I hope they get rid of IVs, EVs, and make nature more of a flavor thing and not a competitive aspect.
IVs, yes. I agree with that. I already touched on that in my last post but hopefully I can make it more clear here... but more on that later.
Remove EVs and Natures? No, absolutely not.
First I just want to get out of the way that "simplification" and "streamlining" aren't quite the same thing, and simplification isn't always that great. By removing EVs and Natures, you're watering down what makes competitive Pokémon unique. I'll try to explain with some concrete examples because maybe what I said in my previous post wasn't very clear...
From a competitive standpoint:
If I open up my Omega Ruby and check the "Competitive" box I have on my PC, I'll have, at this very moment, at least
three different, equally-viable Swampert. How is that possible? EVs and Natures.
Swampert #1: Single Battle Support
Relaxed Nature (+Defense, -Speed)
EV spread dedicated to HP and defenses
Overall supportive moveset
Give him some Leftovers to munch on
Swampert #2: Single Battle Sweeper
Adamant Nature (+Attack, -Sp.Attack)
EV spread to maximize Attack, enough Speed, and the rest in HP to accentuate his natural bulk
Moveset ready 2 sweep
Hit the Gym with Swampertite
Swampert #3: Double Battle Special Attacker
Modest Nature (+Sp.Attack, -Attack)
EV spread for maximizing Sp.Attack and HP
Replace the usual Physical STAB moves for Special ones and you're ready to rock
Expert Belt makes his Special Attack stronger than if he was Mega'd
If Natures were nothing more than flavor text and EVs didn't exist,
this would not be possible. All Swampert would be the same physical-oriented mudfish. The same applies to other Pokémon, even those who seem really overused: Primal Groudon can be a physical, special,
or mixed attacker, and can be either fast (+Speed Nature and EV investment) to help outspeed other Groudon, or slower and bulkier to take their attacks (defensive EV investment). There are
so many possibilities opened up to players because of Natures and EVs!! Removing them would only make the competitive scene even more stale and boring and repetitive.
So why do I think IVs can go?
Because all those Swampert I mentioned have the same IVs. When it comes down to it,
everyone is gonna be using perfect-IV Pokémon all the time anyways. All Pokémon are caught and bred to be perfect IV-wise. Few exceptions exist, but for the most part they're perfect (really I just don't want to go into the nuances of 5IVs because I don't want to confuse anyone, but 5IVs are "perfect" in their own right so my point still stands). So since everyone is expected to go in with their 6IV dream team, removing IVs is
just removing one step in the process of creating a competitive Pokémon--it's streamlining, not simplifying. Removing IVs could even be good for Hidden Power, the Type of which is based on the Pokémon's IVs--just assign a new hidden value to each Pokémon and then breeding for certain Hidden Powers is much easier, not to mention it opens up the possibility of Fairy-Type Hidden Power finally being a thing.
I can tell you right now from lots and lots of experience: the IV breeding is the most tedious, time-consuming part. Breeding for the right Nature, Egg moves, Hidden Power, etc. and subsequently EV training your new Pokémon is
rewarding and should be the focus of creating a competitive Pokémon.
From a casual standpoint:
Why do Natures matter to you???
I beat Pokémon X with a
Modest Pinsir. A Modest Pinsir. That's like the worst possible Nature for Pinsir to have and it
still carried me through most of the game (and by most I mean the
second half--it probably would have carried me through the beginning too if I had it that early)! Even back in gen 5, the last time Pokémon games were even remotely challenging, a hindering-Nature Pokémon could still make it through the Pokémon league just fine. These games are not challenging enough for Natures to matter during a casual playthrough of the story, so what would it matter to you if Natures remained an integral component to competitive play?
Game Freak has confirmed that they, at least to some extent, take into consideration what happens at Worlds when re-balancing certain attacks--ever wonder why in gen 6 Grass-Types are immune to "powder" moves, and why they introduced the Safety Goggles item? Check out the 2013 Worlds Masters finals and have fun watching an Amoonguss Spore everything in its path! And while most players are certainly more "casual," the competitive scene is still growing and is definitely an important group to TPC(i). Some aspects of the game can certainly be
streamlined to make things
less tedious for everyone, but other things would just make the games
simpler and sometimes simpler
isn't better--it's nice to have a game that can offer so much depth if you actually take the time to learn about it!
In summary, Natures and EVs
actually make each Pokémon different and allow the Trainer creativity in how they train their Pokémon, so those aspects should stay. Alternatively, in competitive play--the only place where IVs even matter--everyone will be using perfect-IV Pokémon, so in that instance they are all the same. Thus, removing IVs would only serve as a way to streamline the process of creating competitive Pokémon. Therefore, it can go.