The Pokemon franchise has long been known for adding new technology to its world, as well as new mechanics that can change various Pokemon's forms. The original games introduced the idea of evolution, now iconic to the series. Later on the idea of Mega Evolutions, regional forms of Pokemon, and most recently Dynamax forms were also added. These ideas are partly fueled by technology in the world of Pokemon, as its inhabitants discover more latent abilities within Pokemon.
A long-running online trend is something that Nintendo should take a look at for the next mainline Pokemon game. Fans have been creating fusions between multiple different Pokemon for years. There are even online tools that fans have created to automate the process, combining the pixel arts for monsters on its own. Now that Nintendo has shown it's looking to take some bigger risks with the franchise in titles like Pokemon Legends: Arceus, it should consider incorporating this fan-favorite idea into the next mainline game as well.
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Ways to Use Fusion in a Pokemon Game
As far as an in-game justification to make fusions work in a Pokemon game, that's the easy part. Technology in the world of Pokemon is incredible, as a popular recurring NPC likes to say. Even just the method for storing Pokemon in Pokeballs and subsequently on the PC is a technical marvel. The idea that a new professor has developed a way to fuse Pokemon together, even temporarily, wouldn't be beyond believability for a Pokemon game. As far as the potential for Pokemon to fuse on their own, even the sheer number of Eeveelutions in Pokemon shows that creatures developing new abilities isn't anything new.
The mechanical aspects of utilizing fusions in a Pokemon game are more challenging, and interesting, to consider. So much of the meta in a Pokemon game revolves around type matchups, and fusing two Pokemon together would throw a pretty big wrench into that system. There's a fairly large competitive element in Pokemon, and this could easily become another frustrating mechanic. It would most likely work best as an in-battle mechanic more than something permanent. In that regard it could function similarly to Mega Evolutions.
Balancing out how types are adjusted in a certain fusion would be the most critical part of making the idea work. That's before even considering the sheer number of Pokemon available to potentially fuse. A player's natural inclination would be to eliminate a type weakness by fusing with a Pokemon that is strong against that weakness, so determining which two types transition over into the fused Pokemon is important. Fans have long been reimagining Pokemon with different types, but from a balancing standpoint that could become a logistical nightmare.
More than anything, adding fusions into a Pokemon game would be a great way for Nintendo to include something fans have talked about for years. Reacting to what's received positive fan feedback is why there have been more variant Pokemon included since Sun and Moon, and fusions could be another great way to engage fans. While there are plenty of hurdles to overcome with trying to incorporate fusions, it's something Nintendo should consider. The concept isn't too far from ideas already utilized in Pokemon, and could lead to some varied and memorable moments for a beloved franchise.
Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl will release on November 19, 2021, for Nintendo Switch.
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