"They have played us for absolute fools": Pokemon player shares hilarious vent on evolutions

Evolution in the Pokemon series has come a long way since its beginnings, but not every player is fond of the evolution gimmicks of later generations of the game series. However, some fans like to parody the community's complaints about evolutionary gimmicks in the series. This led a player, u/Minessiah, to share a meme to r/Pokemon remarking,

"They have played us for absolute fools."

They have played us for absolute FOOLS byu/minessiah inpokemon

While plenty of fans jumped in on the jokes, others genuinely shared their opinions on evolution gimmicks. They imagined the strange ways Game Freak would force fans to evolve their Pokemon in modern series entries. Some felt that some gimmicks are pointless since they're obsoleted in future games, such as Eevee evolving into Leafeon via Leaf Stone instead of a mossy rock in modern games.

Some Pokemon fans surprisingly agreed with the meme post lamenting evolution gimmicks (Image via Reddit)

The topic also drifted toward the fact that while gimmicky evolutions can be irritating, many trainers still believe that trade evolutions are worse. Compared to the age of link cables on Game Boys, modern Nintendo consoles have come a long way and many players consider trade evolutions obsolete. One could make an argument for it, but trade evolutions have remained a series staple.

Pokemon fans seem to be souring on trade evolutions, but some still enjoy gimmicks (Image via Reddit)

All the while, some fans stated that they enjoyed the gimmick evolutions, including those for creatures like Malamar and Kingambit. Sure, they're certainly unusual requirements just to evolve a Pocket Monster, but they can add a little extra fun to the game beyond simply leveling up a creature or using an evolution stone on it.

Some fans remain supporters of gimmicky evolutions for one reason or another (Image via Reddit)

If every species evolved just by leveling up, the lore of the game's universe would likely be worse off for it. Flipping a console upside down to evolve Inkay into Malamar might be silly or irritating for some players, but it provides some lore-based flavor and intriguing ways to initiate evolution. That's aside from grinding experience levels ad nauseam.

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Should the Pokemon have more or fewer gimmick evolutions?

Meltan can only evolve into Melmetal within Pokemon GO, which is one of many evolution gimmicks (Image via The Pokemon Company)

The conversation between fans does beg the question: Should the series have more gimmick evolutions, or fewer? All things considered, there may not be a definitive answer, as it's likely subjective depending on which trainer is asked. Still, one thing can be said, specifically that Game Freak may not want to force more gimmick evolutions or force trying to remove them.

If Game Freak pushes too hard in either direction, it would likely draw more ire than staying the course. Sure, not every fan loves gimmick evolutions, but a small subset of players also don't like many aspects of the Pocket Monsters series. This ranges from new starter creatures to the balance of the PvP meta and beyond. Put plainly, Game Freak can't make every player happy.

Sprinkling in a few gimmick evolutions every generation is far from harmful for the game series, so there's no reason to overdo it. Moreover, while some players may not care for gimmick evolutions or how they're utilized between generations, removing them would likely cause more backlash than fixing anything significant.