So with Pokémon is the case of if it ain't broken, don't fix it? Well, that makes sense. After all last time I checked the games still sell well but that alone doesn't mean either that following a franchise that is afraid of taking risks can be boring and tedious.
Though, for the little I've saw in forums it seems that people is really more than satisfied with the same old thing.
...that still doesn't stop this group of crazy people that wants a Pokémon MMO.
Makes sense within the game world. Everyone is out to train their little pocket monsters in the game world too, so I could see it. I think it would be a nightmare to oversee though. And yeah, I could see people getting really pissed if the franchise tried to do anything too different.
Plus it has more or less become a competitive sport to a certain degree. If they change up the mechanics now it'd be like making the transition from the GB/C to GBA which to some people would be an inexcusable waste of the time spent over the last decade in making their tweeked out murder teams full of ribbons, shinnies, and event exclusives.
The single player mode at this point is more of a feature and a source for more grinding, catching, breeding, award-winning, and accessorizing opportunities.
Pokemon is the biggest Not-MMO MMORPG in existence, and I dare say bigger than WoW.