What battle gimmick do you think Gen 10 will have?

[CoolKid575]

Ever since Gen 6, every new set of Pokemon games has had a gimmick that spices up the traditional battle formula. XY had Megas, SM had Z Moves, SwSh had Dynamaxing, and of course, SV has Terastalization. What gimmick do you think they'll cook up for the next generation?

 

[Devalue]

Hm. Initially leaned towards a form change. Alternated between form and move in the past few generations...kind of.

Perhaps some kind of linking mechanic? Begins with Pikachu on the field. Hits the Link button with Poliwag. Throws Poliwag out as well. Combines hitpoints, typing, and maybe even things like abilities and moves. Cannot switch out, however. Loses both Pokemon upon hitting 0 hitpoints too. (Probably requires some extra balancing. Not sure.)

Sees one possible pitfall on this: the double faint. Advertises a simple, clear power boost with the other gimmicks. Risks a lot with double fainting on the line, even with combined hitpoints. May be viewed as too difficult for a new player to use advantageously.

Cannot rule out a refined version of an older gimmick, also. Maybe like Dynamax, but with more than just "Max Quake" for Ground. Potentially grows in a different stat too (but not double). Conveys that idea easily enough to a new player. Saves time by building on an existing mechanic...in theory. Sounds attractive to a deadline-focused designer.

 

[GameBunnyAdvance]

Well, if we're getting Gen V remakes as a part of Gen X, I think they might lean into the Fusion aspect. Perhaps having one Pokemon temporarily borrow the powers of another in your team for a boost in stats, a second typing (in the case of dual types, having the second type of the main Pokemon replaced with the main type of the first, to avoid more than 2 types) or perhaps one of that Pokemon's moves? It'd tie into the Black/White Kyurem idea and flesh it out a bit more. It'd probably last for the duration of the battle, and the downside would be that you wouldn't be able to use the Pokemon that you fused with the other one during that battle.

 

[ReKoil]

I'd prefer they'd skip the gimmick for a change tbh.
But that's probably not going to happen

 

[Janp]

We had what... 4 gimmicks, with only one of them having somewhat of a depth. Isn't that enough?

But I'm sure GF won't stop making new gimmicks, so I would love to see a Pokémon fusions. Fusing creatures together and with items was one of my favourite aspect of Yo-Kai Watch games.

 

[Corveone]

I hope it's something similar to Terastallization, which means:
-Available to every Pokémon.
-Focused more on strategy rather than just making Pokémon absurdly strong.
-Not too balance-shifting, and designed to work well in both single and double battles.

So, while I actually believe that Terastallization is aesthetically the worst gimmick, I think it's the best so far in terms of gameplay, and I'd like the next generational gimmick to continue in a similar direction.

 

[Sheep]

I'd prefer no gimmick, especially knowing they won't make it to future gens.
But something like having temporary access to 2 new moves, maybe for 3 or so turns, sounds like it'd be really interesting, especially competitively.. for better or worse? Haha.

 

[Setsuna]

It's an interesting thought, I definitely wouldn't have been able to predict something like Dynamax or Terastal but I think they seem to be focusing on one aspect of Pokemon and really expanding that. Gen VI was Pokemon Evolution, VII was their moves, VIII was arguably things like battle effects, dynamax attacks causing weather changes or stat buffs, and IX was type. I think they could try something with abilities or held items or something? I did really like how Z-Moves were just one specific effect once per battle and I'd wanna see something like that again. I'm not really into the idea of Pokemon changing their form or type for anywhere up to an entire battle.

 

[Charcadet121]

Now here's a philosophical question to ponder:

What makes a gimmick a gimmick?

Like, are gimmicks just that--things that Game Freak add in just to make things more fun, or something that goes much deeper, and has a basis of lore found throughout the entire pokemon world?

I know, the answer is probably out there, but my brain just can't help but ponder the deeper reasons to a gimmick.

 

[Devalue]

Now here's a philosophical question to ponder:

What makes a gimmick a gimmick?

Like, are gimmicks just that--things that Game Freak add in just to make things more fun, or something that goes much deeper, and has a basis of lore found throughout the entire pokemon world?

I know, the answer is probably out there, but my brain just can't help but ponder the deeper reasons to a gimmick.

Views a gimmick as a short-term, high effect mechanic. Cannot easily ignore it.

Example: Inverse Battles. Reverses all the type match-ups. Causes some big changes to battling. Appears in Generation 6, almost solely as a daily event.
Example 2 from the same generation: Sky Battles.

As for why: Marketing, mainly, but also to not completely stagnate. Already repeats a lot of the formula. May lose fans by doing the same thing every time. Pushes the gimmick-du-jour front and center to highlight their new toy.

Also serves as a good plot hook sometimes. Dominates X/Y's storyline.

Dumps these mechanics after a generation to avoid becoming too complicated, as well as leaving room for the new mechanic. Imagine trying to balance Mega Pokemon, Z-moves, Dynamax, and Tera types in a single game. Do you want to see Dynamaxed Mega Mewtwo Y as Tera: Steel? (Also, think of the animation time for all that.)

 

[Sweet Serenity]

In my opinion, I feel that if the developers are going to continue making gimmicks, they should make a gimmick that could easily be carried over to future games and still be relevant. If not, this could ruin the gameplay of certain Pokémon.

For example, while Tera Types are a good gimmick, if they don't appear in future games, then moves such as Tera Blast become borderline useless, and Pokémon like Ogerpon and Terapagos can't reach their full potential again. Are we just going to completely leave these Pokémon out of future games, put them in future games without their gimmicks to make them powerful, or just wait until the next Scarlet and Violet remake to see them again, which might occur a decade from today?

I believe the next gimmick should involve Pokémon abilities, and it can be called something like "PokéPowers." A Pokémon on the field can have its abilities upgraded for the duration of the battle. For instance, Pokémon with the ability Drought or Drizzle could tap into their "PokéPowers" and make them similar to the abilities of Primordial Kyogre and Groudon's abilities in the Gen III remakes. Pokémon with Intimidate could tap into their PokéPowers, activate it again, and this time, it would sharply lower both Attack and Special Attack with every switch in.

With abilities like Libero and Protean, after the Pokémon activates its PokéPowers, it can return to being how it was before the nerf in Gen IX, where it changes type every time it uses a move of a different type. Abilities such as Long Reach could hit Pokémon that are using moves like Dig or Fly. Abilities such as Poison Point, Effect Spore, Flame Body, and so on work 100% of the time after the opponent makes contact. You get the point.

In addition, I say bring back abilities with field effects too using this power. Since we have Pokémon roaming the open world now, let's make it interesting. Let's activate Intimidate in the open world and scare away all the low-level Pokémon and leave the high-level ones. Let's make Stench not work like how Repel worked in other games, but make it so that aggressive Pokémon stop chasing us. Let's make Cute Charm attract Pokémon of the opposite gender again.

Regarding the discovery of this "PokéPower" gimmick, what better character can do this than Colress, the guy always talking about bringing out the full potential of Pokémon? Supposedly, a Unova remake is coming up, so this is the perfect time for Game Freak to make this happen. This gimmick is not too complicated, likely easy to program, and can be safely used in future games without disrupting gameplay mechanics and invalidating certain Pokémon.