Hello Smogon,
During this end of October, I was watching some games and thought about something that I've been thinking these past years, the major tournament schedule is desert in November and December. We were in early november, and SCL was already in semifinals and Masters in the last swiss round.
So with that thought, I was thinking about what could we make, a new tournament? That could be too long, a new team tournament? That is too much with already 3 in the schedule. So I look at the past and saw the official tournaments we cut: The 2nd Smogon Tour and the beloved but controversial Smogon Frontier.
What were the negative parts of those two tournaments?:
- 2nd Smogon Tour killed the hype of both tours. Having two identical made both weak tournaments where you just join it and if you don't start well you have another one in 6 months.
- Smogon Frontier was a super loved tournament but was a pain in the ass for brains. Brain Fatigue was just unsustainable.
But both apported some things that no other tour can: Their uniqueness and the fact that both tournaments are different to other official ones that is just schedule with other people and play, people love live-tours, and people love a format like the Frontier.
So... why no mix them both, re-work it and have both of them back? My proposal:
So yeah, with this tournament, I think we recover the hype of the official live-tours, but being different of the 1st one, and the hype of the great Smogon Frontier without the tedious Brain Fatigue. I hope you all enjoy this proposal and make this happen.
During this end of October, I was watching some games and thought about something that I've been thinking these past years, the major tournament schedule is desert in November and December. We were in early november, and SCL was already in semifinals and Masters in the last swiss round.
So with that thought, I was thinking about what could we make, a new tournament? That could be too long, a new team tournament? That is too much with already 3 in the schedule. So I look at the past and saw the official tournaments we cut: The 2nd Smogon Tour and the beloved but controversial Smogon Frontier.
What were the negative parts of those two tournaments?:
- 2nd Smogon Tour killed the hype of both tours. Having two identical made both weak tournaments where you just join it and if you don't start well you have another one in 6 months.
- Smogon Frontier was a super loved tournament but was a pain in the ass for brains. Brain Fatigue was just unsustainable.
But both apported some things that no other tour can: Their uniqueness and the fact that both tournaments are different to other official ones that is just schedule with other people and play, people love live-tours, and people love a format like the Frontier.
So... why no mix them both, re-work it and have both of them back? My proposal:
1. Introduction
The Smogon Frontier brings together the best competitors from all the Pokémon generations. Each generation will have its own official representative, known as a Brain, who must demonstrate their mastery of their own metagame and their ability to compete across the other eight generations.
The ultimate goal is to collect all nine Frontier Medals and become the sole Frontier Champion.
2. Selection of the Nine Brains
An independent qualifying live-tournament will be held for each generation:
Generation I – RBY
Generation II – GSC
Generation III – ADV
Generation IV – DPP
Generation V – BW
Generation VI – XY
Generation VII – SM
Generation VIII – SS
Generation IX – SV
The winner of each qualifying tournament will be appointed as the Brain of their respective generation and will receive its corresponding medal.
The nine winners will form the Battle Frontier.
>> NOTE FOR THIS: Another possibility is to make 2 live-tournaments for each generation and then the 2 winners will face in a final Bo5 to determine who will be the brain of that generation.
3. Medal System: The Brain Challenge
Each Brain starts the competition with their own medal and must collect the remaining eight.
Every Brain is both the leader of their generation and a challenger to the other eight.
To obtain a medal, they must defeat the Brain who represents that generation.
Battles must always take place in the generation of the Brain being challenged.
Once obtained, medals are permanent and cannot be lost.
Each medal can only be obtained once by each participant.
Every Brain must have the opportunity to challenge the other eight representatives and defend their own generation against all eight opponents.
4. Battle and Loss System
Official challenges will be played in a single match (RBY Bo3 maybe?)
Each Brain is allowed a maximum of X official losses during The Frontier. (To be decided)
Upon reaching their Xth loss, they will be eliminated from the race for the Frontier Champion title.
An eliminated Brain will retain their medal and may continue defending their generation, allowing the remaining participants to challenge them.
All matches must be officially posted with their replay.
5. Fair Play and Anti-Win Trading Rules
The Battle Frontier must reward competitive merit rather than agreements between participants.
The following actions are strictly prohibited:
Arranging wins or losses with other Brains.
Trading results to facilitate medal acquisition.
Deliberately manipulating the outcome of a battle.
Interfering with the competition through external agreements.
All results will be publicly recorded (replays) and may be reviewed by the tournament organizers.
If two or more participants are proven to have colluded, the organizers may disqualify them from the tournament.
6. Qualification for the Finals: Frontier Masters
Any Brain who successfully collects all nine medals will become a Frontier Master.
