Pokemon Soulslike/Action RPG Game
So, we're seeing Game Freak piloting live action Pokemon battles. They've gotten a lot of negative reviews, but I think it's a great start to what could be a massive gold mine.
My idea is centered on what live battles could become. Instead of being a trainer and trying to use gimmicky controls to command your Pokemon to victory in live encounters, I suggest a different angle altogether.
Becoming your Pokemon.
This would include a two-pronged approach. On one hand, you play the role of the Pokemon trainer. Traveling between zones or regions, seeing Pokemon in the wild, and fighting to catch them. With the Pokemon you already have, training them more personally and directly (through sparring, actual training, or just practicing getting user-specific combos down) and spending time with them as you travel.
On the other hand, Pokemon fights. As you get into encounters with either wild Pokemon or trainer battles, you take the perspective of your Pokemon. This is where the magic happens:
- True dodging mechanics accompanied by I-frames and a stamina bar
- A resource, "Pokemon Power" or something, that acts like Mana in magic games: you need it to cast skills. More powerful skills - or, in the case of standard Pokemon, the less PP it has - require more power or energy to cast
- A way to create team synergies with other Pokemon in your party - setting up attacks for others in your team to finish
- Finally, a way to improve your Pokemon's power through encounters or training. No more arbitrary stats defining which Pokemon players never use in their teams. Any Pokemon can become great through training. What were "base stats" that once defined a Pokemon's maximum power now only defines its starting point, as the name suggests. I'd like to finally see what I can do with a fully powered Arbok. Suffer my poison, do gooders!
- These things incorporate mechanisms seen in different Pokemon games - Pokemon GO, Pokken Tournament, Pokemon TCG, and Pokemon Legends: Arceus
This would allow a huge amount of creativity to be available to players. It is, however, a huge undertaking. I would suggest, if this is to be considered, to pilot with the same kind of thing as the LGPE games. Maybe the first game could be playing the role as a well-known Pokemon (Riolu, Pichu, Eevee, Gen 1 starters, etc) instead of introducing a huge amount of possible Pokemon to use, then going around using just that Pokemon and fighting off wild Pokemon while doing similar "observation" missions as we see in Arceus.
This would also make certain boss fights actually hard. I've grown up just being overleveled for the final battles and one or two shotting legendary Pokemon. That isn't right. A higher speed stat and a supereffective move shouldn't streamline what's supposed to be a final boss. If Game Freak turned legendary Pokemon fights into Soulslike boss encounters, that would be amazing. Trying to escape Dialga's time powers or a hyperbeam spam from an angry Rayquaza? Yes please!
At least consider it.
