Regardless of what you think about Max Raid Battles, they do point out an interesting direction for Pokemon: online PvE content instead of pure PVP, which has really been the only kind of multiplayer content Pokemon has had since it started. The nice thing about this is that it takes some of the focus off of rigid competitive team-building and would make the communal Pokemon experience more about team work with other players than just beating them up.

So it got me thinking: what other kind of game modes would work for Pokemon other than "team up with your buddies to fight this one big strong Pokemon?"