The discourse among the community is irrelevant. Souls games aren't that way because Souls fans fervently defend it, they're like that because that's how the developers want their game to be experienced. So the same goes here, if Pokemon developers want to add difficulty levels that's their choice. The community debating about it has nothing to do with it.

I mean . . . I stand by both companies rights to release their games however they want, but as a super fan of both series I thought you might enjoy my perspective on why I think there should be a hard mode in Pokémon, but no easy mode in Dark Souls.

We'll go with Dark Souls first. Dark Souls is weirdly a social game where a community of players tackle the game "together" and when they talk there is a unifying feel that everyone has overcome the same challenges to earn the same rewards. It creates these para social shared memories of challenges we can all commiserate about. Also, the challenge of Souls is kind of core to the experience it's trying to evoke. It wants players to feel like they overcame adversity through persistence. If you played a Souls game on easy and just steam rolled everything it would feel hollow and pointless. You wouldn't be experiencing the world through the lens the developer intended.

As for Pokémon, the reason I think that there should be a hard mode, is because they created an amazing turn based combat system that the game never requires you to use to win. When playing Sword and Shield I was able to beat the entire game with a Wooloo I caught in the first zone, just spamming normal moves, and this gives me an experience like the experience I would imagine easy Dark Souls would be like. I never have to interface with the systems in a meaningful way, so it's boring and pointless. That being said I don't know that I would want a hard mode to select at the beginning of the game. I would want it to be in the world somewhere. Like maybe a second run through the league after you beat it. I still think a game like Pokémon benefits from having one static game world between all players.

Pokemon is a kid's game at heart, one that adults happen to enjoy, but Game Freak doesn't necessarily care about the hard-core fans. I grew up with Pokemon, but, as I grew, the series got boring. It was hard for me to let go, but I accepted that Pokemon was no longer for me.

Me personally, I think that games should have multiple levels of difficulty if possible, so that the games can be challenging for those that wish it, but also accessible for other people.

I'll use Elden Ring as an example, since that's the Souls game I've played. It has been very challenging for me, and at times the levels of accuracy in executing moves is frustrating. Someone that struggles perhaps with motorskill and coordination will be completely excluded from the beautiful world in the game. I understand that for the hardcore fans the difficulty is part of the experience, but I think there should be a middle ground or some kind of compromise.

There is also something to be said for players that wish to experience a story in a game but not necessarily the challenges of it. Now Souls games don't seem to have that much of a story, but they do have a mythology and histories within them.

Ultimately I don't think the question of accessibility will be considered that much by developers, so I suppose my point is moot.

it doesnt need a hard mode, ppl only called for it because they started making the pokemon games easier than they already were. Games also are/were about challenges, whether fair or unfair every old game created in history was about competition/puzzles/ability to lose. Super easy games are extremely new, even 'chill/relaxing' sims games new and old have challenge/ability to lose with some complexity/resistance.

also pokemon added hard mode before. but it was on one of their best games that sold poorly, but now internet hype and 90s kids grown up having jobs to now support/buy into hype/pokemon/video game stuff they experienced in their childhoods, pokemon then blew up again with x and y in 2013 right after pokemons best game unfortunately.

dude you can basically mob ANY game in existence nowadays if you want a different experience, people make their games however they want....you buy them

Because they are different games and the developers can do different things Dark souls has built its brand on being hard and there have definitely been a lot of people who complain about there not being an easy mode.

Pokémon never established the fact that it's supposed to be easy just that it's meant to be playable by all age groups which tends to entail atleast a modicum or option of ease.

If they want to have a hard mode or not is up to them, but regardless players are going to complain about their decision. Each company can make any decisions they want but you can never make everyone happy

They dont

If you want harder Pokemon, just go play SMT. There, problem solved.

These games are made for entirely different types of gamers dawg.

Fromsoft & Pokemon fan here. Honestly, there is a large amount of options to make fromsoft games easier. Especially the newer releases have many ways to play that can result in an easier experience, for example multiplayer mechanics, summoning npcs to help, etc. And there are always more ways to make the game more challenging if you really want to, like no-hit runs, speed runs, no leveling etc... I think if players want a more difficult pokemon game they can just figure out how to make it more difficult for themselves & create challenges for themselves & the community. I don't think pokemon needs are hard mode and fromsoft games don't need an easy mode. Players just need to use their brains and get creative.

It does have a harder mode but barely anyone knows it’s there.

Yup just downvote with actual refuting the harder difficulty.