Why Random Encounters in Pokemon Need Changing (Part 1)

The term "random encounter" in the context of role-playing games essentially means what it says: a moment when you encounter an enemy by random chance. This has been classic RPG formula for years, although that norm slowly seems to be changing. Wander off the beaten path or into hostile territory, and you're liable to be stopped by force and made to battle an enemy you couldn't see on the map.
    As previously mentioned, many RPG franchises are moving onto different methods for encountering baddies, such as touching enemies as they visibly roam the world to initiate a separate battle. One franchise that has yet to move from random encounters, however, is Pokemon, our beloved series founded in 1996 whose first set of games was known as Red and Green instead of Red and Blue as we know them internationally. Straying into tall grass or enclosed areas like caves and forests in these games puts you under content threat of attack by wild Pokemon. You may take three steps, you may take thirteen, but you will eventually be stopped and made to acknowledge that Spearow does, in fact, exist.

    I've been a fan of Pokemon from my toddling steps to my ability to legally drive a car, even before I fully realized its origins as a video game or that it was even Japanese. Completely reliant on my parents for new technology such as the fabled, legendary "Nintendo 64," I wasn't able to get my hands on a portable gaming system until the age of around ten, which happened to be the Game Boy Advance SP, so I missed out on the initial Pokemon craze on the original Game Boy. That said, I have five of the mainstream games from the third and fourth Pokemon generations, giving me more than enough insight into how Pokemon ticks and how it's evolved...no pun intended.
    After five games and much study on the encyclopedic subject of Pokemon, I have concluded the games haven't changed a whole lot from their origins in the mid '90s. But I'm not here to rant about how Pokemon can improve as a whole and all the things it needs to change.
    Just one. This time, it's random encounters. I should clarify that by no means do I hold Pokemon to be bad, unsuccessful (certainly not unsuccessful), or unfulfilling for everyone. I do, however, acknowledge that it has plenty of room to grow in certain areas, and when people put their heads together, two things happen. One, everyone needs to take Tylenol for their headaches. Two, changes can happen for the better. So take everything you read here with a grain of salt and add your voice to the mix so we can vocalize how Pokemon can grow.

