In terms of its mainline entries, Pokemon has undergone many changes, ones that were meant to ensure modern fans can enjoy everything new games have to offer without having to deal with what made the older titles harder to enjoy. Such examples include the removal of Hidden Machines, the introduction of experience candies, and allowing Technical Machines to be reusable, among others.
These changes are certainly great and have helped streamline the Pokemon experience. However, as a longtime fan, there is a particular inconvenience that has been persistent since the first generation of games, which the franchise has yet to revisit: trade evolutions.
For those unaware, certain Pokemon can only evolve if they are transferred from one party to another. These are trade evolutions, and they were used as a way to justify producing two different versions of games within the same generation, while promoting the community aspect by requiring people to play with each other to reap the rewards.
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Back in Pokemon's early days, it was still somewhat acceptable despite the hassle, as it did provide a sense of camaraderie between fans and helped them know that there were others out there for them to meet up and play with. However, as time moved forward and technology continued to advance, the purpose of trade evolutions became redundant.
With modern entries on a console like the Switch 2, fans of the franchise can now easily communicate and battle with one another regardless of where they may be. There's no need to use trade evolutions as an excuse for getting players to engage with one another, so it stands to reason that it should just be removed entirely.
Another huge issue that further justifies the removal of the feature is that it acts as a barrier for those who want to play the games but have no intention of doing so with others. There are many single-player Pokemon fans out there, and trade evolutions prevent them from fully enjoying the game they want, as it effectively locks them out from getting creatures they would have likely wanted to add to their party. This can thoroughly sour a playthrough experience and lead people who have no intention of accessing the multiplayer features to stop their Pokemon journey.
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If Nintendo and Game Freak intend to remain stubborn when it comes to keeping trade evolutions, then they can at least do something that ensures it isn't a hassle and that everyone can use it. One way is by having in-game NPCs that allow you to trade back and forth, at the cost of either a large sum of money or specific rare items. That way, the only thing that's stopping people from evolving certain Pokemon is themselves, as they'll finally have the means to do it without the need for any external help.
Hopefully, the next generation of Pokemon games will get rid of trade evolutions for good, as it acts as nothing but a way of forcing people to play with others even when they don't want to. I believe the feature should not have existed, and when it's gone, many fans and I will likely rejoice.
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