[DISCUSSION] Should Pokémon Include Trophy Hunting?

Hey, everybody! It's 0kamii, and I've made just enough progress on my SoFurry submission to pay y'all a visit!

So I was recently having a discussion with a friend about trophy hunting in video games, and he and I both seem to be on completely opposite ends of the spectrum. He seems to think that trophy hunting, as infuriating as it can be, is well worth the effort put into it. That it is its own kind of reward, and adds another layer to the complex gaming experience that many people work so tirelessly to loosely define. And then you have me, who thinks trophy hunting is pointless and everyone that does it is driving themselves insane for no reason. While there is no way to prove one method is better than the other, I can't help but wonder how people would feel if this feature was applied to Pokémon games. We already got a taste of what trophy hunting would be like in Pokémon thanks to the stamps in the Gen 7 games, and frankly, I didn't get much out of it. Therefore, I'd like to argue my end of the debate, and then leave it to all of you to defend your end if you disagree. If you agree, be sure to let me know why. That being said:

0kamii believes not. And here's why.

Pokémon is already one of the biggest JRPGs in the world, if not the biggest. There's never a shortage of things to do in a Pokémon game anyway, so adding trophies (in my opinion, anyways) would just be overkill. Depending on the generation, you have many activities to do in the postgame, Battle Frontier, PWT, PokéAthalon, contests, Battle Maison, and Tree, just to name a few. Most of these features are enjoyable enough as is, while others are challenging. I can't speak for every player, but I've always liked to surpass these challenges for my own satisfaction, not because there was some digital commemorative statue for it. Not only that, but I get the feeling that if Pokémon did start implimenting trophies, the vast majority would be for rather arbitrary things that we do absentmindedly while playing anyway. Things like: hatch 20 eggs, hatch 100 eggs, defeat the Champion, explore all of the map, complete the regional Poké Dex, find a Shiny, find 10 Shinies, find 100 Shinies. Most of these activities are things that players take the initiative to do anyway, so I fail to see the point in adding in trophies to encourage them to do it. Also, PLEASE no online trophies... Dodgy

I haven't thought this argument fully through, but the gist is that: trophies would only encourage actions we already take in a Pokémon game normally.

I'm curious to hear what all of you think for this subject. Should Pokémon games impliment some kind of trophy system like the stamps we got in Gen 7? Or should it stay away from the dreaded horrors of trophy hunting? Be sure to let me know what y'alls think in the comments below. I'll reply to as many as I can. Also, sorry for the lack of posts. With Christmas just passed and the year's end coming up, my job has me slammed with hours. Hopefully after New Year's, I'll be back to my regular schedule. Thanks for understanding, everyone!

Thanks so much for reading, everyone! Battle onwards, friends!

- 0kamii