Pokémon's method when it comes to creating games might be tried and true, but perhaps it's time that method was tweaked in one major way.
Pokémon isn't the most true to life video game series in the world. Far from it: ten-year-olds are sent out into the wild to hunt and fend for themselves, all while capturing animals and keeping them in captivity. They only to release them from their spherical prisons when its time to be forced into a fight with another animal. It all sounds pretty horrific until you actually play.
The one solace trainers can take from being forced to battle Pokémon against one another is that the loser doesn't die. They faint and can be revived at a nearby Pokémon Center. However, what if Pokémon could die? It's a feature the games' developers have steered away from thus far. Animals fighting to the death for the pleasure of humans isn't exactly a great selling point for a game whose target audience is children.
We're not proposing that be the only way Pokémon can die in-game. In fact, battling to the death is probably an element that is best left alone forever. Pokémon dying, on the other hand, is something that could now be implemented into the series of games. Whether it be from old age, natural causes, or trainers not taking care of them properly.
Although we said Pokémon games are mainly aimed at children, that might not be as true as it once was. Many of its current players have grown up with the games and are now adults. Most of those adults will be equipped to handle a game in which its characters die, even if one of those characters is an adorable Wigglytuff.
There's no escaping the fact that Pokémon draws in new fans with each passing game though, and most of those new fans are children. The idea of an eight-year-old nurturing and raise a Sobble only for it to keel over and die a few months later is almost too much to handle. Maybe Game Freak could include an option that can be toggled on and off so younger players don't have to go through the trauma of losing a beloved Pokémon forever.