After taking a break from pokemon since X & Y , last month i got back into Pokemon Sapphire, which i was excited for considering how great it was on GBA, but I've come to realize how sorely disappointed I am at the series at this point and game freak, and mind you i think Pokemon is a pretty decent RPG and i just enjoy battling online. I was very  sad to not have enjoyed sapphire, and these 2 points are what did it for me, and MUST be changed in the future of pokemon.

1. offer a Hard mode from the start

This was an unlock in black & white 2, but why has it never been a choice in the last 2 games? seriously, it's just way to easy to level up now, much easier to EV train that "grinding", if you will, is unnessarcy. by the time i got to the elite four i had 2 teams of pokemon at level 70

2. eliminate the need of HMs

Know I'm not the 1st to say this, but it really sucks having to keep a linoone in my party just so i can cut, strength, surf etc. It was nice to be able to use a flute to call latias and fly, just gimmie items to do those things....or stop having me cut and move bolders, come up with some new kind of puzzles.

Your quitting a series because you have two gripes with it
Ok

The battle system is also completely boring in singleplayer with framerates of up to 12 fps (exaggeration)!

And the graphics... Yuck.

you're right, i guess i should have at least 10......ok

I used to love the series, but it just felt like the same thing over and over again. I think the last one I played was Pokemon Diamond and haven't touched the series since then. I'm hoping they add/change some things to make the games on their next handheld feel more fresh.

Also, after seeing Digimon, I have high expectations for Pokemon on their next handheld.

You'll be back.

HMs are really annoying.. I like how ORAS included the Soar feature, so you don't have to use a Pokemon with fly anymore.

But Pokemon really needs to add something brand new,not just Mega Evolutions, but some game changing elements. I still enjoy every new main entry, but it is becoming really repetitive and I would like to see a new change

Well, im catching up with the series and yesterday i finished Saphire (the GBA version) and i completely loved it.

I think Pokemon needs to take at least a year off to fix a lot of things, including what you mentioned. The HM issue will take some creativity, but as for the difficulty issue, it makes no sense. Every single video game, regardless of series or even genre, should have some sort of difficulty option. I cannot imagine why a Hard Mode is not present in the Pokemon games.

I am in the same boat as you.

Ever since the original release in the mid 90's, it was clear that the Pokémon franchise had the potential to become the greatest RPG experience on the market. It had everything that a devout, hardcore gamer could possibly want: Limited cash supply (until you reach the elite four), a truly evil, antagonistic corporation (whose employees were equipped with whips, no less) dedicated to exploiting Pokémon, a dark/gloomy town with a massive graveyard building, an inventory with 20 slots - making item management a lot more challenging (and making you actually take advantage of the PC's item storage), legendary Pokémon capable of dodging your Pokéballs (as opposed to current versions where they practically jump in), etc., etc.

Nintendo had their chance and they blew it. Their attempts to appeal to the casual market has only gotten more extreme as the series progresses, leaving no room for people who actually want to put their skills to the test. Simply put, Pokémon went from being one of the first true adventure games to becoming a full-blown vacation simulator.