The Pokemon series has seen the release of games in many different genres. Now, one Pokemon fan has devised a way they would like to see the series expand into the relaxing simulation RPG genre with a game similar to Animal Crossing.
For those who don't know, Animal Crossing is another Nintendo franchise that sees players helping the animals of a village complete tasks. Along the way players can do relaxing activities like fishing, customizing their houses, digging for fossils, or planting flowers, although Nintendo has confirmed that there are more Animal Crossing activities coming in the future.
The new idea comes from a post to the Pokemon subreddit by Reddit user AlternativeQuality2. The post says that while Nintendo has put plenty of attention towards players exploring how battling Pokemon works, the company has not delved very much into the services that surround those battles in the world of Pokemon. This led AlternativeQuality2 to daydream of a game that allowed players to set up a homestead in the Pokemon universe. While some Pokemon spin-offs have allowed players to own things like ranches or secret bases, the game that AlternativeQuality2 has some important distinctions from what the series has done before.
While the game that they had in mind could still allow players to battle NPCs or other players, it would also allow them to focus on other activities during the downtime. This would allow players to do things like grow crops to feed their Pokemon, go mining for precious minerals, or interact with people at a local village. The idea definitely has some great qualities to it, especially how AlternativeQuality2 imagines being able to customize one's homestead for different purposes, whether it be a dojo, a farm, a factory, or even a player's very own Pokemon gym.
Of course, there is no telling whether or not Nintendo would ever consider making a spin-off like this, but with the popularity of games like Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley, it definitely seems like an idea that could be successful. With many Pokemon fans calling for more spin-offs in the series to mix up its gameplay and let players experience its world differently, hopefully, Nintendo will start to consider some of the proposed ideas. Of course, players do already have Pokemon Legends: Arceus to look forward to, which seems to be taking a very different approach to the series, so maybe Nintendo has other spin-off plans in the works as well.