Pokémon’s Anime introduced a feature that the games need to adopt
A particular race in the Pokémon Sun & Moon anime shows just how much of a difference a little adjustment can make when it comes to Pokémon.
the Pokemon Anime often delves into all sorts of aspects of the world that the games never touch, and these sometimes appear in very interesting ways. One race, for example, offered the perfect solution for Pokémon of the same species that all looked the same: customization.
in the Pokemon anime Sun Moon era, the series tried all sorts of things, like basening Ash from a single location instead of traveling, or having a large cast of main characters to cycle through. One of these companions was Sophocles, a chubby little boy who is a centurion in the games. In the anime, Sophocles likes to race his Charjabug, and later Vikavolt, in special races limited only to this type of Pokémon. But since a Pokemon like Vikavolt only has one form (and it’s shiny), how can the anime sidestep that fact and still make it easy to distinguish Sophocles’ Vikavolt from the rest?
Pokémon can offer more color variations than just shinies
The anime solves this problem by mimicking real races and giving each a different color. To participate, the Vikavolt are equipped with a camera mount that allows the trainers to see from the perspective of Vikavolt. These cameras are each colour-coded, making it easy to tell which Vikavolt is which. Also, racers are allowed to put decals on their Pokémon’s tank just like a race car, giving them even more pops of color and completing the color scheme. Many of the color schemes actually look great on Vikavolt, a fact that might make fans of this particular Pokemon wish this race (or at least its customization options) were actually in the game.
The Pokémon anime proves that the games need more adjustments
The anime had to grapple with the question of distinguishing a specific Pokémon from others of its kind for a long time. For example, back in Bye Bye, Butterfree, Ash puts a scarf around his Butterfree’s neck, making her easily recognizable among the many others, while her love interest has a unique pink tint that also stands out. However, this isn’t just a problem for the anime; Sometimes gamers need a good way to distinguish a Pokémon in their collection from similar ones. One of the reasons why Shiny Pokémon are so popular is that they make your own Pokémon “unique” and special in contrast to other species. The same effect could easily be achieved by allowing greater customization options for Pokémon, either by offering multiple forms of the same Pokémon (see scarlet and violet‘s Squawkabilly) or by allowing them to wear clothing or stickers, as seen in this episode.
Something like this has actually been implemented in Let’s go Pikachu and Eeveebut it only applied to partners Pikachu and Eevee, and Pokemon GoThe costumed Pokémon are similar in many ways. Expanding this, albeit with a bit more bare bones in the end, to accommodate all the different Pokemon would be what some players have been dreaming of for years. There are probably also some fans who would like to see Pokémon racing implemented.
Pokémon customization would certainly be a difficult feature to implement, but fans of it Pokemon will surely love any opportunity to help their favorite creature stand out from the crowd.
