Pokémon Sword & Shield released recently to pretty positive critical and sales reception and it looks like the franchise shows no signs of slowing down. That being said, it's not without its controversies and complaints as fans of the series were expecting more from the franchise's first outing on the Nintendo Switch.

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They want GameFreak to push the series forward a lot more than the snail's pace they've been accused of. Let's now take a look at 10 things GameFreak needs to fix in the next Pokémon game on the Nintendo Switch

10 Starters

For years fans have clamored for GameFreak to be a little bit more creative when it came to the typing of the starter pokémon. Through multiple generations, the farthest they've gone has been giving the final evolutionary forms a dual-typing alongside the traditional grass, water, and fire-types trainers have seen since the late 1990s.

On top of monotonous typing, the series recently had its worst received grouping of final evolutions via the Galar region. They need to be brave enough to change things up.

9 Exploration & Discovery

Despite being able to traverse the vast unknown that is The Wild Area of the Galar region, the game is still structured in a very linear way. Though some need items can be found by simply walking around in various areas the game never really gives the player a true sense of exploration.

Part of this is due to the previously mentioned hallway-like level design of the entire game and another reason is likely the way the Wild Area is design. It happens to be a completely flat area with no geological differentiation.

8 The Rival

If you've spent more than five minutes on social minute then you're likely familiar with the fact that everyone hates Hop. He's the rival of the player character in the Galar region, the younger brother of the current Pokémon Champion Leon, and a huge pain in the side to everyone around him.

He's not mean enough to come off as misunderstood and he's also not skilled enough to feel like a real challenge. He happens to be a microcosm of the decline the rival character has seen in the franchise for many generations.

7 Fixed Camera

A largely requested feature fans have had that became an even louder request since the franchise's move to the Nintendo Switch has been the addition of a fully controllable camera. In the Galar region players can control the camera all by themselves, but only in the confines of The Wild Area.

It's unclear if this was a feature relegated to this giant new addition or the testing ground for what could become a primary feature of future entries in the mainline games of the Pokémon franchise.

6 National Dex

The National Dex was the point of contention when Pokémon Sword & Shield were released and it also happened to be the center of a supposed controversy. GameFreak explained that a good number of pokémon were cut to make the job of creating new models for the monsters a reasonable task that could be completed before the game released.

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The evidence apparently came forth suggesting they weren't using new models and thus the internet blew up. It'll be interesting to see how the National Dex is handled moving forward.

5 Narrative

Most people don't play Pokémon games because of the gripping narrative, but that doesn't mean consumers don't deserve a compelling story. Over the years the adventure the trainer's embark on has become quite formulaic and predictable.

Whether they'd like to admit it or not a large portion of GameFreak's audience is older and it would be in their best interest to work on providing more engaging stories for all of the demographics who love and enjoy every new Pokémon adventure.

4 Legendaries

The Pokémon video game series has done this odd thing over the years where the legendary creatures of each region went from being optional discoveries that were mysterious and worth pursuing into something completely different.

In the past decade-plus, it seems that every new legendary is tied to some world-ending event and you must stop them to save the world. Changing them back to mysteries can make catching them more exciting and force writers to tell a more compelling story.

3 Difficulty Options

The Pokémon fandom is full of an entire group of older people who grew up with the franchise and return to it simply out of nostalgia or genuine joy. The problem is that the games themselves haven't even tried to grow up alongside these people or at the very least offer options for varying levels of expertise.

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The series desperately needs difficulty options to satiate the people who are very familiar with turn-based role-playing games and want their Pokémon adventure to provide a challenge.

2 Cities & Towns

It seems that the trade-off for getting something like The Wild Area was that the cities and towns of the Galar region would take a huge step back. For years the towns in Pokémon games had numerous houses and areas you could explore within them and in Pokémon Sword & Shield they just feel empty.

The largest cities in the map seemingly have just as much in them as the starting locations. It's easily one of the most disappointing revelations of the new games and needs to be corrected.

1 The Wild Area

The Wild Area was an ambitious addition to the Galar region that showcased the beginning stages of what fans are hoping is the direction the franchise is headed in.

For years people wanted a massively multiplayer online Pokémon game, but since the release of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild fans now want to franchise to reinvent itself in the same sort of fashion. The Wild Area could easily be a region-specific hook we never see again, but GameFreak needs to understand it's a step towards a very profitable future.

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