FIXING MAIN SERIES POKÉMON

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**************************************************FIXING MAIN SERIES POKÉMON**************************************************
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***********************************************************THE GOAL***********************************************************
-To make Pokémon an ideal experience for everyone, casual or otherwise, new or existing player.
-To introduce elements of all the side games into the main series eventually (give people a taste of the other stuff the series has to offer while also giving more varied content in the main series itself).
-To make one single pair of games per new Gen that lasts, rather than yearly tripe that sees players demanding something new next week. There would still be remakes as it was felt necessary, and side series but the one pair should be all that is needed to have a complete Gen.

With that in mind and ignoring any kind of specific story or location detail because game play is more important...

****************************************************RETURNING/KEPT FEATURES****************************************************
-Story. I love story personally so it wouldn't go away, it just wouldn't be absolutely required in all cases and much of it would return to be how it was in Gen 4 and before... Being mostly things you read off books on shelves and hidden diaries or are simply there to witness (show don't tell is absolutely true in a media that is in part visual). Rather than being told because the plot demands it, it would be something you'd explore to obtain as a good RPG would. Or not if that's not your thing.
-The roots of the series with a more open world feel... Freedom at least the likes of Gen 1 and 2 where you could earn over half the badges in any order you desired but the main event (be it Gyms or something else) not being tied to the story at all or at least as little as possible. Think along the lines of games like DQXI - still contained routes but more reasonably sized large areas with shit to do in them.
-All 10 Frontier events (Arcade, Arena, Castle, Dome, Factory, Hall, Palace, Pike, Pyramid, Tower in a regional form).
-Difficulty settings (the easy normal and hard that already existed).
-Musicals.
-Super/Contests.
-PokéBlock.
-Poffins.
-Contest stats.
-Pokéathlon.
-Pokéstar Studios.
-Poké Radar/DexNav type features.
-Field move HMs (as an option).
-Soaring.
-Double Battles.
-Triple Battles.
-Inverse Battles.
-Horde Battles.
-Sky Battles.
-All trainer customization options that have been a thing since Gen 6.
-Battle Royal.
-Poké Pelago.
-National Dex.
-150+ new Pokémon with no more than D/P's legendary ratio.
-Proper fishing.
-Mantine Surfing.
-Roller Skates.
-Bike.
-Pokémon following you.
-Gyms/Trials in some fashion.
-The restaurants as they were in XY.
-The ability to see easily where you need to go next for those who need it/care.
-Teachy TV/help menu.
-Vs. Seeker.
-Turn based battles.
-Battle styles/poses.
-PWT.
-Exp. Share as a hold item.
-Exp. Share key item as it currently stands but now properly named Exp. All.
-Photo Club.
-Photo spots.
-PokéFinder.
-Friend Safari.
-Hidden Hollows.
-Chain fishing.
-In-world Berry farming/breeding as an option.
-Battle Institute.
-Juice Shoppe.
-Amie/Refresh (with Refresh's QoL improvements).
-Amie minigames.
-Pass/O Powers/Roto Loto Powers of the non-lootbox variety.
-Secret Bases.
-Underground.
-Babies/evolutions to old species.
-Boss Pokémon battles (like Totems)
-Seasons.
-Seasonal Formes.
-Game Corner.
-Apricorn plants and ball maker.
-Memory Link events/Memory Girl.
-Safari Zone (as mostly seen in HG/SS).
-Altering Cave.
-Trainer Tower/Hill.
-Trick House.
-Auto run feature.
-Berry Blending.
-Fame Checker.


*******************************************************REMOVED FEATURES*******************************************************
-IVs, EVs, and Nature effects (see "New Features" section for it's replacement)


