POKÉMON NEEDS TO GO BACK IF IT WANTS TO MOVE FORWARD - STUNTED EVOLUTION

Pokémon has gone too far and grown too large, that's why, in my opinion, the only way for Pokémon to move forward is to go backward.

- Jordan Biordi

I've been playing a lot of Pokémon lately. Between Pokémon Scarlet, finally diving into Pokémon Trading Card Game for the Game Boy, and getting a little too into Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket. I've been thinking a lot about the series and how far it has come since 1996. And what better time than Pokémon Day to elaborate on something I've been feeling about the franchise for a little while now, and that is—Pokémon has lost all its mystery.

There was a specific line of dialogue that really bothered me in Pokémon Legends Arceus. Early in that game, after the player has been sent back in time to the origins of Pokémon catching, they are given a Pokéball effectively made of sticks and stones and are told that “all Pokémon have the innate ability to shrink themselves down to minuscule size” which allows them to fit in the ball.

Similarly, in Pokémon Sword/Shield there's an odd sign tucked away in Route 10—right towards the end of the game, mind you—that informs the player that the Dynamax Ability, wherein Pokémon can transform into giant versions of themselves, is not, in fact, the Pokémon becoming large, but instead using Dynamax energy to warp the space around them so they only appear large. It was this moment in particular that really stuck with me because I couldn't understand why Pokémon was going out of its way to demystify itself.