Pokemon fans have now had Sword and Shield for over a month and it’s been a blast. However, as I’ve played, I’ve thought of some things that I’d love to see Game Freak improve on in the next generation of games. Before you get too hopeful, I’m not planning on addressing the Pokedex in this piece. I’ve actually come to appreciate the limited Pokedex, but that’s for another time.
The first thing that I’d like to see is improved animations. While I’d love to see animations that involve the Pokemon interacting more with each other in battle, right now I’d settle for animations that actually match the attack. For example, right now my Dubwool knows Headbutt. You’d think with the cool ram horns and the name of the attack, he would use its head to attack. Nope. My Dubwool turns around and kicks at his foes when he uses Headbutt. How does that make sense? A lot of moves have animations that make sense, but clearly, at least some Pokemon need some more work.
Another improvement that I’d like to see is better scaling. I shouldn’t be able to see very much of my Wailord in battle. Instead, in battle, Pokemon sizes become very ambiguous when they get to the larger ones. It’s just a bit of a disappointment at times. It doesn’t ruin gameplay, but this would be a nice aesthetic improvement.
A third improvement is the trading system. Trying to trade with a friend is a bit of a nightmare. In case you didn’t know, the current process requires you to make sure you’re connected to the internet and not local communications, create a 4-digit “code,” and pray that no one else is using the same code. The other night my friend set up the code and I went to join her and I ended up with a complete stranger using the code my friend sent me. Why can I not simply pull up a list of my friends and go, I want to connect with Amie?
My fourth and final improvement that I’d like to see is a bit of a pipedream. I would love it if they brought couch co-op to the main titles. I know it’s probably harder to pull off than the Let’s Go games, but I would love to be able to sit down with my wife and play Pokemon together on the same Switch.
There are four things that I would love Game Freak to work on for the next set of Pokemon games. I know they probably won’t address a single one of them. What would you like to see improved on for the next generation?