For decades, Pokémon has been the undisputed king of monster-catching games, but its dominance has never felt shakier than now. Enter Palworld — a scrappy $30 early-access game that delivers features and polish fans have begged Game Freak for, only to be ignored. Instead of taking notes, Nintendo has tried to shut Palworld down, missing the point entirely.

The game’s explosive success highlights glaring weaknesses in modern Pokémon titles — bugs, lackluster open worlds, shallow mechanics, and an outdated online experience. Pokémon is one of Nintendo's greatest game series, and if they want it to remain king, they need to actually pay attention to these five things that Nintendo could stand to learn from Palworld.

5 Players Are Tired of Pokémon’s Bugs and Jank

Polish and stability, please

Pokémon games sure used to be the gold standard for polish when it came to monster-catching games, but those days are far behind now. Pokémon Scarlet & Violet launched in a laughably broken state — a gaming trend we can't tolerate anymore — riddled with bugs that made models stretch into nightmare fuel, frame rates that tanked everywhere, and visuals that would've looked dated five years ago. Game Freak had no business releasing the game in such a shoddy state.

Meanwhile, Palworld — an indie game from a far smaller studio — ran better at launch despite being in early access. Is Palworld still full of jank and a few bugs here and there? Yes, but it's also an indie game that costs half the price of the last mainline Pokémon game. Pokémon fans deserved better, yet they were left with an unoptimized mess. If nothing else, Palworld proves that performance and polish aren’t optional — especially for a franchise as iconic as Pokémon.

4 Monster utility shouldn't be limited to combat

Let my Poké-pals hang out with me

For decades, Pokémon fans have imagined a world where our creatures did more than just battle. Why should a fire-breathing Charizard only use Flamethrower in combat when it could also light up campfires? Why should a Squirtle not help me irrigate my crops? Palworld took that idea and ran with it, making its Pals an essential part of the gameplay loop. Your creatures work for you, crafting weapons, mining resources, defending your base — essentially functioning as an actual workforce instead of just living in a digital box until the next battle.

Meanwhile, Pokémon still hasn’t caught up. Even now, your team is little more than glorified trading cards, only coming to life when it’s time for a turn-based skirmish. The potential for a game that builds true companionship, real-world interactions, and a deeper bond between trainers and Pokémon is sitting right there, waiting for Nintendo to finally evolve.

3 Real-time combat is more engaging

Turn-based combat needs to lose its turn

Turn-based battles have been a staple of the Pokémon franchise since the 90s. Still, it wouldn’t hurt the game to try dynamic and fast-paced combat, especially considering the fact that the weapons in question are badass supernatural creatures that use elemental powers. Like Palworld, perhaps it’s time for Pokémon to allow players to fight alongside their Pokémon in real-time, actively dodging, shooting, and strategizing mid-battle.

Even Pokémon Legends: Arceus, which hinted at real-time mechanics, ultimately chickened out and defaulted back to the same old turn-based structure, which leaves me with yet another bone to pick with Nintendo after they killed Ryujinx. With Pokémon Legends: Z-A, Nintendo finally gave us a taste of modern Pokémon battles, blending real-time and strategic elements into something fresh and exciting. This is exactly what we need more of, but now in the mainline Pokémon games. Games like Z-A and Palworld show exactly how much more exciting monster battles can be, and that is precisely the direction Nintendo needs to head forward in.

2 A Pokémon MMO is long overdue

The fan base is waiting

Pokémon fans have been dreaming of a true MMO for decades now — we’ve dreamed of trainers roaming a massive world, battling and trading, and embarking on real-time adventures together. What do we get instead from Game Freak? Half-baked online features that barely work and limited co-op modes that feel like afterthoughts. Meanwhile, Palworld, at a fraction of Nintendo’s budget, launched with a fully functional multiplayer system where players formed guilds, built settlements, and took on bosses together.

This is the kind of online experience us Pokémon fans have been clamoring for, yet Nintendo refuses to truly deliver. Heck, even projects like PokeMMO prove that there’s a massive demand for an MMO Pokémon game, and that fan-made alternatives can rule. The technology is there, the player base is more than ready, and now, with Palworld setting a precedent, there’s really no excuse left. If Nintendo doesn’t adapt, someone else will — and clearly, they already have.

1 Hardware is holding Pokémon back

Switch to better visual presentation, Game Freak

Look — I’m all for the fact that graphics don’t make a game. I mean, five years after ray tracing was shoved down our throats, there are only a handful of games that truly justify ray tracing. However, we’ve been putting up with lackluster graphics in Pokémon games for years now, and Scarlet & Violet only took things to a new low. Blurry textures, awful pop-in, and choppy frame rates made that “grand open-world adventure” a technical mess.

I get it — the Switch is aging, but that’s only part of the problem. It isn’t as if Tears of the Kingdom, Luigi’s Mansion, and Pikmin 4 don’t exist, is it? The real issue seems to be Game Freak’s refusal to optimize, relying on outdated tech and rushed development cycles instead of pushing Pokémon to its full potential. Meanwhile, Palworld runs smoother, looks better, and offers a larger, more dynamic world — all while launching in early access. The Nintendo Switch 2 has a lot riding on its shoulders and will certainly be significantly more powerful. I just hope that Nintendo steps up their game to finally give Pokémon the polish and graphical fidelity it deserves, otherwise even the latest new Switch 2 won’t save it from looking like a relic.

Pokémon and its fans deserve so much more

Pokémon remains one of gaming’s most beloved franchises, and to Game Freak’s credit, they have made strides in expanding its world. Pokémon Legends: Arceus experimented with open-world gameplay, Scarlet & Violet introduced co-op elements, and each generation brings quality-of-life improvements. But for every step forward, there’s a frustrating refusal to embrace what fans have been asking for — better performance, deeper mechanics, and a true evolution of Pokémon’s formula.

Palworld isn’t Pokémon’s rival, but it is a reflection of what Pokémon could be. It highlights how far the monster-catching genre has come while exposing where Pokémon continues to lag behind. Other games will continue pushing boundaries, and sooner or later, Pokémon must do the same. Nostalgia alone won’t sustain the franchise forever — if Game Freak truly wants Pokémon to remain king. It’s time they started listening.