I think its a fair assessment to say that Game Freak does not mess around when developing a new core series Pokemon game. Ever since Red and Blue first came out, they have consistently been pushing Nintendo's handheld hardware to its full potential. And that is why I am so excited to see Gen VIII release at the end of 2019. If we were to actually evaluate the graphical power of the 3DS, I would place it somewhere between the N64 and the Gamecube, meaning that Gen VIII could potentially see up to three generations of graphical and gameplay improvement in a single iteration of the franchise, and that is just something that every pokemon fan should be excited about. But with that excitement I do have a lot of hopes and expectations. While the games did push the limits of handheld hardware, they were also limited by it as well, so I have a lot of expectations as to what the series should evolve into next, and then some more hopes for how the series could transition to a hybrid platform like the Switch.

Pokemon models - the pokemon models we have now are the same models that we saw in X and Y in 2013. Its just a bit weird to think about that. The models that we are still seeing today are the the first models we ever got in a main series game, which will have been out for 6 years at the release of Gen VIII. I dont want to see the same models just recycled and retextured, I want new fully realized models that were built for the Switch's hardware. And on top of that I want them to be properly animated. Right now, each pokemon can be expected to have 3 - 5 animation that get used for all of the moves they can use. And I am starting to agree with the people calling this lazy. Game Freak should have the resources for each pokemon using specific moves. Yes, I understand that there will be over 900 pokemon and hundreds of moves to work with, but if every other company can do it, they can too.

Open World - i expect Gen VIII to have a fully realized open world. No more towns with 3 - 5 houses each. With Sun and Moon it definitely seemed like they were ready to move past from this, which is great to see. All of the towns and locations seemed a lot bigger, and with a lot more personality. And i think with the Switch's hardware, we could have pretty much every town the size of what Lumiose City was but without it being sectioned off.

Gyms - this one is something that I am hoping for, more that expecting to happen. I would like them to completely derail from linear storytelling and regions, and create a huge world with 18 cities and gyms (one for each type) and let the player choose their own path entirely. Which gyms do they want to face, and in what order. They can even stick to the same 'collect 8 badges' formula and just have 10 more gyms for players looking to accomplish more, or save it for the end game. This isnt even too much to ask for since Gold and Silver pretty much did this on the GameBoy. after you beat the Elite Four, all the Kanto Gyms opened up, bringing the total to 16. Except this time it would all be one huge region to explore.

Multiplayer - My favorite game mechanic from any pokemon game would have to be the Entralink from Black and White. Basically, this let you take your character and cross over in to other player's games who were nearby. You could interact with each other, give each other bonuses, but really I just liked that you could enter their game and see yourself walking around on their screen. It has always been something I want to see return and expanded upon. Let players experience the whole game with each other if they want to, and freely have battles with each other. And even expand this to online so you could see other real people just exploring the same world as you. It would feel like the Pokemon MMO game that people have been asking for for years now.

All i want is something less linear, gyms and a hard mode.
Maybe have more legendary events and not just the main one. Maybe side quests idk ?
The franchise really need it's Botw episode. I don't mean it in a way it has to be revolutionnary and huge but just bigger. The games will sell over 10 millions no matter what there is no need to be afraid of taking risks. It has not improved since gen 5 and with the Switch there is so much more possibilities, they better use them or else people will get tired.

Orchestrated music for most of the soundtrack. More than 100 Pokémons. Substantial postgame content. Pro controller support with analog camera control. A big jump in graphics from let’s go. That is all. Hoping that this is the title to surpass white 2

1999:

2018:

Its best to keep your expectations tempered when you talk about the graphics/animation side of things.

edit: the first pic is a gif, but I cant get it to work. Basically what this shows is, Blastoise had an appropriate animation for Hydro Pump back in 1999 with Pokemon Stadium (water coming out of the actual cannons, but 19 years later Game Freak still hasnt caught up yet.

Not sure pushing the hardware is the correct wording to use I think you mean they utilize the hardware's features, in regards to what to possibly expect their other title Town could be an indicator in the graphical approach they may be going for.

I would just like something less hand-holding, not necessarily harder, but a game that let discover it at your own pace, in your own way. More openness (is that a word) would be cool too

The games will sell because it's Pokemon and they'll likely still be good games regardless (sorry mZuzek :P). I mean, a 79-80 metacritic score isn't a bad game (as Let's Go is one to consider).

It all depends on how long they have had the games being developed. Having a BotW type of game took Nintendo about 4-5 years (2013?-2017) and about 300+ people to develop the game. Game Freak has about half of that amount of staffing (I saw that they've been hiring recently, too) and, even then, it will take some time to get everything in order for the game to be something close to BotW (at least in ambition). Game Freak has usually released Pokemon mainline games almost on a yearly basis with a few exceptions.

Honestly, I am ready for Gen 8. Whether it is a completely new scale type of Pokemon adventure or not, I know I will enjoy the game as there will be new places to explore, new Pokemon to discover (and capture), and new battles to be won (I know I sound corny and like the singer in the Pokemon anime).

I would like to see how HD rumble, IR pointing, and motion controls will be utilized for Gen 8. The Poke Ball plus gave us somewhat of a preview and it's pretty intuitive and fun to use (even if the throwing part is a bit inconsistent at times).

Or maybe the franchise isn't as much of a flux as you paint it out to be :P

I mean, in the end, its your opinion so more power to you.

I've played Pokemon since the Red/Blue days and I think the series is fine in my books. For what they have been offering in almost a yearly basis, I can't say I have been disappointed in general in a Pokemon mainline game I've played. I mean, X/Y rejuvenated my love for the series if it sounds sacrilegious (I haven't fully finished Pokemon Black, but I stopped in the middle of the game for some reason, though the quality of the game wasn't one of them).

I mostly hope they ignore that Sun & Moon and the Let's Go games happened, and instead make something like X & Y or Black & White.

What I mean by that, is that they shouldn't focus too much on changes. Instead they should try to make an actual good game. Kalos was by far the most interesting region in the franchise, while Alola was very bland and uninspired (and it also felt small, because they made everything bigger). The region is very important in a Pokémon game, since it's the main difference between the games. Story-wise, they should look at B&W, which had an interesting story with little dialogue, compared to S&M which was full of cutscenes.

Oh, and I also want every single Pokémon to be in the game. And no spotlight on the same overrated few.

I just don't want something bland like X/Y or Diamond and Pearl. Find the rest of the gens pretty good in general.