Pokémon Sword and Shield fans beg Game Freak for longer battles

Previously, while fighting other players in Pokémon games, you had 60 minutes to complete the duel. But in Pokemon Sword and Shield, a standard six-on-six battle is granted a tiny 20-minute timer for the entire procedure – and according to die-hard devotees, that time is nowhere near enough.

This is probably why the recent campaign from competitive Pokémon player and content creator pokeaim® #BringBackTimer has made strides in the community after a recent upload to YouTube where he explains the seriousness of the problem. As it is, 20 minutes is often not enough to even complete a battle. It is therefore possible to lose a fight without erasing all your monsters. Alternatively, it is possible to win a fight without knocking out all of your opponent’s Pokémon. This limitation, argues pokeaimMD, makes the fight Pokemon Sword and Shield feel less fulfilling.

“The most important thing with the stopwatch is how you feel after playing a game, right?” he said during the video. “If I fight my friend and the game ends at 6-5, and he says I won, there is no satisfaction in that, right?” It’s not over, the game isn’t over, it’s not over. Still, the timer dictates the game is over and I’ve won, but I don’t feel that way, right? And that’s why we really need this timer change. It really is a simple change. “

In his mind, it would be better if the battles lasted a full 60 minutes, animations not included, rather than the condensed amount of time that is currently allotted. Without it, he fears, the game’s competitive singles scene playing over Wi-Fi might not have longevity as the frustrated community moves away from it. Polygon contacted The Pokémon Company and Game Freak about this.

The video is particularly noteworthy as it features a variety of Pokémon creators supporting pokeaim®’s position, such as the shiny hunter aDrive and CybertonProductions. These personalities all shared how Pokemon Sword and ShieldThe timer limited their enjoyment. Feeling rushed, for example, may not allow you to use the best tactics available.

“Why not give us the ability to customize the rules as we wish?” Pokémon content creator Shofu said during the video. “Because that way we can enjoy the game in so many different ways. I should be able to set the rules for whatever I like, and as long as my opponent agrees with them, we should be able to have fun everyone.

Shofu goes on to say that the new mechanics, like Dynamaxing, all have elaborate animations that eat into the timer.

Worse yet, current limitations are pushing players to use off-platform solutions, like the Pokémon Showdown competitive simulator. But with a simple change, Game Freak can bring more people back into the fold – and keep them there.

So it’s no surprise that social media broadly agrees with pokeaimMD’s concerns.