Pokémon’s sixth generation introduced a lot of features I adore. I love super-training and triple battling, and I love Wonder Trade (yes, really). I also love the new fluid player movements and the interesting new transports like swinging vines, taxis and Pokémon you can ride. But having just finished my second run-through of Pokémon: Alpha Sapphire, I’ve been thinking about what I want to see from them in the future.

1) Return of the Game Corner

Game Freak have had problems with various countries upping the age certificate on Pokémon Games because they don’t want the Game Corner feature to encourage gambling. I understand its undesirable to teach kids that slot machines are reliable investments, though at the same time I think this move seriously insults the intelligence of children.

To combat this issue, in later games slot machines and roulette were replaced with the insanely addictive Voltorb Flip, which, in addition to being really fun, wasn’t a gambling game at all, and I thought this was a really smart idea. But the Game Corner was conspicuously absent from the previous few games, and in ORAS it is replaced by a sad man stood in front of his closed store, who hands you three tearstained dolls before presumably before going home to drink himself to sleep.

2) Player Customisation

I always liked how there was so much room for individuality in Pokémon games. Gender has been optional since Pokémon Crystal, fashion became customisable in Pokémon X and Y, but you could also play the game pretty much however you wanted. As long as you complete the main storyline, the game doesn’t punish you for not being interested in contests, minigames, online battles, secret bases, or any of its other myriad side attractions. Even your team was functionally unique.

Generation Six introduced racial customisation for the first time, and I was really sad to see this feature disappear in ORAS. The remakes of the first and second generation games kept the option to choose your gender even though the original games didn’t have that, so I don’t understand why they couldn’t do the same with skin tone.

3) More non-battle interactions with Pokémon

I’d like to see natures become more than stat-predictors in-game, in a format that allows trainers to interact with Pokémon in such a way that they’ll respond as individuals, according to their personalities. A feature that allowed players to interact with or observe Pokémon in non-battle situations – an expanded version of Pokémon Amie where they do more than just stare at you – would be great for that.

Pokémon Amie was definitely a step in the right direction for fleshing out the care-based side of Pokémon, especially since I know players (particularly younger ones) who do form attachments to their team in a way that you unfortunately can’t yet express in-game. Various NPCs in every region do stress the individuality of Pokémon, and the value of caring for your Pokémon as much as using them as chess pieces. This would ring less hollow if there were more ways to do that.

4) More incidental Post-game content

The elaborate and engrossing post-games are easily the best part of Pokémon for me, especially in a series with such basic main storylines. The lack of postgame activity was the greatest disappointment in X and Y, although ORAS was a little better with the introduction of the Delta Episode. The tragedy is that ORAS is a remake of a game that has arguably the best post-game of any installment in the entire franchise. I don’t know anyone who ever conquered the Battle Frontier. I managed to glimpse about three Frontier brains after several hundred hours of eye-shriveling play, but I think I only ever beat the Pike Queen.

There are rumours that Nintendo are going to allow access to the Battle Frontier via downloadable content, but personally speaking I refuse to get my hopes up. I’d rather see the return of epic postgame adventures like the Sevii Islands or the crossing of Tohjo falls.

5) Higher NPC levels

The recent redesign of the Exp. Share means that rather than being able to raise only one Pokémon without using it in battle, you can now raise your entire party. I actually quite like this feature since I’m a collector and a breeder, and being able to raise several Pokedex-filling Pokémon at once is a huge convenience. But the downside is that if you use it consistently throughout the game, by the time you’re fighting for your final badges your Pokémon can be a clear twenty levels above your opponent’s, and it takes all the challenge out of play. To increase difficulty you can simply turn off the Exp. Share, but I’d rather see Game Freak adapt to the change by making battles tougher. [divider_top]

Photo credits: deviantart.com, pokemon.wikia.com

What do you want to see in the next Pokémon title? Tweet @BoarGames