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Don’t get me wrong, I’m obsessed with Pokemon Go! If your childhood consisted of days spent curled around your Game Boy, walking through caves or knee-deep in grass trying to evolve your Magikarp, then when you heard they were releasing Pokemon Go, you probably fangirl-squealed like I did. And then when the game did come out, you freaked out again because it was even cooler than you imagined, being able to catch Pokemon in your backyard, in your bedroom, in your shower!
But I think we can all agree that during its existence, there have been some areas of contempt regarding things we wish were different. Below I’ve identified a few issues that personally drive be batty, and the solutions I would implement were I working for Niantic!
Getting My Raid Hopes Up
I have only successfully raided one or two 5-star raids, but I’ve gone to close to fifty. The problem is, by the time I arrive, there is no one else to raid with. Just this weekend, I spent an hour driving around to different gyms with raids up, hoping to get in on the Ho-Oh/Lugia action, and every single one was empty (I did eventually stumble onto a random 10-person group, but it took over an hour to find them). It’s a waste of gas and a waste of time.
This is an easy fix though! Normally, when you’re close enough to a gym during a raid, it shows you the number of people who are in the lobby. So why can’t this be seen from a distance? I should be able to click on the gyms in my neighborhood and see whether or not there are other trainers in battle or waiting to battle.
We could take this one step closer to awesome though! Instead of trainers having to physically be at the gym in order to be counted, a “marker” system could be put in place. Trainers who are interested in participating in the battle could mark their interest and then you’d be able to see a gym/raids potential for battle.
Socializing on Pokemon Go
Better yet, why not implement an in-game chat system of some sorts? Raiding would be so much more enticing!
Admittedly, of all my suggestions/requests, this one is the trickiest. You wouldn’t want just an open world chat because that wouldn’t be helpful. What would be best would be a system of local chats, maybe by zip code. In order for it to work, players would have to “subscribe” or “opt-in” to their specific area chat preferences, but once they did, they would be able to coordinate with all the trainers in that area, not just the handful of friends they know who play.
Maybe that solution wasn’t so complicated after all. Get on it Niantic!
Evolving Pidgey… For the Hundredth Time
By now, most people know the leveling “hack” of popping a Lucky Egg and evolving all of the Pokemon that you can fit into that 30-minute window. So we stock up on all of the weak Pokemon that would otherwise have no value: Pidgey, Caterpie, Rattata, Sentret, Ledyba, Seedot, Zigzagoon—you get the picture. So, do I really need to see the evolution screen every single time I evolve a Pokemon? I’ve evolved some of these at least a dozen times each already. And when you’re trying to mass-evolve for XP, this can become so tedious.
All I’m asking for is a skip button. It doesn’t even have to be usable at all times. Maybe we’re not allowed to skip the ones we’ve never evolved before, shiny Pokemon, and the Pokemon who have multiple evolutions (like Tyrogue, Wurmple, Eevee, etc.), but for the love of all things Pokemon, please please PLEASE let us skip the cutscene at all other times.
All Evolutions Should be Viewable
Speaking of evolving Pokemon, with the slow release of Gen 4, I find myself suddenly trying to re-catch a bunch of Pokemon that I had previously thought were useless. Rhydon, Magmar, Electabuzz, Misdreavus, Gligar, Porygon2, Murkrow, Sneasel, Roselia, Togetic, and Dusclops are all Pokemon that previously couldn’t be evolved but now can (and there are apparently a handful of others who get evolutions in this generation too: Aipom, Nosepass, Lickitung, Kirlia, Magneton, Tangela, Yanma, Piloswine, Snorunt, and two new Eevee evolves). Had I known, I would’ve been stocking up on these guys this whole time!
I’ll admit, it is largely my fault for knowing JACK about any generation of Pokemon passed Gen 2 (sorry, but I grew up with the originals and refused to accept any new additions, until Pokemon Go came out!). So, yes, I could’ve educated myself and looked into all the evolutions that might be upcoming, but not knowing has kind of been part of the excitement of the game. This allows us with each update and release to “discover” new Pokemon as they come out!
My solution for this irritating experience: show that a Pokemon has an evolution, even if that generation isn’t out yet, by having a gray outline under the previous evolved Pokemon’s stat screen. There, problem solved!
Excellent Throws Should be Rewarded
I get so heated when I actually manage to make an excellent throw and then the Pokemon breaks free. All that experience flashes before my eyes and, nine times out of ten, I roar at my phone, “are you freakin’ kidding me!?!”.
Niantic, if a trainer makes an excellent throw, is it asking too much for that catch to be guaranteed? I think not. At the very least, they should significantly increase your chances of sinking that Pokemon (I’m talking like a 90% chance or something)!
Unrestricted Access to Pokemon Storage
It would be extremely helpful to be able to view your current Pokemon while actively trying to catch a Pokemon. Maybe some of you have never had this thought and are now wondering why this would be helpful. I’ll tell you!
Say you are working on the A Mythical Discovery special research and you finally get the task of evolving an evolved Pokemon. Sure, in that moment you might scroll through your Pokemon and decide who you are going to try to evolve, but the next time you open the game you forget and just start playing. But you remember during a battle with a Ivysaur and you think, “should this be the evolved Pokemon I try to evolve? Do I have enough berries to do it if I catch it, or should I use a Pinap Berry?”. Currently, the only way to find this information out is to back out of the battle and scroll through your storage. But if you’re like me, you often will play this game on the go, either as a passenger or on a bus, so if you back out of the battle, you lose the Pokemon.
Niantic should incorporate a way to view your collection of Pokemon while you’re trying to catch one. I think it would be a fairly simple thing to add, so I’m not sure why it doesn’t exist already.
There you have it, my thoughts on what Niantic should consider incorporating on the next update (finger’s crossed).
What do you think? What did I leave out? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
That’s all for now. Stay Nerdy!
Jessaca
author: The Awakened series