Nintendo’s been bowling a near-perfect game lately, but even so, we can’t help but scratch our heads at a recent proclamation from one of its biggest moneymakers. In an interview with What They Play, Pokémon series director Junichi Masuda was asked whether or not Pikachu and his 492-mon posse might be making their way into an MMO in the near future. He responded:

“At this point, we’re not thinking of going in that direction. Trading is a core concept of Pokémon. So when you’re trading, you meet with a friend and decide which one you want and which one they want.

“I would like to emphasize real-world communication. You don’t see each other online.”

Recent Pokémon games have allowed players to trade their critters or pit them against each other in shirtless, weapon-free man-fights through the Internet’s reality-warping wizardry, so an MMO seems like a logical next step.

But then, we’re not entirely sure if designing a series about adorable cockfighting animals screams “logic” anyway. So yeah.