10 Ways Pokémon Winds & Waves Could Fix The Mistakes Of Scarlet & Violet

10 Pokémon Winds And Waves Need Better Performance at Launch

Scarlet And Violet Had Multiple Performance Issues At Launch

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet were pretty infamous for having performance issues at launch, like poor frame rate and an abysmal render distance that led to a lot of texture popping. Although the Switch 2 versions have reportedly fixed a lot of these issues, it's still disappointing to have to wait for a new console generation to fix issues that shouldn't be present in a major release like a mainline Pokémon game.

It's frankly unacceptable for games from one of the largest franchises being sold at full price to have major performance issues at launch. Pokémon Winds and Waves really need to show that Nintendo and Game Freak are able to deliver quality games at launch if they want to win back the trust of players.

9 Pokémon Winds And Waves Should Feature Enhanced Multiplayer

Gen 9's Multiplayer Was Underwhelming

Full multiplayer integration in a mainline Pokémon game has been the dream of fans for many years. There are even community-created games, like PokeMMO, which were created simply to fill the gap left by the official games. When Pokémon Scarlet and Violet was announced to have a multiplayer mode, it seemed like a dream come true, but it was a bit of a letdown.

Sure, you can roam around the open world together in Scarlet and Violet, which isn't nothing, but only the host could meaningfully interact with parts of the world like story beats or gym leaders. If Pokémon Winds and Waves wants to really shake things up (make waves if you will), then the games should allow players to actually progress through the entire game together. Even if battles are done separately, it would be nice to be able to challenge gym leaders and complete story moments together, so you can discuss them in real time.

8 Winds And Waves Need A More Detailed Open World

Scarlet And Violet's World Was Barren

A major complaint about Pokémon Scarlet and Violet is that the open world felt very barren. Between the game's distinct cities and landmarks, the world was mostly open stretches of land without many interesting things to see. This made the open-world aspect of the game feel more tedious than anything else, and honestly made me nostalgic for the denser worlds of older games.

There are currently rumors circulating that Gen 10 will include procedurally generated environments. I really hope this isn't the case, as it could lead to a similarly empty-feeling world as Pokémon Scarlet and Violet's. I would much rather see Pokémon Winds and Waves just deliver a well-crafted open-world map full of life and interesting places to explore.

7 Gen 10 Needs Quicker Pokémon HOME Support

Scarlet And Violet Took 6 Months To Get HOME Support

Pokémon HOME is easily one of the best additions to the Pokémon franchise, allowing you to more easily store, manage, and trade your Pokémon across multiple versions. It's an incredibly convenient service, which meant it was very inconvenient that we had to wait so long to use it with Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. The Gen 9 games were released on November 18, 2022, while Pokémon HOME support didn't go live until May 30th the following year.

Unfortunately, this issue was not corrected with the release of Pokémon Legends: Z-A, as we've seen a similarly long wait for the game to receive Pokémon HOME support. It would be a big improvement if Pokémon Winds and Waves didn't make us wait six months for HOME support. This is especially true for people who pay for home, and may feel like that subscription fee is being wasted when they can't use it with the most recent game they're playing.

6 Winds And Waves Can Get Pokémon Champions Support

Pokémon Champions Wasn't Out When Scarlet And Violet Were Released

Pokémon Champions didn't exist when Pokémon Scarlet and Violet were originally released, so Gen 9 can be forgiven for not having any specific support for or in the game. Pokémon Champions looks like it will tie into the recent Pokémon Legends: Z-A release, adding things like new Mega Evolutions to the game. So long as Champions is still going strong by the time Gen 10 is released, it would be cool to see Pokémon Winds and Waves tie-ins in the game.

Adding Pokémon from Pokémon Winds and Waves to Pokémon Champions could be a fun way to shake up the meta. It could also introduce new styles of Pokémon if Gen 10 gives us a cool new mechanic, similar to Mega Evolution or Gigantamax Pokémon. With one of the value propositions of Pokémon Champions being the ability to include Pokémon from your other games, it would make sense to closely tie it with the latest Generation of games, building hype for both.

