Pokemon games have come a long way since Red and Blue launched more than 25 years ago. Jumping from Nintendo console to Nintendo console, knowing Game Freak, it won't be long until the next Pokemon games are revealed. As for what long-time fans want those games to look like, some appear keen to see a cel-shaded style applied to whatever's next.
The want for cel-shaded Pokemon games has been started, or at least furthered, by TheYisusOne. Yisuno shared a comparison shot on Twitter including a regular screengrab and what that image would look like if it were cel-shaded. Needless to say, pretty much all of the replies agree the cel-shaded image is the better-looking one.
The leading reason Pokemon fans are clamoring for a cel-shaded game is so their next quest to become a Pokemon champion feels more like its accompanying anime. Between the same 'mons appearing across various games and trading cards themed after some of those games, Pokemon has also demonstrated plenty of synergy. Games that look like they take place in the same universe as its TV shows and movies only makes sense.
Pokemon and Game Freak might be doing a little rethinking right now when it comes to how its next games look. Although Scarlet & Violet received okay scores and quickly sold millions of copies, the games were also widely criticized for the way they look. While that largely related to bugs and glitches, there has also been critique regarding the visual quality of the latest games.
Pokemon only has Nintendo hardware to work with, of course, but Xenoblade Chronicles continued to prove in 2022 that the hardware needn't hold big studios back all that much. Tears of the Kingdom will likely do that too later this year. Cel-shading might be the best way for Pokemon to go moving forward if it wants to make an aesthetically pleasing game with a quick turnaround.