As much as I love Pokemon, I have my own complaints... I always think of things that I want from Pokemon but am repeatedly disappointed to find they still haven't done it whether it's something that's a no Brainer or something small and cosmetic. Or even things from past games that I want to come back!!! I'm always hearing the fans want Mega Evolution & rotation battles to come back. So today, I'm talking about the top ten things I Want out of Pokemon going forward.

1. Bring Back Seasons!

Why? Why would you take this away from us!?!?!? Part of the reason I loved Black & White so much is because they introduced the use of seasons and this gimmick has never came back since. Depending on the season, certain Pokemon had seasonal forms & certain Pokemon could be found in New places. Furthermore, depending on the season the environment HEAVILY changed such as tall grass in summer, cherry blossom petals floating in the wind in spring, leaf piles & brown trees all over the place in Fall & lastly lakes & puddles froze over & snow would HEAVILY pile up in areas allowing new places to explore in winter. I want seasonal Pokemon forms to come back & the environment being altered was so cool. Summer was so pretty, I loved running into leaf piles on Fall & the amount of new areas to explore in winter was so great. Please Pokemon!!! Bring seasons back!!! The bipolar weather conditions in the Wild Area of Sword & Shield is not it!!!

2. Voice Acting

Oddly enough, voice acting has always been an idea on the table since Red & Blue in 1996. The game creators originally wanted the Pokemon in game to speak their names, just like they do in the anime, except that clearly did not translate well since the Gameboy literally wasn't capable of anything at the time and the idea of voice acting has forever since been benched. With recent game titles, I've never wanted voice acting more in my entire life. Sword & Shield gave us VERY cinematic cutscenes but they were awkward as there was absolutely no voice acting. Same with Legends Arceus as certain scenes NEEDED voice acting but we never got it... The games dont even have to be 100% voice overs. It literally could've gone the Breath of the Wild or Persona route where only cutscenes or important dialogue had voice acting. Only two Pokemon games in existence have voice acting. Do you know which two they are? It's Pokemon Battle Revolution & Pokemon Snap for the Switch.

3. Protagonist Romance

I want romance god damn it!!!! The closest ANY Pokemon game has gotten to romance is Professor Kukui & Burnette having an active relationship in Sun & Moon as well as in Black & White where the protagonist has a VERY questionable/Romantically suggested relationship with N. Maybe it's just the fangirl in me but I want to be able to date other characters!!! Or even make it a plot point to give the protagonist a love interest. Better yet! Depending on which gender protagonist you choose, you get a different storyline because of the romantic partner in question. Heck, I would even be satisfied if at the end of a game your rival confesses their love for the player. And again, maybe it's just me, but I thought Hop's relationship with the player could've EASILY turned romantic. Fight me!!!

4. Older Protagonists

I'm not talking about old men, I'm talking about how I want older more experienced protagonists in our main series games. The protagonists in MOST of the main series games are normally 8-10 maybe at most 12 years old... I want SEASONED protagonists!!! Older Protagonists opens up a world of possibilities. It means more adult decisions, romance, and maybe we won't get to choose our starter Pokemon for a change due to them being somewhat experienced and already having a Pokemon. The oldest Protagonists we've EVER gotten includes Rei & Akari from Legends Arceus of whom are 14 & are experienced trainers PRIOR to being transported backwards in time resulting in hard-core gameplay and a sense of independence not hand holding crap. Hilda & Hilbert from Black & White of whom are 15 in this game & due to their age the game tackled a more heavy plot, adult themes like growing up & child abuse & a hint of romance. Wes of Pokemon Colosseum is in his 20s, he had Pokemon prior to the beginning of this game of which were level 25 telling us that he's a seasoned trainer AND the game tackled a heavily dark plot line that includes kidnapping, abusing Pokemon, physically injuring people (yeah, people were beat up forcibly instead of just battling it out with Pokemon like its normally done.) & much more. Due to our Protagonists being literal children, the games try its absolute best to not utilize deep complex storylines or adult themes & heck no!!! I want that deep dark grit back!!!!

5. Shadow Pokemon in Main Series

Hot take! Yeah I know. After reading my entry in this book about Shadow Pokemon, you know how over powered and broken they are BUT I low key want them in the main series ESPECIALLY since the whole Shadow Pokemon thing was actually a thing in one of the Pokemon Movies. Pokemon 4Ever to be specific where the Masked Marauder from Team Rocket turned Celebi & a Tyranitar into 'Shadow' or evil Pokemon. Which is pretty cool since in Pokemon Colosseum, where Shadow Pokemon originate from, Celebi was a key Pokemon to reviving Shadow Pokemon AND Tyranitar is the final Shadow Pokemon you can capture in the game. So why do I want Shadow Pokemon back? Because of angst, difficulty AND to bring some dark grit back to the Pokemon series. The idea of turning Pokemon into evil fighting machines is interesting and barely touched upon in the games AND anime. All these evil team leaders steal Pokemon, will take over cities or awaken gods BUT they never forcefully make Pokemon do their bidding UNLESS it's the Pokemon on the cover of the game you're playing... We always see Shadow Pokemon in side games, Shadow Lugia, Shadow Mewtwo, & Darkrai in multiple games to name a few, but never found in the main series unless Zacian & Zamazenta count when Sordward & Shielbert forcibly made the legendaries turn dark & bestow destruction upon Galar. I want Shadow Pokemon back!!!!!

