possible alternatives to both gyms and trials

obviously in the most recent gen we got a departure from gyms, and it seems like most people think we'll be getting them back for Gen 8. do you guys think it's possible that we'll ever (not necessarily in the upcoming games, but at any time), get an alternative third "miniboss" system instead of either gyms or trials? what do you think that system would look like?

Rainbow said:

obviously in the most recent gen we got a departure from gyms, and it seems like most people think we'll be getting them back for Gen 8. do you guys think it's possible that we'll ever (not necessarily in the upcoming games, but at any time), get an alternative third "miniboss" system instead of either gyms or trials? what do you think that system would look like?

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People seem to forget the unique nature of the Orange Islands in the Anime where the Gym Leaders didn't necessarily battle Ash in a traditional format but rather in unique challenges. The one that comes to mind the most was Danny's wherein he challenged Ash on climbing a Mountain solo(no Pokemon), then making an Ice Bobsled(fastest team wins) and then racing down the mountain. These challenges were unique at the time and weren't incorporated into a game until Sun&Moon came along frankly with the whole Trial system. Granted Sun&Moon's system was more of a Hybrid but I wouldn't mind seeing an Orange Island style game(perhaps as End-Game content?).

To be frank though, I don't think we will get anything different than Gyms because that's essentially what Pokemon had been for roughly 20 years. Sun&Moon boldly broke the mold but at what cost?

Leòmhann teine said:

I might get made fun of for this, but I kinda wish they had made games specifically for doing the Pokémon contests or worked on it some more. The ability to choose between winning all 8 badges and fighting the E4 and the champion or to win a number of ribbons and win at a grand festival. Of course they might need to incorporate some kind of contest battle system first. I was honestly less than happy when contests weren't in gen 5 and there was that crappy replacement that was no fun at all (aka Pokémon Performances). And then they fazed that out in gen 6. Was anyone else less than thrilled with how they handled contests?

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I love contests but the only bash I have against them is that they can't be played online.

L'Belle said:

I love contests but the only bash I have against them is that they can't be played online.

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I only played contests a few times back in RSE. Sure they were fun, but at the same time weird. Maybe an online version will come in gen 8.
As for a replacement to gyms, it's actually pretty hard to come up with one. Maybe if they let you battle each gym whenever you wanted instead of needing to go through them in order. No idea if it would work though.

contest-based "trial" pls
i don't think the orange island gyms in the anime are that different from SM, the alolan trials just had a totem battle at the end, but they still mainly focused on non-battling challenge tasks.

Considering that these games are doing well rn I think Nintendo's just gonna take the current system and slap a new aesthetic onto it to match whatever new region we get.

i feel like trials were done to give the sun & moon a different approach from the traditional gyms as a one-off kinda thing. trials suited the whole tropical climate of alola and i think that's what makes those games unique. moving forward, i'm pretty sure they'll go back to gyms but maybe this time they'll change the concept up. instead of having specialized types for each gym they could have more diverse teams based on different themes.

blue said:

instead of having specialized types for each gym they could have more diverse teams based on different themes.

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I completely agree. This would make gyms much more challenging and unpredictable. I mean monotype for gyms is cool and all but too easy for the player to get through. So yeah some kind of themed gyms not based on type would be really nice!

Blue said:

i feel like trials were done to give the sun & moon a different approach from the traditional gyms as a one-off kinda thing. trials suited the whole tropical climate of alola and i think that's what makes those games unique. moving forward, i'm pretty sure they'll go back to gyms but maybe this time they'll change the concept up. instead of having specialized types for each gym they could have more diverse teams based on different themes.

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Themed Gyms sound interesting, although the tradition of Gym's around typing is how the franchise was established. They've still yet to have a Dark Type Gym for crying out loud. Until we get that, at the very least, I'd hold off on doing Gym's based around a theme(like Dog Pokemon for example).

CodeHelmet said:

They've still yet to have a Dark Type Gym for crying out loud. Until we get that, at the very least, I'd hold off on doing Gym's based around a theme(like Dog Pokemon for example).

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Nanu is a Dark-type Kahuna in SM/USUM., for what it's worth. Of course, this also depends on whether you believe Kahunas are kind of sort of equivalent to Gym Leaders but on a bigger scale.

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Tbh, I've actually enjoyed the Trial system in SM. This is actually primarily because trials challenge the player in ways that don't really involve battling all the time like the games traditionally have for the past 20 years. If anything, I'd like to see the series in the future stick to something like this, because I'm unsure what else would be more innovative and yet simultaneously effective.

I second the idea of having gym leaders or Kahunas (or whatever they may get replaced for) challenge the trainer in unorthodox ways. Contests would be pretty interesting, too.