*********************************************************NEW FEATURES*********************************************************
-Play style modes. Starting a new game would see you choosing between Classic A, Classic B, Classic C and Contemporary options before difficulty. Classic = Gen 1 game play, Classic B = Gen 2 game play, Classic C = Gen 3 game play, Contemporary = Gen 4+ game play (note: this wouldn't change types or moves etc., they'd still be modern, it would just play like the old ones in terms of stats, lack of/hold items, lack of abilities, etc. also, they'd only be able to connect with a game in the same mode or to Transporter/Bank, obviously). These would also interact with the returning difficulties to create different styles of play. Newbie difficulty + Classic A mode would essentially create a Let's Go-like style of game, for example.
-Frontier-like events, including but not limited to ones based around all battle styles with a couple sprinkled around similar to the Battle Tents, only the actual full event.
-One of the new frontier-like events would definitely be a fighting tournament mini-game styled after Pokkén (again, to include other parts of the series), only in 2D fighter style.
-Ability to set your controls as you desire.
-Allow for transfer of all of the Formes that have been lost to time such as Cosplay Pikachu and Spiky-Eared Pichu
-Allow for transfer directly to Bank from the Gen 4 games for 3DS side Transporter/Bank
-Allow for bulk sending of items at least within a generation via a mail feature (obviously costing in-game funds as postage)
-Allow changing of music at any time to any of the other music you've come across and maybe even stuff on the (m)SD card if possible. We can break down things into data but don't have the technology for a fucking MP3 player? Come on now...
-Mega Evolutions
-Z-Moves
-Regional Formes
-Natures
-Now introducing Boutiques and Blacksmiths, where you get clothing and armor bits that are used to modify the look, stats, and even abilities of Pokémon. At the end of battles, you'll receive scraps based on what you fought that you use to craft Pokémon outfits in the aforementioned shops. By default the outfits ONLY modify looks so people who don't care about competitive aren't affected (and you won't need them in the lesser difficulties to just play through the game causally either). However, for those who do, you can use further scraps to apply modifiers to clothing that can modify stats in similar but different ways to natures, IVs, and EVs and can even change/add abilities. With limits, obviously. Clothing would only have so many modifier slots and more powerful/useful modifiers would take up more of the slots for balance.
-Now introducing Adaptations, a split off from abilities. Adaptations will focus on things inherent to a species, some of which may cross with abilities. Adaptability, for example, would be an adaptation, while Wonder Guard is more an ability. List here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1z2SU-tp0T4HK3BDWEubuW3gU4_pZ6SOChkMY6QxE6YY/edit?usp=sharing. Some of these may or may not make sense in all languages. Keep in mind I am using the Japanese names and analysis of the design of the Pokémon to determine which is which. Also keep in mind that the list above may not be final either, just a working idea.


*************************************************CHANGES TO EXISTING FEATURES*************************************************
-Expand upon side questing.
-In line with being open world to some extent and expanding side questing, at least 20 "Gyms" would exist in my first region as a trial run to see how it works and get feedback - you would still only need 8 but I feel like this would make for some interesting exploration, playthrough variation on top of the new and existing species variety as well as interesting speed run routing (again, I'm trying to take into account all players, not just people who autistically 100% them like me).
-Gyms being in quotes above because they wouldn't all necessarily have a building. As an example, maybe you go through a quest chain in some forest and the person at the end of it happens to have a license and a badge or whatever so you get to battle them for it as a result. Or maybe your performance during the quest sees them straight up give it to you as a result (combining anime bits and Trials with the Gym system, essentially).
-Wireless PC device to swap up your party at any time.
-All Z-Moves properly animated.
-Ability to skip cutscenes.
-Ability to skip tutorial bits, none of which should be attached to the story except where absolutely sensible for the story itself (no handholding or forced participation, just mentioning bits about it in passing, in other words AKA "Hey this thing exists?/Did you hear about this thing that exists?" rather than "This thing exists and maybe you didn't know but either way, here's how, now get your ass over here and do it!").
-More character customization options including but not limited to; full color customization (no more same shirt just differently colored as separate items, just one item you choose the color of from a simple drop down for casuals or via hex/RGB if you want something more precise) for clothes as well as skin, eyes, and hair, and no gender limitations (if you want to be a weird bald blue thing wearing a tux shirt and a skirt, have the fuck at it).
-Last man standing option for Battle Royal.
-Ability to rename traded Pokémon that have not been nicknamed in their language of origin.
-Add motion control options for Amie/Refresh so you can physically pet them.
-Amie/Refresh now has a section where you can deactivate the various bonuses for people who don't want to use them. Maybe even a skill tree for specialization of various bonuses once I've thought about it more.
-Natures are now lore only (see new section for the effect replacement).
-Ribbons (both contest and otherwise) now increase Experience gain by 1% per ribbon (maxes out at 50% and like with the Lucky Egg/language/different OT/Amiefresh/other boosts, it stacks multiplicatively).
-Hidden Power is now a Tutor move and the type can be chosen freely via a training mini-game.
-Soaring is now a feature you can use with any Pokémon larger than the player character.
-Sky battles also take place while soaring.
-Seasons now take place much faster at a week per season rather than a month.
-Game Corner is now arcade based - mini-games instead of casino type games.
-Some Grass species at the very least will also receive seasonal Formes.
-Memory Link/girl could but wouldn't only function precisely like in the past. Got a few ideas swimming around in my head that I haven't yet parsed out. Will update this in the future when I feel I've got it right.
-Safari Zone would no longer require decorations be in place for days or weeks.
-Altering Cave may or may not be part of the returned Safari Zone but either way will definitely use puzzles in some way to unlock species. Maybe even an event hub of some sort as well. Again, will update as I figure out what seems the best idea.
-Trainer Tower is now an early game thing as an offshoot of the schools where you can opt-in to learning everything from the basics and beyond about the different battle styles. Including, in the post game, mock battles which can also be done with NPCs or other players using rental Pokémon/items/etc. of your choice from any of them in the game.
-Auto Run is now a setting rather than randomly requiring shoes that reverse run functionality (run = default, B = walk... seriously, other GBA games did it, so it's not been okay for this not to be a thing here for quite some time).
-Ensure all event Pokémon worldwide are released via Wi-Fi worldwide for at least a week, no more than six months after the end of the event - timed exclusivity is fine but exclusivity is not as it encourages cheating (you'll never get rid of all cheaters but you don't need to make it worse either).
-Stop requiring Pokémon from the current Gen for competitions. Locking to current Gen only only serves to hurt legitimate players by not allowing them to use the things they spent a lot of time hunting for which again encourages cheating. Using the current games is one thing, but only allowing Pokémon originating there is not okay.
-TMs as they currently exist are no more. Instead, similar to how they work in Pokémon Mystery Dungeon games there are simply a handful of blank TMs that certain NPCs throughout the game can apply various moves to which are one time use. This will make move choice matter more during the main game while they are still ultimately infinite usage in the post game (and yes, I realize it may seem odd to have them at all rather than simply having them all be tutors when you're essentially tutoring the disk, but having them on you can be useful and I have ideas percolating for how that could come in handy in other ways to make more game play, I'll update with that once I have a fully fleshed out idea).
-In terms of difficulty levels they are now as such... Easy, Normal, Hard, and Intense modes named as Newbie, Casual, Master, and Hardcore. Newbie, as it sounds, would be for completely new players or even very young players and would be fairly simple with a fair amount of unskippable tutorial. Casual would be the current play style and very similar to Newbie in that the tutorials would still be present but skippable. Master is for the veteran player who knows how to play fairly well and likes a challenge. Limited tutorial outside the Teachy TV item. Hardcore is for players who know the game VERY well. It's trainers, Gyms etc, would be competitive in nature and tutorials would once again be minimal outside the item.
-Horde Battles To expand on the system from Gen 6 where some locations were optimized for certain EVs, certain areas are now optimized for blacksmith/boutique crafting items (see "New" section for what that is if you're unaware).
-Honey and the Sweet Scent effect will now act like Incense in Pokémon Go - via a timer. It will force ONLY hordes to appear for the duration (with the timer zeroing out if you leave the area).
-Some Abilities become Adaptations, such as Adaptability. See the "New Features" section for more information.
-Base stats, experience gains, and evolution levels and methods will be almost entirely rehauled around the game design, ignoring multiplayer entirely. Pokémon is a single player game first and foremost, so PvP should not be considered for the stats. The metagame for any game will always fall where it will even when balance is attempted. It's just going to take away from overall enjoyment of the game to treat it like it's a PvP game when it's not. Starters, for example, will be a little more powerful overall (90 - 93 BSA just below sub-legends rather than around 88 when fully evolved) so your partner feels less like you want to dump it in the end game. Meanwhile, things like legends, mythicals, and sub-legends will not change and the rest of the game will have stats balanced around the location found in the game, and how difficult an evolution is to obtain. A post game item evolution would provide a much larger stat boost than something evolving at Level 7, for example.
I have a Google Doc work in progress of this and will update when I feel the idea is clear enough. This will take many hours though so don't hold your breath.

