10 mechanics Game Freak should try in a Pokemon MMO

Pokemon fans have wanted an MMO for years, and while it may not be happening anytime soon - in any official capacity, at least - we can dream. As a long-time MMORPG writer, I’ve had years to think about the various things I’d want to see in a Game Freak-designed online game. This, of course, would be on console (Nintendo Switch) and probably on PCs as well to get as many people playing as possible. However, all of this is hypothetical. It would hinge on Nintendo, Game Freak, and other parties whether Pocket Monster games need to be in more places.

Some of this might be a little unreasonable or would have to come years into the game’s life. I understand and respect that. A few of these things could be impossible or, at least, unlikely. After all, this is my wish list of things I would like to see in a Pokemon MMO.

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What mechanics could Game Freak use in a Pokemon MMO?

1) Toggleable “Lock Eyes” Battle Mode for PVP

One of the more memorable (and occasionally frustrating) things about Pokemon is how often you lock eyes with a stranger and have to immediately battle. Why not make that an optional thing for the MMO? It would function as a PVP flag you toggle and put a little symbol next to your name. If your character model is within, say, a certain distance from another (maybe 100 feet or so), they “lock eyes”.

Of course, this wouldn’t work in “safe” areas like Pokemon Centers, shops, and gyms - outside of the required battles that take place there. NPCs in Gyms would still have this feature, as would many of the encounters in the world. This is something purely toggled for players in the MMO.

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2) Randomize starting Pokemon (within reason)

I love randomizers - anyone who’s read my content probably knows that. Pokemon randomizers are especially interesting. With thousands or perhaps millions of people playing, it would be kind of stale to have everyone start with the exact same three choices. There’s a risk of this system being unbalanced, though.

So, what I propose is a pool of Pokemon - all with reasonable stats, and all of them have to have two evolved forms. These are the rules I use when creating a Randomizer seed anyway, and I think that would serve the MMO well.

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3) Nuzlocke/Hardcore Mode

On that topic, why not a Hardcore Mode? WoW Classic Hardcore is popular, and Diablo’s hardcore modes have been popular for decades. It would also likely use standard Nuzlocke rules for the Pokemon community in the MMO. You can only catch one Pocket Monster per zone; they have to be given names, and if they are defeated, they’re “gone forever”. Whether the game deletes or transfers them to your computer, where they can never be pulled out again, is up to the developers.

You lose the mode and the character if, at any time, your starter Pokemon is defeated in your MMO runs. Since you are restricted to the number you can collect in the game, it should be very interesting. Of course, no trading should be allowed on these characters, either.

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4) Player-run gyms (within set parameters)

This might be one of the hardest things to implement in the hypothetical Pokemon MMO. Of course, there would have to be specific parameters set, so players can’t just stack a level 100 team. Each tier/level of a gym in a region would have a set level requirement and a set number of Pokemon. They would also have to adhere to that gym’s “type” rules - so, water, rock, fighting, et cetera.

Since it would be impossible for one player to stand there the whole time, each gym would have a rotation of players that control it. As long as one’s online, they can show up and battle (via teleportation, an avatar, or somesuch). If nobody is online, it would default to an NPC to make sure people are able to progress.

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5) No level-restricted zones

While I think the gyms should have a level range, the rest of the world shouldn’t. This allows players to be able to challenge themselves or grind as hard as they want without restriction. When a wild Pokemon pops up, or an NPC duelist does in the MMO, they should be in the same level range as the player.

This makes the game more about your skill as a Pokemon MMO trainer and not about how hard you can level grind. It also makes it so you can wander the regions in the game as you please and makes it more open-world - similar to the One Tamriel update of ESO.

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6) Seasonal Legendary/Rare Pokemon events

This is a given, perhaps. But there must be holiday events. While we don’t really know what legendary Pokemon are associated with real-world holidays, that’s up to Game Freak. They could figure out some seasonal events and tie them to rare or otherwise powerful Pocket Monsters that could be caught in the MMO.

Darkrai or something during the Halloween holidays, for example. Arceus or something similar during the Christmas holiday, as he is essentially the god of Pokemon. There are plenty of possibilities, and you could make them wildly rare captures to make people constantly active during the MMO.

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7) Option to start with Permanent Everstone (challenge modes)

I’m a sucker for a challenge mode in any game. Pokemon MMO could have a wide variety of them, but this is the one that I like the most. The way it would work is that the player comes equipped with an Everstone when they select the challenge. Instead of being attached to the creature itself, it’s an Aura or Debuff the player has.

For the rest of the game, none of that character’s Pocket Monsters will evolve. You have to do the best you can with your basic starter evolutions for the entire playthrough. I love that as an idea. There could also be a rare, powerful reward for the account at the end, or even perhaps just a title they could equip.

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8) Select Starting Region (Gen 1, 2, 3) at character creation

I wouldn’t suggest all regions be available at launch - that’s incredibly difficult and would also give players fewer expansions to play through. I’d say either Gen 1 and 2 or the first three generations of Pokemon should be available in the MMO’s launch. That way, players could start in whichever region they feel like - whether it’s nostalgia or simply a reference to previous games.

This would also make things interesting for friend groups who want to play together. They could play in different regions, and meet somewhere in the middle to trade, and give each other useful Pocket Monsters they wouldn’t otherwise have access to.

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9) Raid Events/Multi-person content built around franchise antagonists

It just wouldn’t be a Pokemon MMO without a story to get into. Most multiplayer games in this genre feature raid content, where players group up to battle against much more powerful foes. This could be major Team bases, and the dungeons could be their smaller hideouts (Gambling Halls/Game Centers, et cetera). It could be a good way to either farm new monsters or equipment for the character.

There are so many antagonists in the series, after all. Heck, the Elite Four in Gen 1 were major antagonists in the manga. Several gym leaders were also evil, so it’s not like there’s a shortage of foes to worry about.

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10) Seasonal content based on familiar stories in the manga

With that in mind, there are plenty of stories, both canon and otherwise, in the game's universe. Why not celebrate some of the stuff that doesn’t get talked about enough or is not in the games? You could have movie limited-time events, where people can group up to battle Mewtwo, for example.

This would function similarly to Diablo 4’s Season of Blood instead of limited-time holiday events. This seasonal content would be more like a month or two where players focus on new game mechanics and new threats (or familiar ones) in the Pokemon MMO.

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There are so many cool ideas that could take shape in an MMO like this that wouldn’t work anywhere else. That’s what makes it such a neat idea. Even if Game Freak never takes up the torch and does the thing fans worldwide want, we can still think about what could have been.