Why would it be good?
Because Pokémon has been set up as an MMO since the start. It's just been offline and for one player only.
How would it work?
This would be the last Pokémon game anyone would ever need. The basic game mechanics would be the same as ever, except that all of the NPC Pokémon trainers would be other players, and the scale of the game would be immense. You'd get to choose from one of a number of world regions to start in and traverse it as usual, catching, training, trading and levelling your Pokémon with a heavy emphasis on PvP. Gym Leader battles and Pokémon League challenges would still be against computer-controlled opponents, but once completed, the rest of the world's regions - each with their own selection of Pokémon - would become accessible for exploration. Co-operative play could even lead to multi-trainer team battles.
Above: Pokémon rival battles would be much more satisfying against human opponents
An online Pokémon has vast scope. The multiple regions would make it by far the biggest game yet, and the expandablity afforded by a persistent online environment would allow new Pokémon and scenarios to be dropped in whenever Nintendo wanted to.
Subscription fees would mean we could finally say goodbye to buying two new games every couple of years. Towns could be made into genuine Pokémon trainer communities, with meeting places to arrange fights and share information on rare sightings. Big cities could even have colosseums where players could watch live battles between others and make bets on the outcome. And if Ninty integrated regular special events, like they do with the online tournaments in Mario Kart Wii, Pokéfans the world over could quite happily live in this game for the rest of their lives.
Will it ever happen?
With Animal Crossing going online, a mic finally appearing for the Wii and rumours of Nintendo already having recieved a pitch for a Pokémon MMO, this one is inevitable at some point (provided that hard drive turns up). When that point will be though, is anyone's guess.
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