Why Random Encounters in Pokemon Need Changing (Part 2)

In Part 1 of Why Random Encounters in Pokemon Need Changing, I covered, well, why they need changing. Consider Part 2 a bonus, then: listed below are my suggestions and conjectures for how exactly random encounters can be improved, as evidence that I'm not just blowing hot air. Remember to add your own ideas and thoughts as well.
    In addition to covering how we could discover wild Pokemon, I've also included thoughts on making the wilderness more challenging and how to increase player interest in catching Pokemon just so all my sides are covered. Enjoy, and add a few suggestions of your own.


DISCOVERING WILD POKEMON
Just Turn It Off
As the simplest solution I can offer, perhaps all it takes to save players the inconvenience of vicious Level 2 Rattata leaping for their throats is the option to turn random encounters off. Saying that in a forum produces a similar effect to everyone in the saloon becoming quiet, standing up, and staring at you, but think about its implications. As mentioned in Part 1, there is more to the game than simply catching Pokemon. I have suggestions for how players could be further encouraged to go scavenging for pocket monsters, but let's face it: when you want to reach a familiar place to check one thing, constantly running from laughably weak Pokemon is going to get stressful.
    So turn it off. If you want to catch Pokemon, turn random encounters on and have fun. View my suggestions on how players could be encouraged to catch more Pokemon if you feel like bringing up how players might ignore adding to their PokeDex. First of all, if they don't feel like catching more Pokemon, they won't, regardless of whether random encounters are on or off. Secondly, most players harvest the bulk of their Experience Points from Trainer battles, not wild Pokemon encountered along the way. When players do battle wild Pokemon for Experience, it's usually because they've already completed most of what the game has to offer and they've made the personal choice to train with wild Pokemon. It's not because a Pokemon seven levels lower than their weakest Pokemon appeared while they were heading to Saffron City to restock and they decided to end its miserable life for the paltry Experience.
    In short, I see no bad side-effects of optionally turning off random encounters. Players are not going to get weaker or lose motivation to catch Pokemon. They will, however, save themselves time and be all the happier for it.
Free Roaming, Everybody
This is more of a starting point than a final solution. Some people have told me random encounters add a sense of realism to the Pokemon games because in real life, you honestly would randomly stumble across wild animals in the reaches of nature. I have a couple of problems with that. First, in real life, you're not going to meet something that wants to kill you every five seconds. Second, you're at least able to see animals in the wild before they attempt to claw out your throat. In Pokemon, you're under constant threat of attack by creatures you can't see until the game decides it's go time. That's not reality.
    What is closer to reality, however, is an open, fully 3D world where Pokemon appear in real-time outside of battle. (Warning: comparison to M-rated video game franchises imminent.) The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is often praised for its open world design where enemies and common animals can be seen without the two of you trying to kill each other. Hunting in the wilderness is another marketing point of Assassin's Creed III. I'm not saying Pokemon needs to become action-packed and fully inspired by those two games, but imagine a wide, 3D world like that in Pokemon where the eponymous creatures roam freely and appear randomly.
    Now that's realism, and it works. Perhaps some Pokemon species could be aggressive while others are more docile and will thoroughly ignore you unless you pick on them first. To balance the annoyance that might come from aggressive Pokemon constantly hounding you, maybe they would be better designated as "territorial," meaning they'll only attack if you come close enough to them.
A Recipe for Success
The traditional way you find a rare Pokemon is by walking back in forth in a hostile area until one decides to rear its head. Skillful, right? Working those thumb muscles on the Control Pad?
    No, it isn't. To put actual skill and hard work into uncovering Pokemon, maybe they could be discovered by finding "recipes," for a total lack of a better word. Certain Pokemon would like certain things, and once these things are gathered together in the right places and possibly mixed Poffin-style to increase your odds of success, you'd have the option of making a species of Pokemon appear. For added challenge, maybe you'd have to stay on your toes to engage them in battle before they run off, or always face it so it doesn't get a free strike in the beginning of the fight.
    Furthermore, each Pokemon would have Ranks associated with them. Rank 1 Pokemon have universal recipes that everyone knows, so you could catch them from the start. Pokemon of higher Ranks would require rarer materials - you know, the hard-to-find ones like Dratini and Relicanth.
    Step one of finding these Pokemon is to discover the "recipe" for attracting them. You'll need to use your noodle to deduce who to talk to and where to go to find these things. It wouldn't be overly complicated for every Pokemon, and perhaps there would be wild areas where Pokemon still appeared randomly. Recipes would be fairly common to find unless you're looking for a rarer Pokemon, so the world wouldn't be so limiting.
    Some might complain this approach makes finding Pokemon too easy. It doesn't; you still need to gather rare materials, and you still need to capture the Pokemon. Luring it is half the battle. Battling is the other half. Understand my meaning?
    These is mere conjecture. Use this as a starting point to form your own ideas, so don't shoot it down instantly or even accept it without thinking it through.

