What's Pokémon's Best Gimmick(s)?

[Moonface]

With the recent reveal of Terastal Pokémon for Scarlet & Violet, we've seen yet another gimmick for the Pokémon series that as @Karo pointed out, won't likely be seen beyond those games, a fate shared by the majority of other gimmicks in their respective past games.

While it might be too early to decide if Terastal Pokémon should be something good enough to carry forward in the Pokémon series, I'm curious what gimmicks you think are the best ones Game Freak has come up with, which abandoned ones you wish had been carried through, if any, or which gimmicks you wish would be improved or laid to rest already?

I couldn't find a comprehensive list of every gimmick Pokémon has ever had, so I tried my best to make one by looking at the features of all the mainline games that were notable as a gimmick-type feature:

• Secret Bases (RSE/DPPt/ORAS/BDSP)
  
• Pokémon Contests (RSE/ORAS) / Super Contests (DPPt/BDSP)
  
• Battle Frontier (RSE/DPPt/HGSS)
  
• The Underground (DPpt) / Grand Underground (BDSP)
  
• Rotation Battles (BW/B2W2/XY/ORAS)
  
• Triple Battles (BW/B2W2/XY/ORAS)
  
• Seasons (BW/B2W2)
  
• Primal Reversion (ORAS)
  
• Sky Battles (XY)
  
• Mega Evolutions (XY/ORAS)
  
• Horde Encounters (XY/ORAS)
  
• Regional Forms (SM/USUM/SwSh/LA/SV)
  
• Z-Moves (SM/USUM)
  
• Battle Royals (SM/USUM)
  
• Ultra Beasts (USUM)
  
• Pokémon GO Style Catching (LGPE)
  
• Master Trainers (LGPE)
  
• Raid Battles (SwSh)
  
• Dynamax/Gigantamax (SwSh)
  

[Mr EliteL]

Raid Battles are good for Co-Op so that can stay for the time being as it is returning for SV, and possibly the next game unless something new is introduced. Didn't mind Triple Battles but probably for the best they're gone? I don't really have an opinion on it though, or the rest for that matter.

[Moonface]

I've not played most of the games to form an opinion on the gimmicks first hand, but I will say that in my time spent looking at them all to make the list in the OP, Master Trainers stood out to me the most:

They are 153 Trainers who each specialize in a different species of Pokémon from Generation I, plus Meltan and Melmetal. They can be encountered in various locations around Kanto after becoming Champion. Master Trainers wear red clothing and have the icon of their favorite Pokémon in a bubble above their heads. Their Pokémon are high leveled and tend to have a lot of AVs and maximum IVs in certain stats.

It sounds like Let's Go is the only game to do anything post-Elite 4 that attempts to provide a new challenge to the player. Beating 6 of them let's the player face Red as well.


Seasons in BW are something I'd love to see come back too. Even if not for the entire game world, if something like the Safari Zone comes back (sorta like the Wild Area in SwSh) then seasons could be in there as a way to change it up every so often. I can understand it not being easy to work in if the game region is somewhere that can't experience snow everywhere, like the Alolan region.