5 Features We Hope to Return in Pokemon Alpha/Omega

Greetings, denizens! So as we all know, the pleas to Remake Hoenn have been answered, and there are two shiny new games on the horizon. There's been a lot of speculation on Alpha and Omega, and what new or returning favorite features they might have to offer. I've heard a couple mentioned that don't actually have much to do with battling or stats, but made previous games shine with personal touches. Read on!

Or you could always just scroll down and answer the poll. It's all good.

Companion Pokemon

Yep, we're starting off with a feature that's not so much practical or slick, but plain old adorable. Remember in Heart Gold and Soul Silver, how your lead pokemon would actually walk with you, appearing as a little sprite in the overworld? You could turn around and talk to it, and it would occasionally even pick up objects or interact with the environment, and just in general be cute as hell.

Sure, the cuteness and interaction factor has been pretty much covered by Amie, but there was just something comforting and companionable about actually seeing your little friends walking around with you. And now that we've got that new-fangled 3D view-age, they'd look even better and have even more fun!

Return of the Pokewalker

Maybe not the most modern of features, but one of the most practical, and one I still use every day. If you play a sport, dance, run or even just walk around a lot during the day, it just makes sense to be able to multitask and train your pocket monsters while you move. Maybe it's pure nostalgia and sentimentalism, but I always feel a little better knowing my pokemon are growing stronger with every step.

The Pokewalker didn't just allow you to rack up experience points while you boogie, it let you scan for items and catch walker-route exclusive pokemon. If this feature were brought back, active poke-fans would no doubt get a lot of good out of it. (Mine is still burning a hole in my pocket - it's also a handy way to level up high-level pokemon and avoid grinding! Game-grinding, anyway. Now you can grind with your legs.)

Remember Ben and Mary? I do, but then my brain is a sea of useless facts like SAT answers and the names of Pokemon DJs. Also from Heart Gold and Soul Silver, Pokemon Radio allowed you to listen to in-game "radio shows", win prizes with the Password Show, keep track of swarms, and listen to music that effected the world around you. Play Pokemon Lullaby and the 'mon you encounter would sometimes be asleep, while Pokemon March brings them in droves.

Now, I'd like to take it one step further - along with the default music, allow players to actually import and play their own tunes. Think "The Sims" - listen to your own music in your game, and have it effect the environment, maybe based on factors like BPM.

Something like this comes to mind. Do yourself a favor and hit play. That's some heavy-metal Pokemon theme right there. Now imagine you play this on your 3DS, and it acts like Pokemon March from days of old. Swarms appear to hear the shredding!

Or, hell, listen to nothing but Toxic by Britney Spears on repeat, see what that does. The possibilities are, clearly, endless.

Trainer Customization

This more recent feature debuted in Pokemon X/Y, and it would be really cool if it stuck around. For the first time in Pokemon history, players could choose the hair, clothes (and temporarily, makeup) of their trainer and switch it up at various points in the game. Assuming you had the monies, of course. And the style to get into certain snooty boutiques.

This isn't a very likely one to show up again in Alpha/Omega, as every promo shot I've seen has had the same default male and female protag designs, and customization hasn't been a selling point so far. Still, it would be fun to see what new (old?) fashions the Hoenn region had to offer.

Calling Fellow Trainers

Long, long ago, in a game that now seems pretty far away, there was a Youngster named Joey. Joey had a rattata, that just wasn't like a normal rattata. It was better. Stronger. Faster. Harder. Somehow, this particular ratatta was in the top percentage of ratatta.

And Joey just had to let you know this. It was vital that he call you and deliver you this important information. You just had to know.

But aside from incredibly important rattata updates, the PokeGear phone would occasionally, like the radio, bring you useful information, like rare pokemon swarms, rematches with NPCs - sometimes they'd even give you random gifts.

Nowadays, we have fancy hologram video phones, but they're not really used to the extent of the old PokeGear. This is a feature that would be a fun inclusion, as long as there were a few updates, such as:

• Calling other players as well as NPCs
• Increased ease of communication with other players, maybe with actual speaking, using the 3DS microphone
• Ability to screen calls (no, Joey!)

This isn't a very likely addition, or a very major one, even in previous games - it just made the world seem a little bit more immersive and real.

So! Before you go, pick an option, or comment with what you're most hoping to see from the upcoming games. No matter what's included, it's sure to be fun. There's a reason we keep giving Nintendo money year after year. Barring suspicious radio broadcasts, I mean.