Posted in: Games, Mobile Games, Niantic, Pokémon GO | Tagged: Niantic, Niantic Labs, pokemon, pokemon go, pokemon go tour kanto

Should Pokémon GO Feature Permanent NPC Characters?

During Pokémon GO Tour: Kanto, Niantic debuted a new mechanic in the game. Like the original games, players could encounter non-villainous NPCs and battle them. Before this, the only types of NPC battles in Pokémon GO were Team GO Rocket encounters that end with the player catching and "rescuing" the abandoned Shadow Pokémon. These Pokémon GO Tour: Kanto battles instead resembled the original game more, with rewards for the player rather than an encounter. These NPCs were based on real-life trainers that won a contest ahead of the event, but the original series of games has a ton of characters to pull from. Personally, I think adding these types of encounters as a permanent part of Pokémon GO would greatly enrich the gameplay.

The original games feature a long list of trainer classes (kinds of encounterable trainers) including Beauty, Biker, Birdkeeper, Black Belt, Bug Catcher, and that's just a small piece of the Bs. The list goes on and on. Right now, Pokémon GO is about to add the first major addition to the game since the reveal of Level 50 and the addition of Seasons in late 2021 with the new Friend Referral system. However, just take a look back at 2020. Before that landmark year, there was no Buddy Adventure, GO Battle League, Remote Raids, Remote Raid Invites, or GO/HOME connectivity. Before 2019, there was no Team GO Rocket. In a relatively short period of time, Pokémon GO has entirely changed, adding more and more compelling new features. It has been quite a while since we've had a game-changing development, and the addition of permanent NPCs would be a perfect way to keep the game fresh.

This could even lead to more Special Research or, even better, long-term Masterwork Research that can culminate in battles with the franchise's most popular NPCs: the Gym Leaders and then, ultimately, the Elite Four. Pokémon GO Tour: Kanto sought to recreate the original games, so we're already on the path. Hopefully, Niantic spices things up and makes these kinds of encounters permanent to bring some much-needed freshness to the game.

What would you like to see added to Pokémon GO? Let us know in the comments below.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!