There wasn't all that much in today's Pokemon Presents to get excited about. There was no reveal of a new Mystery Dungeon (or really, any new game), nor was there the much-expected arrival of the classic Pokemon games on Nintendo Switch. It was disappointing, but I'm reluctant to criticise what wasn't there - it's easy to build things up in your head, and Pokemon had mostly been teasing Sleep, which did finally appear. However, what did appear was part of a repeated pattern of Pokemon damaging the prestige of its rarest creatures, stripping away the sense of adventure found in its games, and robbing newer players of the chance to create memories.
Throughout last year, I had a weekly column called Revisiting Kanto where I replayed Pokemon Blue and hit upon a new town, city, or route each week, trying to take the game in like a tourist and figure out why it connected so deeply to my sense of nostalgia. However, what stuck with me the most across that entire journey was catching Articuno. To capture the Legendary bird, you must venture deep into an icy cave, and solve a particularly tricky puzzle that requires you use your mastery of skills picked up along the journey. The cave must be surpassed to continue the story, but a long way round is technically possible, and the cave can be completed without catching Articuno at all - only those willing to tough it out will survive.
Likewise, Zapdos sits at the end of a hidden, optional area, thematically fitting a beast with command over electricity. Mewtwo is deep inside the toughest cave in the game, and can only be reached once you have proven yourself worthy. I didn't like that Moltres is just waiting in Victory Road, but that's still better than what we get these days.
All of the early generations treat legendaries with reverence. Ho-oh sits atop a burnt out, haunted tower, and the path to Rayquaza is one of the most memorable sequences any Pokemon trainer will experience. Recently though, the magic has gone. Developers are too eager to ensure that no one misses out, and so it no longer feels like an achievement. In Sword & Shield's DLC, the three Legendary birds are back, but this time, it's their Galar variants. Only instead of making your way through an epic quest, you solve a single puzzle at their door, then immediately fight them. If you knock them out by flying too close to the sun, the fight will end but they will remain there for you to have another go.
I know we all used to save scum, but at least then we were rewriting our own story and not having the game patronisingly let us try again and again until we emerged victorious. Now we have the latest addition to Scarlet & Violet. Available right now, we're getting two new Pokemon in the form of Walking Wake and Iron Leaves. They're Paradox Pokemon rather than true Legendaries, but they're based on Legendaries (Suicune and Virizion), so it feels close enough.
Even though these are two brand new Pokemon, one based on an all-time favourite Legendary who originally roamed the map freely and needed to be ardently pursued, both of them are available in Tera Raids. Trainers can team up and fight oversized crystal versions of them again and again and again with no real purpose or end goal. It's all just a huge waste of time that makes sure no one misses out, and as a consequence, also makes sure no one cares.
The solution does not need to be artificial rarity. These don't need to be timed events or require completion of a battle pass, as other games do. Pokemon already had the solution - we just want to earn them. Let us go on an adventure. Let us climb towers, dive the depth of the oceans, crawl through caves... let us find the light in the dark. Pokemon cares more about making sure everyone can catch 'em all than it does about making that experience even slightly memorable. Now that I can catch 'em all, I can't think of anything I want to do less.