The Pokemon Company had quite a busy year this 2021, as it marked the 25th anniversary since the release of the very first Pokemon games, Pokemon Red and Blue, back in 1996. Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, the remakes of the fourth generation titles, were finally announced recently. Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl will be released this November, and the first open-world Pokemon will release soon after, in January 2022, a title known as Pokemon Legends: Arceus.

This year also marks two years since the release of the latest mainline Pokemon games, Pokemon Sword and Shield, which were saw success in copies sold and gameplay features introduced with them. These were also the first Pokemon games ever to receive expansion in terms of two DLCs, instead of getting a whole new title to enhance the original ones, as previously customary for the series. With a plethora of new, exciting things about Pokemon Sword and Shield, it is only natural to think that they will be used as foundations for future generations of Pokemon games, starting with Gen 9 or Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.

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While it may seem like a trivial feature, the character customization in Pokemon Sword and Shield is something else entirely when compared to other Pokemon games. Players can choose from a wide selection of hairstyles, all sorts of clothes, accessories, and even customize their own League Card accordingly. This degree of freedom is unprecedented in Pokemon games, and it perhaps bodes well for new systems that could potentially allow players to customize their characters from the get-go, instead of collecting a few items and unlocking stuff throughout the game.

This way, Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl could be more like classic RPGs than they are now. Furthermore, it's not uncommon for Pokemon fans to experience a certain feeling of not belonging when controlling a kid, and if character customization from Pokemon Sword and Shield was to be pushed further, this could change, allowing players to select the age of their trainer. Of course, doing so would also mean breaking free to some extent from the mold of the mom character, which is a staple of Pokemon titles.

Pokemon Sword and Shield made training more competitive Pokemon much easier and less time-consuming with a few notable additions. Trainers seeking to breed Pokemon to use in tournaments or online battles have always had to undergo a very complex and long process, but in Pokemon Sword and Shield items like Mints and Ability Patches help immensely. Mints are used to change a Pokemon's Nature, which is huge, and Ability Patches make Pokemon change their Ability to the Hidden Ability of its species.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg for breeding Pokemon, as there are many more interesting additions that do help in these regards. Pokemon can use Power items to increase their stats, for example, so that even critters with less than ideal IVs can still become competitive creatures. Then there is Hypertraining, there is a way to let Pokemon learn their parents' moves while hatching, and more.

The Wild Area is arguably one of the best features of Pokemon Sword and Shield, and that's because it is finally an open-world-like area that offers different biomes, a deep weather system, weather-dependent encounters with wild Pokemon, and much more. Pokemon Sword and Shield laid the foundations for Pokemon Legends: Arceus to be a fully open-world experience, which is a first in Pokemon games. While future mainline titles, or remakes like Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, shouldn't simply copy the Wild Area for what it is and what it offers, having it as a well-established feature means that it can be improved even more.

The variety offered by Pokemon Sword and Shield's Wild Area is immense, and it creates an environment in which players can always find something new, encounter new Pokemon, or discover some secrets. This feature was also replicated in both DLCs, Isle of Armor and Crown Tundra, and it made Sword and Shield unique games to play.

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Raids are one of the most fun activities in Pokemon Sword and Shield, especially so if played online, whereas the local offline mode can become a bit stale in the long run. However, when played online, Raids offer what is arguably the first-ever MMO-like feature in Pokemon games, apart from online battles, which are designed as a PvP experience. Instead, Raids allow players to team up with friends or strangers and just play what looks like a completely different game thanks to this entertaining PvE mode where strategy meets chaos.

Raids should be coming back in future Pokemon games, including Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, even if in different shapes and forms from now. They could also mean that more MMO-like features could be introduced to the series over time, forever changing how Pokemon games are played.

Among the honorable mentions, there is one feature that was quite entertaining, and that is having version-exclusive rivals and Gym Leaders. This is a very unique way to further increase the gap between games of the same generation, offering players a way to experience something dissimilar from the other title, instead of having differences mainly based on which Pokemon can or cannot be found.

Another great innovation of Pokemon Sword and Shield was that players could set up a camp, cook with their Pokemon, play with them in different ways, pet them, and overall enjoy the creatures in ways that don't rely exclusively on combat. Improving the trainer's bond with their Pokemon is a very different breed in Sword and Shield, and the Pokemon camp should find its way back into Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, too.

Lastly, while Dynamaxing wasn't the best thing in Pokemon Sword and Shield, it offered a valid solution to the issues that rose since the introduction of Mega Evolutions. These were first introduced to widen the horizon of competitive Pokemon play, but they ended up narrowing it simply by having a different meta based on critters that became stronger thanks to the Mega Evolutions. Instead, Dynamaxing is a temporary process, and it can be used strategically. Still, there is work to be done on it, since the limited turns a set Pokemon can be Dynamaxed for made protection skills incredibly powerful.

These are just some of the most popular features introduced by Pokemon Sword and Shield, meaning that there is a lot more to do for Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, which will hopefully be even better than their great predecessors.

Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl will be released on November 19, 2021, for Switch.

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