5 Winds And Waves Should Have Cheaper DLC

Scarlet And Violet's DLC Cost Half As Much As A Full Game

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet's DLC costs $34.99, or half the price of most contemporary AAA games. Although they were rather lengthy additions to the main game, it still feels bad to basically pay for a game and a half just to experience all the content that a Pokémon game has to offer. Additioinally, the games' DLC was version-exclusive, meaning if you bought both versions of the game, you would also need to spend $70 if you wanted the DLC for them.

Having started my Pokémon journey all the way back in Gen 1, it still feels a little odd to have to buy DLC at all to get the full experience. While I can grudgingly accept that this is just how Pokémon games are now, it would be nice if Gen 10 went a little easier on my wallet. With the base price of games getting more expensive, it is hard to justify buying DLC at an inflated price point.

4 Wind And Waves Should Have Less Stringent DLC Exclusives

Version Exclusive Pokémon In Gen 9 Extended To The DLC

It's hard to argue that version-exclusive Pokémon aren't a masterful marketing technique, but they have never been the most consumer-friendly concept. Yes, it is now much easier to trade for version-exclusive Pokémon thanks to the addition of online trading instead of needing a link cable, but it can still be a hassle. Pokémon Scarlet and Violet took things a step further by also having exclusive Pokémon in the DLC as well as the base game.

With the DLC already being expensive, it is frustrating to realize you also need a friend willing to pay its inflated price just to get all the Pokémon from it. While certain exclusive Legendaries could be encountered via the Union Circle, even when playing with someone else who had the same game, Paradox Pokémon were still exclusive to certain versions. It would be nice to see Gen 10 make its DLC exclusive Pokémon a bit more accessible.

3 Winds And Waves Need Better Starter Evolutions

Scarlet And Violets Final Forms For Starters Were Disappointing

The topic of Starter Pokémon is one that's difficult to approach objectively. Everyone tends to be biased towards their first generation of Starters, and I'm sure for some people, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet may hold a special place in their hearts. However, the consensus seems to be that these games' Starters have some of the most disappointing final evolutions of any Generation.

It's hard to argue with a lot of the criticisms. The final evolutions feel somehow too bland to stand next to something like Torterra, but also too over-designed to capture the beautiful simplicity of Charizard. Meowscarada and Quaquaval also look a bit too humanoid for my taste.

Hopefully, Pokémon Winds and Waves can give us, not just well-designed Starters, but full evolution lines for them that feel interesting, unique, and memorable. While I'm sure designing Starters is always a major focus of any new Generation, one would hope the intense dislike of Gen 9's final evolutions will make creating better ones an even bigger priority. I'm already in love with Browt and hope that it doesn't turn into just a strange lanky humanoid.

2 Player Customization Should Get An Upgrade In Winds And Waves

Scarlet And Violet Lacked Customization Options

While far from the largest issue with the games, it was disappointing to see Pokémon Scarlet and Violet take a step back in terms of how customizable your trainer is. It's strange to see this feature get stripped back, especially when it doesn't seem like it would be all that difficult to have at least kept Gen 9 on par with earlier entries in the franchise.

Pokémon Winds and Waves should give players more choice over how their character looks. Not only is it fun to have a variety of aesthetic options, it's nice to see oneself accurately represented in a game or have the option to make an outlandish and silly-looking character. Additionally, more options would be fun for multiplayer, as you and your friends could have more unique trainers, instead of likely looking very similar due to the limited cosmetic options.

1 Winds And Waves Need A Less Linear Story

Scarlet And Violet's Story Hurt The Exploration

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet's linear story chafed a bit with the games' open-world format. It's all well and good to tell players they can do things in any order, but when the story beats have a very specific progression, it takes away from that sense of freedom. Add in a lack of level-scaling, and the open-world elements of the game seemed to clash with the narrative and mechanical ones.

Pokémon Winds and Waves can correct this issue by having a more flexible story. Perhaps there's one overarching narrative, with each area of the game having its own mostly self-contained that ties in more loosely with the overarching plot. That way, players can have the freedom to explore without feeling like they are doing so at the expense of a cohesive story.