HOW CHALLENGE CAN BE ADDED TO THE WILDERNESS
More Boss Fights
The Pokemon series occasionally sends battle challenges your way to keep you on your toes; these usually come off as Trainers who have some sort of bone to pick with you. You're not going to encounter boss Trainers everywhere in the wild, though, so why not offset this with some difficult boss fights of another nature?
    First of all, it's debatable whether or not these bosses, if they're Pokemon, should be able to be captured. The point is to challenge players to beat these adversaries into dust, not to capture an ordinary Pokemon. These bosses could take the form of twisted Pokemon, machines, mirages of legendary Pokemon, whatever.
    As I've stated in Part 1, the wilderness at large is not a very challenging place. Hidden parts of dungeons or overworld paths could be guarded by boss fights, hopefully with more creativity than "It's got high stats, tank that baby!". Perhaps some of these fights could be more like ancient challenges to the hero, making them accomplish certain feats like beating the boss within a time limit or surviving by having only a certain amount of damage taken. The sky's the limit. Go wild.
    Really, go wild. Think up where such boss fights might be best utilized; perhaps failure to answer puzzles correctly (a la Paper Mario) or being spotted by a powerful creature could result in having to think on the spot. Any way you cut it, wandering the overworld becomes a lot more challenging when you have boss creatures to look out for.
Put your IQ points to use!
Another easy answer to making the wilderness harder, particularly things like caves and old buildings, is to add a bigger number of deeper puzzles. Pokemon's done a pretty good job of that, but we have annoying random encounters stopping us every few seconds and breaking our concentration. (Ever scamper back and forth trying to figure out a puzzle and run out of Repels? Yeah, me too.) Remove the random encounters and then hit us with the puzzles; much more fun and immersing that way, and the world becomes a more challenging place.
Make us aware of the environment
This is probably my most creative answer for making the overworld more challenging. In perfect honesty, Pokemon's real challenge comes from defeating its more opposing Trainers (like Gym Leaders and the Elite Four) and catching as many Pokemon as you can, so challenge in the overworld isn't that crucial. Still, we're here, we're discussing it, so screw it.
    In the real world, the wilderness can be a dangerous place, especially with a billion hungry monsters out for your head. To protect yourself and your Pokemon pals, perhaps you could keep an eye out for things in the environment which might affect you. For instance, stand in this area too long and your Pokemon will begin taking damage; stand over there and you'll get dirtier, lowering your respectability (assuming that becomes a game mechanic) with the general populace.
    An environment this interactive would really require a big overhaul for Pokemon's game mechanics at large, like adding Affinity systems, sidequests, and more mini-games. If this were to happen, interactive environments would become more meaningful and, yes, they would add more challenge to the overworld.
    Some may argue we already have interactive environments, like Sandstorms that injure Pokemon in battle and areas that slow them. These changes take place in battle, not in the world at large. This idea refers to players watching their feet outside of battle, not just within.
    An added bonus would be carrying through on a Pokemon's Abilities to influence the environment's effect on you even greater. One Pokemon's Ability may make you less noticeable in certain terrain, while another's may increase the time you can spend in an area without taking damage.

ENCOURAGING PLAYERS TO CATCH MORE POKEMON
Reward Players for Catching Pokemon
That sounds like a pretty straightforward statement, and it is. It might make more sense when I reference another game, though. (Warning: another comparison to an M-rated game imminent.) In Far Cry 3, a game promoting open exploration and progression, you start with virtually nothing, and without a little adventure and hard work outside the story, the going will be tough. By stopping to smell the flowers and kill a few modern pirates, you can unlock better weaponry, attachments, maps of the island, upgraded storage vessels, and other beneficial items. All it takes is one thought of, "Hmm, I could really use [insert thing you need here]," and you can be on your way to improvement and progression.
    All this comes from me having watched a playthrough of Far Cry 3 and not actually played it, but I think my point is still valid. You're driven by necessity because you start with almost nothing. I'm not saying you need to be horribly limited from the start in Pokemon, but a desire to improve your lot in life would naturally be a huge motivating factor in catching more Pokemon.
    What you could have is a list of rewards and requirements easily accessible whenever you want to take a look at upgraded items. Want a detailed map of the area? Catch 75% of the Pokemon in the area before it. Want the location of a secret cave? Find yourself this rare species of Pokemon and it's yours. Want a bag with more room to store items until it potentially has infinite room? Bring an NPC three kinds of Pokemon and earn yourself a bigger bag.
    Again, players should probably not be horribly limited from the beginning, as Pokemon should promote freedom of choice. Restricting players to only 5,000 Poke Dollars without catching the right Pokemon is probably forcing the concept on people too much. The overworld itself would likely have to change and bear more secrets for my idea to work correctly, but it would still be a huge motivator for catching more Pokemon.
Filling in the Gaps
By catching Pokemon that have been segregated into categories, you could earn bonus items or money. For instance, the game developers could take five or so Pokemon that are somewhat similar to each other and place them within a single category. When you come to own one such Pokemon, the rest of the branch gets illuminated so you can see what else you need to catch. When you catch the rest of the Pokemon in the category, you're rewarded with something like a TM, evolution stone, just plain money, or something to compensate you for your effort.
    It might also be a good idea to showcase what reward you would earn so players have even more incentive to keep at it. If they're looking for TM26 and it just so happens they can earn it by completing a category they've got two Pokemon in, they'll probably feel more motivated to catch more Pokemon.

I could go on much longer, but there may not be a huge point in covering every single possibility. What are your thoughts and suggestions on discovering wild Pokemon, adding challenge to the wilderness (if it needs extra challenge at all), and encouraging players to catch more Pokemon? Post them in the comment section, and we'll see what happens.