Huh. It just hit me. Pokemon Masters basically uses a lot of Pokemon models from the 3DS games right? I wonder if mobile games like Pokemon Masters will hold back the main series in terms of graphics due to how easy-to-use the 3D models are. For example, if Gen 9 hits and GameFreak wants to create the Pokemon roster from scratch with brand-new graphics on par with Battle Revolution or even better, that would probably force Pokemon Masters to either update their graphics with new ones which could be a strain on phones and already is for current adopters of the game, end Pokemon Masters and perhaps start a Pokemon Masters 2 or they can continue Pokemon Masters with the same graphics but they would have to make Gen 9 Pokemon from scratch with 3DS-style models. Funny how impactful a simple thing like graphics can be from the main series don't you guys think?
Currently, I don't see Game Freak remaking the roster from scratch. The Current 3DS Models hold up today even at 1080p, as many of them are even used in Sword & Shield.
To make clear the Models in this case, is the Mesh or the "3d Shape" of the returning Sw/Sh Pokémon is the same as it was in X&Y. The Textures got changed, and that can affect how the model looks alot more than tweaking a mesh. Then there are various rendering techniques that alter the look, not the models directly.
Just for quick comparison, Some of the Pokémon actually had been ripped from both Gen 6 and PBR, so I can download and inspect the Model. Comparing Bulbasaur: PBR model has 652 Triangles, while the X&Y Model has 5372 Triangles. PBR being a Wii game just had to make it look good for 480p, Sword/Shield needs to bring up to 1080p. Also PBR used tricks that hid it, which took advantage of the Wii's low resolution and limited usage would prevent the lower quality model showing it's flaws. The rendering techniques are the only reason why they don't look bad when emulating PBR at 1080p. Due to the cell shading technique used in recent games, the Sword and Shield's Camp feature would show the flaws of most PBR models. PBR's Bulbasaur's used texture swapping to fake blinking, where Gen6's eye's actually can move and may actually have eyelids.
https://imgur.com/a/bO0Js1T
Personally, I don't see Pokémon Company getting a new set of models in a hurry. The good news is that this takes some time to prepare for it, so any side game team may have a heads up for some time. Plus, they don't have update immediadly. I don't see any Generation 8 Pokémon in Masters yet.
Finally, the total range of Android hardware is huge, and the older or Cheaper devices end up being killed by the games, where the big devices aren't worried about it all.
