It's safe to say that Pokémon franchise has had one of the most successful runs in all gaming history, bringing about a span of multiple titles over the course of 20 years. Pokémon relishes a huge community and with that, comes a polarity between players that love casual plays and those that love competitive plays. Amidst the ever growing popularity of the franchise, is one of its features actually killing it?
Pokémon Sun and Moon: Breeding
One of the endearing characteristics of the game is the thrill that it gives over finding rare Pokémon in the wild. It offers adventures, fun and enjoyment whilst still providing effort in catching one. Upon the introduction of IVs, EVs and Breeding, more and more fans are tuning into the latter to get the "perfect" Pokémon with the "perfect" stats and nature. Breeding also paved the way to competitive play in Pokémon. But just like the saying goes, "there is two sides of a coin," Breeding also has its own snag.
Pokémon Sun and Moon: Problem With Breeding
After the introduction of Breeding (and of the Masuda Method), people are entwined to breeding Pokémon in order to get the best IV spreads, nature, etc. to create and raise the "perfect" Pokémon. This paved the way to a more diverse and competitive battles especially as one can now easily obtain the right traits that are ideal for their respective team compositions and specific gameplay strategies. All of these at the cost of some aspect - and that is the "thrill of the hunt."
Although players still hunt for rare Pokémon, Breeding inadvertently led to a more passive gameplay - players are now stuck at daycare doing infinite looping to hatch the perfect egg that they wanted. In one of the threads from the Pokémon Sun and Moon subreddit, players have shared their concerns over Breeding and how it somehow "killed" the fun aspect of the game.
According to most of them, although Breeding has its own perks, it also has its own setbacks by inclining the game into a more competitive aspect. Now, players are stuck doing breeding and trading instead of exploring and enjoying the world that they all love.
Albeit players are entitled with their opinions, it's interesting to see how Game Freak will address these concerns and how the developers will create a harmonious balance between casual and competitive players. More importantly, it's interesting to see the standpoint of the majority's perspective with regards to this matter. Is Breeding really killing the game or is it creating a healthier, more diverse environment for the community?