WHY DO RANDOM ENCOUNTERS NEED TO CHANGE AT ALL?
Random encounters have been a staple in the series, leading many to believe it's part of what makes Pokemon tick. I don't believe that's true. First, there are such things as staple removers, meaning even the most ingrained elements can be deleted and swapped out. Second, random encounters were not exactly trademarked by Pokemon.
    The random encounter system in video games can be traced to the early 1980s in games like Wizardry, and franchises like Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest helped make it popular. Random encounters have always been a common element in RPGs, and Pokemon (released much later in the mid-to-late '90s) merely followed that trend. Other enemy engagement trends have risen since, some which were merely "different" and others seeking to improve on the random encounter system's flaws.
    This should tell us two things. One, random encounters are not unique to Pokemon in the slightest, so they can hardly be a defining point of the series. Two, franchises with a previously established random encounter system that have moved on from that system have still wound up successful, functional, and more notably, adherent to their core values. Said franchises can take steps from there to distance themselves from what defined them and made them unique in the first place, but removal of random encounters is almost never what pushes it over the edge.
    This is my first point in the "Why does Pokemon need to change its random encounter system?" debate. Random encounters are a means to an end, a tool for the greater goal of catching all Pokemon and becoming the greatest Trainer. That tool can easily be swapped for something else and still work for the series' core values. Remember that point.
    As we've hopefully concluded, at least for the moment, that random encounters are not vital, what are its pros and cons in Pokemon? Obviously, it is the most accessible and convenient method of catching Pokemon. You wander into the wilderness, a wild Pokemon comes out, you have a little skirmish, and you potentially walk away with another critter to do your bidding. Considering one of Pokemon's main selling points (if not the biggest selling point) is total acquisition of all Pokemon, rummaging in the wilds for new monsters should be very much in the player's interest. Without accepting that key element, players are shorting themselves the experience and have gotten involved for something either not fully fleshed out (because it wasn't intended to be) or that isn't there.
    Catching Pokemon is not all there is to the game, however. Battling Trainers of all shapes and sizes is another important aspect. There are also mini-games to partake in, people to socialize with, personal pads to decorate, and even little side-games like the Underground in Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum. When your short-term goal switches from catching Pokemon to one of these aspects (which understandably happens quite frequently), it is almost never in your interest to be constantly stopped and have the developers exclaim metaphorically that you should be catching everything that moves in a fifty mile radius. Sometimes you just want to get from point A to point B. You want to cross the road to get to the other side. Being stopped over and over again by Pokemon that appear randomly is counterproductive to that goal.
    This is my second point in the debate: random encounters are frequently annoying. The first point was that the random encounter system is not critical to Pokemon and could stand to be swapped out or improved. The second is that random encounters have an omnipresent and very frequent capacity to be annoying.
    There is a third and final point, however, one that will hopefully solidify what I am trying to convey. Many things in all games can be annoying - difficult bosses that you just can't beat, devious puzzles that you just can't solve. At the end of these two examples is a reward: if nothing else, you're proud of your skill or your smarts for having conquered this aspect of the game. Flaws exist everywhere, but when handled correctly, "annoying" elements easily turn into positive elements. One could say people play video games to "annoy" themselves into overcoming challenges.
    But what challenge is there to be had in random encounters? Most wild Pokemon are not fast enough to prevent you from fleeing; if they are fast enough, you can usually switch to a faster Pokemon and then flee; if you're forced to fight them, they usually go down very easily. No matter how many times you are stopped, few to no Pokemon will ever pose a real challenge to you. There is no reward for your annoyance.
    My third point is that random encounters offer no fair trade for your annoyance and input. I expect you've been keeping along with my points and connecting the dots, but here is the conclusion from those points: random encounters are not critical to Pokemon, random encounters are annoying, and random encounters offer no benefits or rewards of their own.
    Such points would seem to indicate a flawed system. I think you'll agree with me that flaws should be corrected.
    The answer, of course, is not to completely remove encounters with wild Pokemon, as some appear to have misinterpreted from my former debates. If the main goal of Pokemon is to catch as many of the creatures as you can, making that already near-impossible challenge even more limiting would be asinine. What I'm saying here is that there merely needs to be a change in the current random encounter system so wild Pokemon become less annoying and bear more purpose.
    My suggestions for improvement are stored in Part 2 of this article, but there are a couple more counterarguments I feel I must address. The first argument is that random encounters in Pokemon are not forced at all: you can, after all, acquire Repels that stop these encounters, all of which are easily bought at your local PokeMart. I would still debate this: if you need to jump through hurdles to clear an annoyance within the game, something is still wrong. Why should the player have to spend in-game money on items to counter a system which needs correcting in the first place? Would it not be far more productive and beneficial to change the system altogether?
    Besides, I know I don't speak for myself when I say players can get lost within the bigger caves and dungeons of the series and run out of Repels. You are then stuck constantly bumping into unnecessary random encounters, even if all you want to do is get out of the cave or find an item within. (Remember, random encounters as they are almost universally offer no real challenge, so this cannot be argued as an important game element.) This is archaic, frustrating, and inconvenient. It may not be the biggest deal, but if it's still a deal, should it not be addressed?
    The second counterargument I want to cover is how there are often multiple paths in the Pokemon overworlds that allow you to bypass stretches of random encounter territory. This may hold a little truth for tall grass, but through my experience, these alternate paths are few and far between. They're also usually littered with Trainers who will still force you into battle, obstacles that need advanced abilities or HMs to traverse, or additional hazards that lessen the alternate path's viability. On rare occasions, yes, you will find such an alternate path that guarantees you a reprieve from some ill-concocted aspect of the game, but these are rare occasions.
    The "alternate path" argument holds no truth at all for the caves and other enclosed areas in the game. Each step you take in these places is a chance for a random encounter, regardless of where you are. The same holds true for surfing across water. Take whatever path you want there; you're still in danger of being stopped and confronted by a Pokemon that almost always offers no challenge and little reward upon defeat.
    Before concluding Part 1, I want to bring up two things. First is how low random encounters sunk at one point in Pokemon's history. To my knowledge, this trend has thankfully discontinued in Generation V. Using the HM move Rock Smash on a boulder (necessary at certain points to progress forward) presented a chance of randomly encountering a wild Pokemon. Not only were these encounters not challenging, they were laughably poor in design. Almost regardless of where you were or what level Pokemon you owned, your biggest threat from the boulders was usually a Level 10 Geodude. Compare that to your Level 43 Blastoise, and perhaps you'll understand what I mean when I say random encounters had, at one point, sunk to an all-time low. I'm told the Generation V games have downgraded Rock Smash to a TM, and it no longer has an essential function outside of battle. This is much to Game Freak's credit.
    Secondly, bear in mind my keywords for this article are, and have always been, "AS THEY ARE". Random encounters as they are tend to be quite flawed and aggravating. The point is for all of us to consider their current status, think about where they could and should go, then discuss it to bring up better alternatives. I encourage you not to settle for flaws simply because we don't know what exactly changes will bring. There are certainly more enjoyable methods of bringing realism to a game than by shoving it in the player's face.
    My suggestions for where wild Pokemon encounters could go and what they should do is in Part 2. Part 1 may have seemed redundant to some, but I need to clarify that random encounters are not integral to Pokemon and that flaws need not be settled for. Get those creative juices flowing, and I'll see you in Part 2.