If only one participant collects all nine medals, they will be crowned Frontier Champion immediately.
If two or more participants complete the collection, they will all qualify for the final stage to determine the sole champion.
7. Finals: The Frontier Championship
The final will be played in a best-of-seven generations format (BO7).
Special Rule:
The two generations represented by the two finalists will be excluded from the final.
For example, if the finalists are the ADV and SV Brains, the seven generations played will be:
RBY
GSC
DPP
BW
XY
SM
SS
The first participant to achieve four victories will be crowned champion.
This rule rewards participants for winning their respective generation qualifiers and prevents more fatigue.
If more than two Frontier Masters qualify, a single-elimination playoff will be organized. In each matchup, the generations represented by the two competing participants will be excluded.
8. The Frontier Champion Title
The winner of the final stage will be officially recognized as:
THE BATTLE FRONTIER CHAMPION
This title will distinguish the best competitor across all nine generations and the only participant capable of overcoming every challenge in the Battle Frontier.
The Smogon Frontier brings together the best competitors from all the Pokémon generations. Each generation will have its own official representative, known as a Brain, who must demonstrate their mastery of their own metagame and their ability to compete across the other eight generations.
The ultimate goal is to collect all nine Frontier Medals and become the sole Frontier Champion.
2. Selection of the Nine Brains
An independent qualifying live-tournament will be held for each generation:
Generation I – RBY
Generation II – GSC
Generation III – ADV
Generation IV – DPP
Generation V – BW
Generation VI – XY
Generation VII – SM
Generation VIII – SS
Generation IX – SV
The winner of each qualifying tournament will be appointed as the Brain of their respective generation and will receive its corresponding medal.
The nine winners will form the Battle Frontier.
>> NOTE FOR THIS: Another possibility is to make 2 live-tournaments for each generation and then the 2 winners will face in a final Bo5 to determine who will be the brain of that generation.
3. Medal System: The Brain Challenge
Each Brain starts the competition with their own medal and must collect the remaining eight.
Every Brain is both the leader of their generation and a challenger to the other eight.
To obtain a medal, they must defeat the Brain who represents that generation.
Battles must always take place in the generation of the Brain being challenged.
Once obtained, medals are permanent and cannot be lost.
Each medal can only be obtained once by each participant.
Every Brain must have the opportunity to challenge the other eight representatives and defend their own generation against all eight opponents.
4. Battle and Loss System
Official challenges will be played in a single match (RBY Bo3 maybe?)
Each Brain is allowed a maximum of X official losses during The Frontier. (To be decided)
Upon reaching their Xth loss, they will be eliminated from the race for the Frontier Champion title.
An eliminated Brain will retain their medal and may continue defending their generation, allowing the remaining participants to challenge them.
All matches must be officially posted with their replay.
5. Fair Play and Anti-Win Trading Rules
The Battle Frontier must reward competitive merit rather than agreements between participants.
The following actions are strictly prohibited:
Arranging wins or losses with other Brains.
Trading results to facilitate medal acquisition.
Deliberately manipulating the outcome of a battle.
Interfering with the competition through external agreements.
All results will be publicly recorded (replays) and may be reviewed by the tournament organizers.
If two or more participants are proven to have colluded, the organizers may disqualify them from the tournament.
6. Qualification for the Finals: Frontier Masters
Any Brain who successfully collects all nine medals will become a Frontier Master.
If only one participant collects all nine medals, they will be crowned Frontier Champion immediately.
If two or more participants complete the collection, they will all qualify for the final stage to determine the sole champion.
7. Finals: The Frontier Championship
The final will be played in a best-of-seven generations format (BO7).
Special Rule:
The two generations represented by the two finalists will be excluded from the final.
For example, if the finalists are the ADV and SV Brains, the seven generations played will be:
RBY
GSC
DPP
BW
XY
SM
SS
The first participant to achieve four victories will be crowned champion.
This rule rewards participants for winning their respective generation qualifiers and prevents more fatigue.
If more than two Frontier Masters qualify, a single-elimination playoff will be organized. In each matchup, the generations represented by the two competing participants will be excluded.
8. The Frontier Champion Title
The winner of the final stage will be officially recognized as:
THE BATTLE FRONTIER CHAMPION
This title will distinguish the best competitor across all nine generations and the only participant capable of overcoming every challenge in the Battle Frontier.
So yeah, with this tournament, I think we recover the hype of the official live-tours, but being different of the 1st one, and the hype of the great Smogon Frontier without the tedious Brain Fatigue. I hope you all enjoy this proposal and make this happen.
