Pokemonloves its spin-offs. Nintendo has found all kinds of clever concepts for side games that expand thePokemonworld and give fans different ways to play with their favorite Pokemon. There’s beenPokemon Colosseumfor tournament-style Pokemon combat wrapped in all kinds of original plots. ThePokemon Rangergames offer a totally different perspective on catching and working together with Pokemon. Nintendo has tried turn-based strategy withPokemon Conquest, and of course, there’s the mobile venture inPokemon GO.All these different games come together to prove that thePokemonformula is very flexible, and Nintendo is always looking for new things.
Fans have come up with lots offun things to do withPokemonon their own time. One of them is Pokemon Fusion. The idea is simple: as the name suggests, fans like to speculate what the result of two or more Pokemon fused together would be. There’s all kinds of fan art of Pokemon Fusions out there, and there’s also Pokemon Fusion generators to spare. Some Fusions are strange and hilarious, while others are actually pretty cool. Seeing how flexible and entertaining the idea of Pokemon Fusion is, maybe Nintendo should consider trying to make a Pokemon Fusion game.
RELATED:Predicting Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl’s Release Date
Imagining a Pokemon Fusion Game
Pokemon Fusion is probably a little too complicated to become a mechanic in an officialPokemongame likeMega Evolution and Dynamax. It raises all kinds of questions, like what the fused Pokemon’s type is, what moves it knows, how long they remain fused, and so on. It seems most likely that Nintendo would resort to a Pokemon Fusion spin-off instead of putting it in a main game to make the mechanic more approachable. That way it could also make the game have a very limited Pokedex in the vein ofPokemon Let’s GO EeveeandLet’s GOPikachu.
After all, even if such a spin-offonly had around 150 Pokemon, there’s countless thousands of fusions possible. It wouldn’t be surprising if Nintendo made it so that only certain Pokemon were compatible for fusion, but even then, it could offer many hundreds of appropriate fusions for players to try out. These fusions would open up all kinds of possibilities that thePokemonfranchise hasn’t tried out, too. For instance, Fusions could result in Pokemon with three or even four types, and they might know well over four moves, making for some complicated but engaging battles.
RELATED:What Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl Should Change from the Original Games
Pushing Pokemon’s Limits
Part of what makes newPokemongames feel fresh is seeing how Nintendo finds ways to do new things with familiar Pokemon. That’s where things like Alolan and Galarian Pokemon come from, on top ofthe special mechanics like Dynamax. Pokemon Fusion is a fun way to both celebrate well-established fan favorite Pokemon and see what else can be done with them. A Pokemon Fusion game would be a great way to revisit an old region like Kanto or Johto and look at it in a totally different way. If thePokemon Let’s GOgames are anything to go off of, as well as the upcomingPokemon Legends: Arceus, Nintendo is open to new angles like that.
Of course, if Nintendo is thinking about making a Pokemon Fusion spin-off, fans probably won’t see it for a while. Right now, it seems like Nintendo’s focus is mostly onthe highly anticipatedPokemon Legends: Arceus, as well as continuing support the ever-successfulPokemon GO.Still,Pokemonisn’t going anywhere, so eventually Nintendo might land in a place where it has the time and interest to try doing something inspired by the fan phenomenon of Pokemon Fusion. Maybe somedayPokemonfans will see Nintendo release an official game with all the powerful and hilarious Fusions that they’ve imagined before.
MORE:Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl’s Best Feature May Have Flown Under the Radar
