At this point, after it has been declared only following a month where most of the world had "Pokemon Go" to play with, it's safe to say that the most-hyped mobile game of 2016 is floundering. "Pokemon Go" is not exactly what die-hard "Pokemon" fans want the game to be, and it shows—people want to play the Nintendo games on a wider network, and using a virtual, augmented version of our real life environments.
"Pokemon Go" doesn't really allow any of this to happen. It's just a game where the main goal is to collect as many Pokemon as you can, and as opposed to a Game Boy game where there is a main plotline to follow, it doesn't take long for players to notice that "Pokemon Go" is just you wandering around aimlessly, catching Pokemon for no real reason. If you can't assert your dominance over other trainers, then what's the point of catching all these monsters and letting them sit inside your inventory?
Some players are now just waiting for developer Niantic Labs to release the second generation of "Pokemon Go," and a portion of that eager fanbase—if there's anyone still even playing the game—are hopeful that the addition of the new Pokemon is what the game needs to be revitalized. While there will definitely be some novelty in having new Pokemon to catch (and evolving old Pokemon into new forms), it's probably not the saving grace the mobile game needs.
Think of it this way: after you catch most of the new generation Pokemon (as well as the Legendary first-gen Pokemon) in "Pokemon Go," what next? If Niantic still hasn't fixed the main problems of the game, then the veil will be pulled back again and people will realize that they're still wandering around aimlessly. Nothing is new. You'd still be hoarding Pokemon.
So what should Niantic do here? It's simple—revamp the entire "Pokemon Go" and at least put in battles from the main series. They can add trading all they want, but there's no point in trading once you've filled the Pokedex as much as you can. People want to fight. Let them fight. There's obviously no space for a deep, complex story, but there's also a way to give people something to work toward. If other mobile games can do it, why can't they?
Otherwise, if they continue on this path, then they can be sure "Pokemon Go" will emerge as the biggest video gaming flop of this decade. But they've still got time to reverse their fortunes. All they have to do is want it enough.