6. The Ranking System from Pokemon Journeys

The Ranking System was NEARLY a thing in Sword & Shield, it was even in the beta of the game! But it was removed at the last second. So what is the Ranking System that Journeys established? Basically, it ranks who the best trainers in the world are. In the anime, some of the trainers in the Top Twenty include Leon, Raihan, Cynthia, Diantha, Iris, Steven, Flint, Ash, Volkner, Paul, Lance, Bea and MANY more. Kind of like what Black & White 2 did where a World Master Tournament was held & the player could face ANYONE in the Pokemon Universe from Gym Leaders to rivals to Champions. I feel a Tournament or Ranking System would motivate the player to battle more often AND it'd be nice to see familiar faces take part in battles with the player like N, Red, Gladion, or even Wallace. And maybe, we can FINALLY challenge Leon for real cause everyone agrees he was too easy to defeat in Sword & Shield despite being labeled as Undefeated & The Best Trainer In The World.

7. To Be Able To Use Multiple Gimmicks

This probably doesn't make sense at first but I'll explain. I'm talking about battle gimmicks! Mega Evolution, Gigantamax, Z Moves! In the anime currently, Ash uses all of the available battle gimmicks depending on the battle. He's known to mega evolve his Lucario, Gigantamax his Gengar & his Pikachu regularly uses Z Moves. Throwing back to Sun & Moon when Z Moves & Mega Evolution was available in the same game, I WANT this back. I want to be able to utilize these gimmicks again cause I'm speaking for the majority when I say we ALL miss Mega Evolution.

8. To Feature Multiple Regions In One Game

I'm 90% sure we'll never be able to explore multiple regions in the same game ever again just like we did in Heartgold & Soulsilver where you could explore both Kanto & Johto in the same game. Not only would it double the amount of space & data necessary in order to play on your console, it'd take much more time to create said game. Furthermore, they'd most likely put an even larger pricetag on the game In question. When & if Pokemon decides to allow us to explore multiple regions in the same game again, they'd most likely do it in the form of a DLC and charge you extra for it JUST LIKE they did with Sword & Shield. Honestly I'd love to be able to explore multiple regions again! Such as Alola & Unova being in one game since they're both United States Pokemon Regions. Galar, Kalos & the yet to be named region for Scarlet & Violet since they're all literally right next to each other in real life in Europe. Specifically The United Kingdom, Scotland, Spain & France. Again, I'm pretty sure This'll never happen ever again BUT I'd love to be able to revisit old regions once more with current technology rather than their 2D DS & Gameboy origins.

9. To Be Able To Capture Pokemon WITHOUT Engaging In Battle

I know, I know, we already have this! Legends Arceus gave us the ability to capture Pokemon without having to engage in battle. Yup, whether by stealth or confronting a Pokemon head on, you DIDNT need to engage in battle with a Pokemon in order to capture it. You could simply throw a ball at it & catch it if you're lucky. However, Legends Arceus is a side game NOT a main series game. Therefore, we may never get the catching mechanics of Legends Arceus in the main games. It's already established in the marketing of the yet to be released Scarlet & Violet that they WONT be utilizing the overworld & Capture mechanics Legends Arceus gave us which is already a gigantic bummer. I highly enjoyed the Capture system Arceus established since it felt more real & authentic like how the anime portrays capturing Pokemon & hope it eventually comes to the main games.

10. More Player Customization!!!

I swear whenever player customization is available in any Pokemon game I can't freaking stand it. There's only 5-10 hairstyles to choose from, most of them butt ass ugly. A constant complaint from the fanbase being the lack of race inclusive hairstyles. Like Pokemon, theres more race inclusive hairstyles other than braids or afros... YOU CANT EVEN CHOOSE TO BE BALD OR SHAVED!!! Not many choices in unnatural hair coloring unless you want fire red, deep blue or grass green, even the skin colors aren't something to be desired. You're either white or black and RARELY a mixed option is available. What if I want my character to be really pale? What if I want them to be tanned? Pink? Blue? What if I want freckles, moles or birth marks? As of lately the clothing choices have been getting better but it could be miles better. The clothes in Sword & Shield were unaffordable. I mean, who's paying $300,000 for a jacket or $500,000 for a dress? No joke, theres Jackets for $300,000 in game. In Legends Arceus, while there was variety, none of the clothing matched or could pair up with anything else. Like I could love a top but no pants went with it and all shoes were a form of sandal. Hands down, Pokemon X & Y as well as Sun & Moon did Player customization the best!!! These games didn't have store exclusive clothes, instead, every shop switched out their clothes for sale daily on top of having hundreds of options to choose from. Please bring their customization back!!!

Is there anything from this list you'd love to see in a future Pokemon Game?