- Primary Subject: Pokémon Series (Current Era: Pokémon Winds and Pokémon Waves / Pokémon Legends: Z-A)
- Key Update: During the February 27, 2026 Pokémon Presents, Gen 10 was officially revealed as Pokémon Winds and Pokémon Waves, scheduled for a 2027 global release on the Nintendo Switch 2.
- Status: Confirmed
- Last Verified: March 6, 2026
- Quick Answer: Pokémon accessibility streamlines modern play with open-world freedom, but veterans argue it compromises difficulty, linearity, and the satisfaction of mastering complex, unguided mechanics.
When it comes to Pokemon games, there's no doubt that they have evolved with each passing generation. Gone are the days of limited inventories and Hidden Machines, as the more recent mainline entries have been streamlined to the point that just about anyone can have fun.
Making them accessible has certainly helped further popularize the franchise, and I'm happy that this means its chances of remaining relevant even far into the future are high. However, making them easier to get into isn't all ups, as there are a few big downsides.
One is that the games have become over-tutorialized. If you're entering the franchise for the first time, it's understandable that you'd want what you're playing to teach you the basics, so that you'll know what to do and how to have fun. In that sense, tutorials are alright, as they have the potential to retain newcomers and turn them into lifelong fans when done right, thus further cementing Pokemon's continued legacy.
However, the problem is that these tutorials can be extremely lengthy, as seen in recent games like Pokemon Legends: Z-A or Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. While that may not be a big deal for new players, given how it's very helpful for them, it is for those who can be considered veterans of the franchise.
A good chunk of fans are those who have been playing the games since the early generations. I'm talking about times like during the initial release of entries like Pokemon Emerald, Platinum, Heart Gold, Soul Silver, and even well past that. It goes without saying that those who've played them are well-versed in how Pokemon's gameplay works, and given that the formula likely won't see any drastic changes in future titles, they wouldn't need or want to go through a tutorial.
However, with the accessibility of more modern games, they'll be forced to do so. Given that tutorials seem to be getting longer and longer, they can really ruin the experience for longtime fans, potentially even driving them away from playing the newer entries. If there were an option to skip the process, then this wouldn't be an issue.
Don't hope too much that it'll be implemented, given that it hasn't happened yet and how it likely still won't even be in next year's Pokemon Winds and Waves for the sake of newcomers. Veterans will just have to deal with overly long tutorials if they want to enjoy the game, an unfortunate consequence of accessibility.
The other downside of making the games more accessible is that it takes away the challenge. Admittedly, early Pokemon games were rather difficult, as they didn't really hold your hand in terms of telling you where to go, what you need to do, and what you'll need to overcome certain challenges. However, I think not making things easy was the fun part, as it forced you to really understand the game so you can plan out your next moves, making for many memorable experiences and improving your thinking and battling skills.
That's no longer the case now with the games being more streamlined. It's not that they've become extremely easy because of it, as there are still some parts of modern games that do offer a decent challenge, but now they're not exactly doing anything to really test your mettle as a player.
Hardships like learning how to properly EV train, worrying which one-time Technical Machines to use on who, or having to switch out party members so they can gain experience through battling are now a thing of the past due to modern accessibility. While that can still be seen as a good thing, their removal also resulted in the loss of some of Pokemon's charm, which is a shame, as the newcomers could have used some of it to help them grow into great trainers.
Lastly, due to Pokemon games becoming more accessible, players now have much more freedom in terms of where they can go. This is a case of both really good and really bad, as having little to no restriction in exploration can make for a grand time, especially since you get to see what everything has to offer as soon as possible.
However, that's also the major downside. Since you can pretty much go wherever you want, barring maybe one or two places, there's not really much to look forward to anymore. In past games, it was more linear, meaning it was required to visit one place after another in a certain order.
While that does sound limiting, exploring new areas one by one was more satisfying, as you got to enjoy what each one had to offer and better appreciate their details before moving to the next. Freedom was great, but so was the linearity, so this is one of the points where it's entirely on you whether you see exploration's modernization as good or bad.
With Pokemon games becoming more accessible, Nintendo and Game Freak must strike a balance in ensuring that both newcomers and veterans can appreciate the changes. Not an easy task, but if it wants the franchise to move forward while appeasing and retaining all of its fans, then it's something that needs to be done.
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