(Preparing for) Shuffle's Last Stand

Around half a month ago, I suggested that like some recent mobile Pokémon game entries, Pokémon Shuffle may be on its way out, on both mobile and the 3DS. One of my Pokémon fellows seems to agree with this observation, so this may be an inevitable matter. Therefore, for players like me who are still engrossed in playing the game like me, it may be wise to prepare for this inevitability. It's something that one should consider doing no matter how far one is with the progress in the games.

One suggestion is to unlock as many Main and Expert Stages as possible. The Pokémon don't have to be captured and the stages do not have to be cleared with an S rank, but the former may help significantly with progress in other stages and the latter is absolutely necessary to unlock Expert Stages, being the criteria for them. Once they are unlocked, they may be worked on at a later time for capturing the Pokémon and/or earning an S rank, which may be performed if at all necessary. It may be somewhat of a relief to take up this suggestion.

Another suggestion is to start using up as many Enhancements as possible on caught Pokémon. Long-time players like me may possibly have many of these, and they should (and need to) be used to make significant progress, though some decisions on who gets what may still need to be made. This is also true regardless if one doesn't have many of them, and if one is even approaching the 99-item limit for each, the decision must be made wisely yet quickly. They are meant to be used, and therefore they should.

A third suggestion is to continue increasing the Trainer Rank and working on the Special Stages as usual. For the former, this also entails catching as many Pokémon as possible, which may be helped by the first suggestion as well as the latter half of this one. Many Pokémon are actually found in the Special Stages that are present for one to two weeks, and catching them would help significantly for this suggestion. Their bonuses aren't too shabby either as I've detailed previously, so it becomes important in any case.

There is really no official word for now that Pokémon Shuffle is going out, but with all the signs, the games on the different platforms may just be heading in that direction. It may be wise to follow through with the suggestions above and prepare for its end-of-life, which sooner or later will have to come and in this case possibly soon. It's been a wild ride since the games first started, and that ride may be about to get wilder as the games near their end. Whether one is far out or not as far, it may be worth to tame that wild ride of Shuffle before it's really over.

One year ago: Special Feature Film - "POKÉMON: Detective Pikachu"

Two years ago: Just Like a Rainbow

Three years ago: A Shout-Out to a Fellow Blogger