When talking about divisive games, Pokémon Sword and Shield are the most divisive of the Pokémon series. While the games are far from terrible, they came under fire from the early leaks and disapproval of the small Pokédex. The characters, music, and art direction were nice, but the gameplay did take a hit. They could’ve been worse, but they also could’ve been so much better.

Fortunately, GameFreak has decided that their new way of expanding the game is in DLC through a couple of expansions. The Isle of Armor was promising in its quality, although it didn’t add a lot of extra playtime to the campaign. With the Crown Tundra releasing soon, here are some elements that we would still like to see added in the next expansion or in future versions of Sword and Shield.

10 Follower Pokémon On Mainland Galar

One of the best additions in The Isle of Armor is the return of following Pokémon in the Wild Area. It’s a little touch, and Pokémon have a hard time keeping up with the player, but it means a lot. It’s certainly odd to see Pokémon not properly to scale (especially since a giant Wailord is possible), but that’s okay to give up.

The only problem is that the follower Pokémon are limited to only the Isle of Armor. Despite the fact the technology is here, it’s locked behind a paywall and an entire new area. It would be a nice touch to see it on mainland Galar in future updates.

9 Wild Area Radio

The endgame of Pokémon typically involves a lot of biking in circles, crunching numbers, and constant heartbreak. Most players will mute the game while grinding for competitive Pokémon or catching them all. After hours of biking around the overworld, the music starts to not sound like anything at all.

The solution: add a radio. Final Fantasy XV added a radio for long travels across the open world, which was a really nice touch. With how great the music of the series is, having a radio for different music options would make grinding slightly more tolerable.

8 More Unique Customization Options

GameFreak has absolutely been trying to move Pokémon as close to an MMO as possible without being a true MMO. Seeing other players in the Wild Area and the Max Raid Battles are steps clearly in that direction. However, they’re missing a vital part of MMO endgame: the fashion.

Any Final Fantasy XIV fan will say that the endgame is one part grinding, one part fashion. GameFreak has some good customization options, and added more with The Isle of Armor, but it doesn’t feel that special. There are so many different outfits and hairstyles that could be added, and GameFreak should throw as much in to mix and match. It’s fun to dress up.

7 Improvements To Max Raid Battles

Max Raid Battles are a fun diversion, especially early one. The player and their friends can all join in to pit their best Pokémon against a single boss. There are a whole separate set of mechanics and strategies to Max Raid Battles, and GameFreak added a lot of team-wide buffs to make it happen.

In practice, though, Max Raid Battles are pretty one-dimensional. It’s possible to just take a disgusting overpowered Pokémon in and squash all the competition. There’s a lot of potential, but GameFreak could stand to make them a bit more challenging to force strategy and preparation.

6 Improvements To Online Play

Unfortunately, it’s hard to make any changes to parts of the online when the online itself is just terrible. The Player Search System in Pokémon X&Y wasn’t perfect, but it was much better than the current online. There are so many bad decisions that just make it harder than it should be, which is a Nintendo specialty on the Switch.

To trade with another player, both have to put in the same code and hope that another person isn’t using the exact same code. Battles have mechanics that favor the host in certain situations, which is unfair. And the GTS being locked behind Pokémon Home is depressing. It would be hard to fix, but hopefully they can find a way.

5 Nerfs To Dynamax

Dynamax and Gigantamax, the new gimmick added to the games, is absolutely disgusting. In casual play, it is thematically very cool. Max Raid Battles are neat as well, if a bit stale to finish after a while. It’s definitely fun to use the first couple times, even if it loses its luster.

The biggest problem is that, in competitive play, Dynamax is grossly overpowered. It’s so powerful that it was banned by Smogon. The buffs that Dynamax can apply are ridiculous on their own, and the ability to just erase a Pokémon for free is frustrating to play against. If GameFreak wants to help their competitive scene, nerfs to Dynamax are needed.

4 More Post-Game Singleplayer

This is a request a lot of fans have for the future of Sword and Shield. The current post-game is a terrible narrative epilogue and the Battle Tower; this is exactly the same as every game since X&Y. The Isle of Armor adds a little bit of spice, but it’s not much.

There’s one thing GameFreak could add to make everyone happy: the Battle Frontier. However, expecting that is hopelessly optimistic. They could do something as simple as adding new battles to the Battle Tower, doubles with other gym leaders as NPC’s, and other little bits. It wouldn’t be a lot, but it’s at least a start.

3 A Mini-Game Hub

This doesn’t fall under post-game single-player because it should be available before the post-game. Any RPG worth its salt these days has a variety of distractions and mini-games to give another activity to do. Previous Pokémon games spread out mini-games across the world, which was fine, but there isn’t much to do in Sword and Shield besides camping.

This isn’t directly a request to make a Gold Saucer of sorts in The Crown Tundra, but this is absolutely a request to do exactly that. Add in an arcade with a bunch of nostalgia bait mini-games, make Pokémon special prizes, and it’s gold. If there isn’t any competitive gameplay added, might as well throw a bone to the casual players.

2 An Extra Difficulty Mode

Sword and Shield is an easy game when played normally, although self-imposed challenges can make it spicier. However, considering the many different ages of people who play Pokémon, it’s about time to add a difficulty option.

Romhackers have been finding creative ways to make Pokémon games hard but fair for years. It’s unlikely, but GameFreak could take a page out of Sonic Team’s book and hire on romhackers and fans to help design some harder difficulties that keep the game fun and fair. Otherwise, just an option for harder battles like Black 2/White 2’s challenge mode would be nice.

1 The Rest Of The Pokémon

There’s not much else to say on this point. The biggest criticism of Sword and Shield from fans is the heavily cut down Pokédex. The Isle of Armor DLC added 108 new Pokémon, but it’s still far from the total number. Sure, nobody like Pokémon like Lumineon, but that doesn’t mean Lumineon shouldn’t be an option.

GameFreak may still think the game is easier to balance without all the Pokémon, but most Pokémon aren’t good anyways. The players who want to use new Pokémon will, and those who just want to use Lumineon again will get the option to. It’s the best thing they can do to improve Sword and Shield.

NEXT: Pokémon: 10 Characters From The Old Games We Want To See Come Back