After 27 Years of Playing Pokemon Games, I’m Convinced None Will Ever Cut This Feature I Have to Hate in Secret

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I first discovered Pokémon on my birthday about 27 years ago with a copy of Pokémon Red, and I’ve been a fan ever since. It quickly became not just my favorite game (and card) series, but one of my favorite things in the world. I connected with the Pokémon games in a way I often couldn’t with people, and I’ve spent countless hours playing the trading card game and video games. It all started with an accidental Nuzlocke run in Pokémon Red – I was worried about letting my Pokémon faint! – and continues today with shiny hunting in Pokémon Legends: Z-A, where I got lucky and found Latios after only 94 resets. I truly believe Pokémon is one of the best things that’s ever happened to me.

I do have some complaints and things that bother me about Pokémon games, such as:

  • I hate how Legends: Z-A cut PLA‘s Linking Cord
  • I wish Pokemon Scarlet and Violet had a more enjoyable post-game experience, like Dynamax Adventures
  • I resent Pokemon Sword and Shield for being so good when the Crown Tundra DLC launched because it ruined all future DLC for me, and I can’t understand why the game couldn’t be this good in the first place before the DLC even came out
  • In my opinion, Pokemon‘s Z-Moves and Ultra Beasts were some of the worst concepts in the series, which, incidentally, came out with one of my favorite settings and regional Pokedex ever

I’ve played a lot of Pokemon, seriously, from the very beginning. And honestly? Looking back, the original Red and Blue weren’t as mind-blowing as I remember them being when I was a kid. Still, it’s my favorite series overall, but I think it has potential to be even better. I’ve been thinking, especially starting with Wind and Wave, it would have been awesome if competitive battling had either limited or completely excluded Legendary Pokemon, or at least offered officially supported formats where they weren’t allowed. That would really shake things up!

Why Legendary Pokemon Should Be Pinnacle Story Moments, Not VGC Fodder

It might be an unpopular take, but I’ve never really enjoyed the idea of Legendary Pokémon. While using them in a story, like catching Mewtwo in Pokémon Legends: Z-A or battling Rayquaza in Generation 3, is cool, I immediately put them in the box after catching them. I just don’t like having these incredibly powerful creatures on a team with Pokémon that feel more like relatable partners. It feels unbalanced and disconnects me from the team dynamic.

What bothers me most about the VGC format is how often Legendary Pokémon are allowed in competitive battles. They tend to dominate the metagame, becoming essential choices and leading to repetitive matchups like Zacian versus Zacian, which ruins the fun. Legendaries generally have superior stats and moves, making it hard to justify using less powerful Pokémon like Sirfetch’d when you could use a Terrakion. They also often have powerful or unique abilities, giving them a clear advantage. It’s not just Legendaries either; sometimes Mythical Pokémon are permitted as well.

How Competitive Pokemon Evolved From Gen 8 to Legends: Z-A

Take Pokemon Legends: Z-A, for example. The competitive strategies in Season 5 are completely different from those in Season 4. Season 4 allowed any non-Legendary Pokemon from the main game and its DLC, while Season 5 included a dozen Legendary and Mythical Pokemon, changing the gameplay significantly. This kind of shift has happened many times throughout the Pokemon series.

