If you've been a longtime fan of the mainline Pokemon games, then you should be aware of how far the series has come since its humble beginnings. What used to be the standard, like having to use HMs or training your team members individually, has either been removed or changed throughout each entry, mostly for the better.
I am certainly happy that's the case, as it makes future entries a better experience for the newer and older generations of fans. However, there is one removal that, even though it makes sense, I believe needs to come back. Ever since the Pokemon: Let's Go games and Sword and Shield, you can physically see Pokemon wandering around in the wild, and making contact with them initiates a fight.
This is a noticeable change from older entries, where you'd walk around areas where Pokemon are known to spawn and be randomly pulled into a battle screen at any time. Essentially, modern games give you control over when a fight starts, and while that's helpful for those who can't handle being caught off-guard, I think the experience would be much better if it didn't.
What I'm saying is that a future game should consider bringing back the random battles. I would have liked it if Pokemon Winds and Waves brought it back, but given the trailers, that isn't happening. But why should random battles return? Weren't they annoying and a source of many a fan's frustrations? That may be true, but a good reason for them to come back is that they make gameplay much more exciting.
In modern entries, whenever you head over to a new area, the Pokemon that inhabit it instantly spawn in the overworld. Sometimes where they pop up differs, with some rare ones showing up only under certain conditions, but the fact remains: you'll see exactly where they are immediately. While it's cool and makes it much easier to catch Pokemon and build a team, it also strips away any level of uncertainty.
Not knowing who or what can show up isn't fun for some; it's what helped make the old games so beloved. Back then, you could be walking on a patch of grass expecting to catch an insect Pokemon, only to be surprised by something out of place, like a little baby psychic-type or a fire-type that could evolve into something awesome. That unpredictability made you look forward to what the next area might have, making the journey more fun and memorable.
Another reason random battles should come back is that they kept you on your toes. Now that you can see the Pokemon walking around the overworld, you don't necessarily have to fight. All you have to do is go around them, and you'll be safe from being forced to battle. Although there are some Pokemon that make that a little more difficult, like when they have speed that lets them outpace how fast you run, for the most part, you can easily dodge them.
In the older Pokemon games, you had no choice. The moment you enter the spawn zones, you're setting yourself up for an encounter. Since they're random, you can't avoid them, so you just had to push through and see if you got pulled into a battle screen. I know you can always buy repels to prevent that, but that still isn't enough to save you, because wild Pokemon with a higher level than yours can overcome the item's effects.
So, that means no matter where you go, whether you have repels or not, you have to anticipate a fight. I know this can be annoying, especially if you just want to move on to the next area and keep your journey going, but random battles at least keep you engaged. Since wild Pokemon can pop up at any moment, it creates tension in situations you can never get in modern Pokemon titles.
Because let's say you're traversing a long tunnel with your team battered and bruised from many trainer fights. You're out of ways to heal them, so you have to find the exit as quickly as possible.
However, with random battles, you have to hope and pray you don't walk into any, because even one wild Pokemon that's stronger than yours could prove fatal. That horrifying thought that you can suddenly be wiped out through no fault of your own may be unfair, but it makes for a more enjoyable and sometimes even hilarious experience.
Again, I understand that not everyone likes being forced into fights, but it's much better than being able to avoid them altogether. I hope the day comes when Pokemon brings random battles back, because it could make future games better than the current modern entries.
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