I've been thinking about this since the first Gen 8 match I had on Showdown. I don't think there's anyone who wouldn't want to see all old Pokemon return, is there?
I imagine a mode where we treat Gen 8 as an extension of Gen 7.
Now, as for the challenges involved:
I imagine a mode where we treat Gen 8 as an extension of Gen 7.
- Every single Pokemon is in.
- Megas are still in
- Z-moves are in (debatable, I suppose)
- Moves and abilites attainable in older generations, but not in Gen 8, are in
Now, as for the challenges involved:
- Tiers. For this to work and be playable, we would likely have to implement a range of parallell tiers. Something like [Alt8] OU, [Alt8] UU, etc.This would involve a lot of work, obviously, and I can see this as a potential roadblock. However, even with rough and relatively unmaintained tiers, I still think this Alt8 mode could be quite fun.
- Dynamax. Should it be allowed or not? The eventual decision made on regular Gen 8 OU Dynamaxing will likely be indicative, but it might be the case that it deserved a separate look in the Alt8 format.
- Disparity from any console game. I'm less sure this matters, but it might be a demotivating factor for some that this Alt8 mode will have no GameFreak console game as a source of truth. It might be seen as more of a fan game.
- Time involved in making this. Obviously someone at Showdown will have to dedicate what I assume is a rather large chunk of time to get this up and running. Unless someone believes in the concept, finds it cool, and wants to dedicate time to it, it won't happen. I don't have much of a suggestion for how to overcome this. If relevant, I wouldn't mind getting it started myself – my profession is computer science and web development. I assume this sort of application should happen through a different channel than a forum post, however.
