10 Changes GameFreak Should Add to Pokémon Winds and Waves

The Pokémon series has undergone some major changes over the years. Gone are the days of the 8-bit sprites, and welcome are the days of open worlds. Despite all the changes, Pokémon has also stayed largely the same in many ways, with battle mechanics getting minor tweaks, and the giant text boxes still plaguing the screen.

With Pokémon Winds and Waves on the horizon, it is time for Pokémon to get some more changes to prepare for Generation 10. Maybe this will be the generation where we finally get voice acting, or perhaps we will have a rival that feels like a rival and not a cheerleader. At least some of these changes need to happen.

10 An Actual Rival

Instead of a Friend

Many trainers remember the struggle of going toe-to-toe with their rival in the early generations of Pokémon games. Gary was a menace, and he would insult you every second he got. The same can be said about Silver.

These rivals are iconic in the Pokémon series because of their attitudes, strong teams, and opposition to the player character. They stood as a major roadblock during your journey in the early games.

As time went on with the Pokémon games, the rivals became worse. Nemona was a bit of a breath of fresh air, but she still never filled the Gary-sized hole in my heart. It would be great for Winds and Waves to bring back a rival who you truly want to beat, and not just because the game tells you to.

At Least, Not Right away

I recently replayed Pokémon LeafGreen, and then I went on to play Pokémon HeartGold, and it made me remember what a grind those games could be. I will admit, I became rather complacent thanks to the EXP Share being given out right away.

As I continued my playthrough, I realized that I preferred not having the EXP Share immediately. It gets you more connected to your Pokémon because you are investing the time and energy into them to make them good, not leveling up your entire team at once.

For Winds and Waves, GameFreak should leave the EXP Share locked behind an early-game door. I think the perfect time to hand it out would be after your third gym battle, as this way you have some experience growing your Pokémon, but you don't need to wait incredibly long.

8 Legendaries Should Come Later

They Used to Be Special

Legendary Pokémon are still special, but they somewhat lose that special nature when they are given to you right away. Over time, it has become easier to obtain the legendary Pokémon, and Scarlet and Violet gave them away.

There are many trainers who miss the old days of Pokémon and how difficult legendary Pokémon were to obtain. The legendary birds only appeared in specific locations, Regirock required you to complete a specific puzzle, and the legendary "dogs" appeared at random.

The hard work that went into getting these Pokémon made them feel more special when you finally caught them, and it would be nice for Winds and Waves to capture that magic once more.

7 Bring Back Fishing

Weird That It's Gone

Pokémon has had a fishing mechanic in it since the first game, and it hasn't changed much in the decades the franchise has existed. However, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet removed this mechanic, which many felt was an odd choice, especially since the games were open world.

Instead of fishing, you see Pokémon on the water, which is a strange choice. Gone are the days of being able to catch Pokémon via fishing, but Winds and Waves can bring it back.

These upcoming titles are going to feature ocean biomes, which could expand the fishing mechanics in a big way, allowing trainers to fish, but also see the Pokémon swimming around in the ocean so they know where to aim their rod.

6 A Bigger Pokémon Roster

Big Game, Big Roster

There are over 1,000 Pokémon now, which gives GameFreak a lot to choose from when creating the roster for Winds and Waves. Most of the games stick to having a few hundred Pokémon, but Winds and Waves could expand this in a way that Scarlet and Violet did.

Scarlet and Violet have 400 Pokémon in the base game. The addition of the DLCs raised this number to over 700. Winds and Waves could have at least 500 Pokémon in the base game, giving trainers tons of Pokémon to choose from on their teams.

Of course, this also includes the addition of the next generation of Pokémon, which should be at minimum 100. Some games didn't even break 100 new Pokémon, and that is a trend GameFreak shouldn't keep.

5 Better Battle Mechanic

Or No New Battle Mechanic

Every Pokémon needs to have some sort of battle gimmick that makes it stand out from the others. First it was double battles, then it became Mega Evolution, and now we have stuff like Terastallization.

There are many who are tired of these battle mechanics, especially when they feel like not a ton of thought was put into them. It has felt like GameFreak has been trying to recapture the high that was Mega Evolution and failed in every attempt.

Winds and Waves either needs to have a very good battle mechanic or the games need to just stick with normal battles without a flash gimmick. There are rumors of there being a weather-based battle mechanic, and that could be interesting, but I hope it is implemented well.

4 Better Gyms

That Scale With Level

There is an issue that arose in Scarlet and Violet where you could challenge any gym in whatever order you felt like. Unfortunately, these gyms had fixed levels and fixed teams, meaning if you ran to Glaseado first, you would get beaten down by level 47 ice-type Pokémon.

If you trained hard, you could take on a higher-level gym, but that also made the other half of the game too easy. To make Winds and Waves better, it needs to have gym challenges that adapt to your current level.

For instance, if you run to the last gym first, you will face a scaled team to your current level, and the gym leader might have different Pokémon depending on when you visit them. This would make fighting gyms much more fun and increase the replay value of Winds and Waves.

3 Better Villains

Make Them Evil

Back in the day, there were villains in Pokémon who were trying to end the world. There were villains who wanted to steal Pokémon from everyone. They had ideals. Now, we have a team of villains who are just cheering on a rival or a team that wants to end bullying.

It is strange to see how the villainous team in Pokémon has changed over the years, and it would be nice for them to be actual villains again. Each generation that has passed has shown the villainous team become weaker and more like a hollow shell of what they used to be.

Winds and Waves needs a villainous team with a plan, and one that actually poses a threat to the player character instead of cheerleaders and rappers.

2 Character Customization

Let Me Make My Character

The character creation of Pokémon has evolved slightly over the years, but it has mostly stayed the same too. Instead of having a static sprite, you now get the option to select from various preset options.

As you progress through the game, you can change your clothes and hairstyle. While this is nice, it would be awesome to see the series go in the direction of adding a full character creation system.

Imagine going through Winds and Waves with a character you fully designed, and if the team added more clothing options, it would be even better.

1 Voice Acting

It Has to Happen

Pokémon started its journey as a game that required you to read everything. From the very beginning, you read paragraph after paragraph, progressing through the world as the silent protagonist.

This theme stayed consistent for decades, until Legends Z-A was released. We then got a glimpse of what a voice-acted Pokémon would be like, but it was thanks to fans who decided to remake the cutscenes from the game with full voice acting.

I am not saying that the entire game needs to have voice acting, but it is about time that every cutscene received voice acting. After all, fans have been begging for this for ages at this point.