  • Pokemon Legends: Z-A‘s Xerneas dominated the entirety of Season 2 as soon as it was made legal because of its stats and moves, making a lot of the Pokedex unusable in ranked. This reduced the number of viable options and created a meta where players could run in circles, all four using Xerneas, with those who got early KOs winning the match because Xerneas was too hard to take down from a distance or impossible to reach in close quarters.
  • Pokemon Scarlet and Violet‘s Koraidon ruled tournaments and won the 2025 World Championship when paired with Lunala in a meta where each team had a combination of Koraidon, Miraidon, Lunala, Zamazenta, and Calyrex Shadow Rider, given the ruleset allowing two or more Legendaries per team. The meta was and still isn’t varied, with most teams using Landorus, Incineroar, Bloodmoon Ursaluna, Urshifu, Chien-Pao, Raging Bolt, Rillaboom, Chi-Yu, and Flutter Mane. Some teams even have four Legendaries at once, like Michael Kelsch’s Worlds 2025 team featuring Zamazenta, Calyrex Shadow Rider, Ogerpon, and Chien-Pao alongside Dragonite and Amoonguss.
  • Pokemon Sword and Shield‘s Regieleki was one of the most used Legendaries in the game in VGC alongside the usual suspects — Zacian, Landorus, Kyogre, Groudon, and Calyrex Shadow Rider. The moment restricted Legendaries were made viable, they started dominating the charts, and each team had to include at least two to have a shot at winning. GMax Venusaur, Charizard, and Rillaboom were used alongside these, with Zapdos and some Ultra Beasts also rearing their heads, but most battles were decided by the chosen Legendaries.

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet’s Best Strategies Were Early in the Meta

Honestly, it’s the same story every generation. I’ve been following the competitive scene for a while now, and Generation 10 is shaping up just like the last few. They always start by banning the Legendaries, which makes sense, and then slowly add more Pokemon to the allowed lists. But let’s be real, Legendaries always shake up the meta, no matter what. Like, why bother with a tricky setup like Tailwind Prankster Murkrow in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet when you can just bring out Koraidon or Miraidon? Those two are on a whole other level! Still, there’s something really fun about those early VGC metas where you can try out weird, unexpected strategies and actually pull off wins.

How Legendary Pokemon Are Ruining The Series

It’s true that unexpected or unconventional Pokemon sometimes win battles, but this isn’t typical, especially as a Pokemon game’s competitive scene matures. I’d enjoy playing Pokemon VGC much more if there weren’t so many Legendary Pokemon dominating the competitive scene. They tend to make team compositions predictable and less exciting. Allowing only one or two Legendaries per team could be a good balance, but the current format often involves teams stacked with four Legendaries, leading to repetitive battles. I find these battles uninteresting to play, watch, and even build teams for.

Competitive Pokémon battles should highlight the diversity of Pokémon and creative strategies, not just a contest of powerful, rare creatures. We need to see more unique team builds—like using a boosted Iron Jugulis to quickly set up Tailwind against speedy Pokémon like Whimsicott, or the clever Perish Trap strategies pioneered by players like Wolfe Glick. While these builds sometimes appear, they’re often overshadowed by teams focused on Legendary Pokémon. This limits strategic depth, reducing it to minor adjustments like EV spreads to survive specific attacks or simply choosing the best held item.

My Perfect Pokemon Game Has Yet to Be Made, And It Probably Never Will

As a long-time fan, it really bums me out to see Legendaries dominate competitive Pokemon. It just kills the variety and makes things less fun. I’d love it if The Pokemon Company officially supported a ruleset for VGC later in a generation where everyone could battle with any Pokemon, or at least with very few Legendaries allowed. I put so much effort into shiny hunting – I’m currently grinding for Gimmighoul in Pokemon Legends: Z-A – but what’s the point if Gholdengo is only good for a single season before Legendaries overshadow everything? I’m thrilled to have a shiny Gholdengo now that I didn’t have in Gen 9, but I wish there was more lasting variety so I could actually use all my shiny Pokemon and test out new strategies without feeling like I’m automatically at a disadvantage. Honestly, I’d take a powerful, unexpected strategy like a Thick Club Earthquake Marowak one-shotting Pokemon over seeing Mega Mewtwo Y or Xerneas steamroll everything any day!

After playing almost every Pokémon game for 27 years, I’ve come to believe that Legendary Pokémon will always be central to competitive play. I also doubt we’ll ever get a fully supported game mode, like the VGC’s double battles, where only Pokémon from the main game and DLC are allowed. While future games might have brief periods where this is true, it always ends with Legendary Pokémon becoming dominant, whether we like it or not.

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2026-01-20 04:41