I'll throw in the Firered / Leafgreen Battle (VS Trainer) theme as being one of the battle themes I dislike the most (especially compared to the RBY Version)
The RBY version was pretty simple, but fits well as a battle theme that you are going to hear frequently. The base progression of the song and the loops used within give it enough distinction without distracting the player. Around 0:17-0:21 and 0:28-0:31 I especially enjoy, a nice fast few second movement to help distinguish from the overall droning notes (used again later, but wanted a example in the first 30 seconds). The Gameboy is pretty restrictive in terms of what sounds can be used, but this theme does a pretty good job at not distracting the player while not being so boring as to annoy the player by how often it is used.
Firered/Leafgreen's version adds a ton on top of the basic underpinnings, but imo I dislike how it goes about adding it. Every time I hear the theme I can instantly recognize it, but it's not in a good way. While the structure of the RBY version is used, but a ton of instruments and new movements are stapled on top of the original structure in a way what does not mesh well. The GBA's soundfont is really expressive in what it can convey, and other parts of the Firered / Leafgreen OST really does thrive having more at their disposal, but the trainer theme never feels like it adds to the base theme, just piling more on top of it. One that really shines is the Pokemon Gym theme, being able to distinguish more between instruments and sounds using the GBA rather than the GB beeps allows the theme to feel more triumphant. Battle! (VS Trainer) doesn't really improve much in comparison, the extra sounds allowed by the GBA, yeah there is more sounds, but it no longer conveys a similar message that the RBY version was able to capture with the GB.
The RBY version was pretty simple, but fits well as a battle theme that you are going to hear frequently. The base progression of the song and the loops used within give it enough distinction without distracting the player. Around 0:17-0:21 and 0:28-0:31 I especially enjoy, a nice fast few second movement to help distinguish from the overall droning notes (used again later, but wanted a example in the first 30 seconds). The Gameboy is pretty restrictive in terms of what sounds can be used, but this theme does a pretty good job at not distracting the player while not being so boring as to annoy the player by how often it is used.
Firered/Leafgreen's version adds a ton on top of the basic underpinnings, but imo I dislike how it goes about adding it. Every time I hear the theme I can instantly recognize it, but it's not in a good way. While the structure of the RBY version is used, but a ton of instruments and new movements are stapled on top of the original structure in a way what does not mesh well. The GBA's soundfont is really expressive in what it can convey, and other parts of the Firered / Leafgreen OST really does thrive having more at their disposal, but the trainer theme never feels like it adds to the base theme, just piling more on top of it. One that really shines is the Pokemon Gym theme, being able to distinguish more between instruments and sounds using the GBA rather than the GB beeps allows the theme to feel more triumphant. Battle! (VS Trainer) doesn't really improve much in comparison, the extra sounds allowed by the GBA, yeah there is more sounds, but it no longer conveys a similar message that the RBY version was able to capture with the GB.