>>47959950While I can definitely believe that abilities are straight up removed for this game because this franchise loves taking steps back for every step forward, I could also see something new or retooled being implemented in their place. This is only our first real infodump about the game, and while my confidence in GameFreak isn’t especially high they are historically big fans of the gradual drip feed of info. Gyms and trials and the like usually aren’t shown off until a few months into the prerelease hype cycle, and major mechanics like Megas, Z-Moves, and Dynamax are also revealed slowly and in stages (remember how Gigantamax was shown off after Dynamax had already been revealed?).
We had complete silence on this game from February, but now we’re just 5 months out from release, so I expect more regular news releases to start. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if additional details about the battle system and some kind of challenge-based driving story still rear their heads. Sure, the game COULD just be Dex-filling fetch quests, but based on previous release patterns I think it’s too early to say that with confidence. I’m now expecting abilities to be gone but it’s disingenuous to say we know everything about this game.
