual style, and they introduce some really nice ideas. If you want to know more, check out this article written by Mike Crewe on his thoughts about the game. I also want to gush about Cassette Beasts, but that should be saved for an actual review.

I still follow official Pokémon news regularly, and I eagerly wait for the next entry, but I’m going to be judging any future releases with much more scrutiny than before, not out of malice, but in concern for what it may lead to. I just hope that whatever comes next will be better and that it builds off what worked instead of just ensuring the games come out at the same time as the merchandise.