********************************************************NEVER FEATURES********************************************************
-DLC/MTX
-Dating sim. Pokémon is about you characters journey and their titular characters, it's not a relationship sim.
-Action RPG. Turn based is superior and if you want action other games exist. You could even make the demand of an ARPG in the side series, but main series should not change genres. End of.


****************************************************CHANGES TO DEVELOPMENT****************************************************
-All songs would have a "GB Sounds" like version and no song would be put into the game if it couldn't reasonably be made in this style so as to keep the general feel of the series consistent from the first games.



**********************************************************SIDE NOTES**********************************************************
Really, the new etc. features are just what I'd like to see, but returning features should all be present in actual new games. As of the 3DS there was no legitimate excuse for removing or leaving features removed.

If you think those, at least, are unreasonable, you are simply wrong. They have proven they are capable of doing them so it is not "too hard" as they keep stating in interviews. If it's too hard to do something you've already done, then you shouldn't be in that business anymore. Being okay with such a stupid excuse, is like being okay with a surgeon finding it hard to see but still being allowed to show up and supposedly perform their job.

Also, whether you like a feature or not, someone out there does like it. I think Musicals are trash, personally, but I want them back as I'm not an asshole only out for myself. If that is your only reason for not wanting any of them back and you're okay with that reasoning, you demonstrably do not want what's best for the series and it's players. Go away.

And, no, in case you missed the implication of the goals, I'm under no delusion that these would be able to be popped out quickly (at least to begin with). They should released whenever they're actually feature complete. So weird that they worked early on with Miyamoto and yet fail to follow his "A delayed game is eventually good, but a rushed game is forever bad." mindset. To the absolute detriment of S/M, no less... Releasing a beta because they felt the need to rush out an anniversary game no one even asked for when another year was clearly needed. Trash Go being the next up is no surprise after that.