Pokemon GO May Face an Uphill Battle in Adding Dynamax (2024)

Pokemon GO recently celebrated its eighth anniversary, and has been a titan of mobile gaming throughout that time. While its release was acclaimed throughout the world, developers certainly haven't stopped innovating since. Despite all the additions and improvements that have been made over the years, Pokemon GO may be about to face its biggest challenge yet.

Pokemon GO had humble beginnings, only featuring the original 151 Pokemon at the time of its launch. However, nostalgia for the Kanto Region was more than enough to propel the game to a meteoric rise. Developers have since added more and more Pokemon into the game, generation by generation. However, as time has gone on, Pokemon GO has gone the extra mile of including other mechanics from mainline games, and this is where the real problem arises.

Dynamax Could Spell Trouble for Pokemon GO

The Origins of Dynamax and Mega Evolution

There's one major roadblock in the way of Dynamax's inclusion in Pokemon GO, and it's ironically the same obstacle it has always faced. Pokemon tends to introduce a new battle gimmick in one game, then drop it in the next, and Mega Evolution is the one that started it all. This created a number of issues for later mainline games, and Pokemon GO's developers should be careful to avoid making the same mistakes.

Mega Evolution was first introduced in Pokemon X and Y, and brought a whole new take on the series alongside the transition to 3D. Mega Evolution was popular, if a little unbalanced, but was seemingly dropped from the series entirely only a couple of games later. Subsequent Pokemon games would replace Mega Evolution with a somewhat confusing display of trial and error.

Dynamax was the second mechanic in this line of succession, coming after Z Moves and before Terastallization. Although they have each left an impact on the series, none of these successors had quite the warm reception that Mega Evolution did. Dynamax had a very dramatic effect on competitive play at the time, but was otherwise criticized for feeling redundant.

Mega Evolution vs Dynamax in Pokemon GO

Mega Evolution is already in Pokemon GO, and future gimmicks have a lot of ground to cover if they want to stand out. Mega Evolution had a massive head start in the eyes of fans, thanks to being the first of its kind. The gimmicks that came afterward, as different as they may be, were still iterating on this foundation in one way or another.

History is repeating itself, with the recent announcement that Dynamax will be added to Pokemon GO. Mainline Pokemon games are able to differentiate their respective gimmicks thanks to housing more complexity than a mobile game can afford. Dynamax and especially Gigantamax had their similarities to Mega Evolution, but few would say they felt exactly the same, for better or for worse.

Pokemon GO has much less wiggle room to work with when it comes to implementing these mechanics. Mega Evolution is a power boost with a design overhaul to boot. Dynamax would likely function similarly, although it largely lacks the redesign benefit that Mega Evolution has. Gigantamax forms have redesigns similar to Mega Evolutions, but this doesn't do much to dispel the problem at hand.

Mega Evolution has often been remembered as one of the best battle mechanics the series has introduced so far. Unfortunately for the titles that followed, few other attempts have succeeded in living up to the expectations set by Mega Evolution. Among them all, Dynamax is certainly one of the most memorable, but has still been overshadowed by its predecessor's legacy. This pattern could keep up if Pokemon GO isn't careful, and this balance is made all the more difficult thanks to the upcoming return of Mega Evolution in Pokemon Legends: Z-A.

Pokémon GO

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Augmented Reality

Systems

Franchise

Pokemon

Platform(s)

iOS , Android

Released

July 6, 2016

Developer(s)

Niantic , The Pokemon Company

Publisher(s)

Niantic

Multiplayer

Online Multiplayer

Engine

Unity

ESRB

e

Steam Deck Compatibility

n/a

X|S Enhanced

n/a

Platforms

ios, andriod

Cross Save

yes

Cross-Platform Play

ios, andriod