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So and so.
Some evolutionary methods did get alternatives (see, Milotic) when the core method got removed from the game.
Sylveon evo could be simply be changed to "happiness while knowing a fairy move and/or holding X item" if they wanted to get rid of that mechanic.
Yet Feebas' was (albeit temporarily) restored for OR/AS. And Eeveelutions are A LOT more popular than Milotic, plus Espeon and Umbreon have the friendship evolution well covered and Game Freak may not want to confuse players trying for Sylveon and ending up with one of these two instead. (and we all know how stingy the games tend to be with hold items tied to evolution outside of paying BP for them at the generation's Battle Tower equivalent)
Still, Game Freak will do whatever they see fit with their games, so your point still has merit.
I do enjoy some of the inventive ways that Pokemon evolve, like turning the console upside-down at level 30. Some are better than others, but it's kind of neat to think about why it may evolve that way in the context of the Pokemon world.
Feebas could always evolve through maximum Beauty, even in Gen V and Gen VII. It is the only Pokemon that has two ways to evolve into the same thing in the same game.
Thing is, since you can't boost Beauty in those game, only a traded Feebas could trigger such an evolution. Because of this, an alternate evolution method was added. There's nothing preventing them from giving Sylveon an alternate evolution if they removed Pokemon Amie/Refresh (something like "level up while holding <new item>", for instance).
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But here's the thing that separates Pokemon-Amie/Refresh and the Photo Club: The way it effects the experience.
Pokemon-Amie/Refresh was a MUCH needed feature. The game constantly tells you that the player has a strong bond with their Pokemon, but up till Gen VI you were only being told that as the only way you've been interacting with your Pokemon has been battling or competing in additional competitions. Never did the player take time out of their day to do anything which would be consider forming a personal bond. Than Gen VI came, jumping the main Pokemon series to 3D. And with every Pokemon getting models, a more interactive and animated object than a sprite, GF finally was able to add in a feature where you could just stop what you're doing and interact with your Pokemon. Pet them, feed them, play games with them, later be able to groom and give them medicine. And while this does have a beneficial effect in battle via the Affection bonuses, the point here is that we're finally able to do what someone would be considered bonding: we're spending time playing and taking care of our Pokemon like we would with a real life pet. Taking away Pokemon-Amie/Refresh would be more of a step back then "Eevee has to find another way to evolve to Sylveon", it would take away one of the most crucial innovations the Pokemon games had needed if we're meant to believe we're forming a strong and trusting friendship with our Pokemon.
Photo Club is just an extra feature where you can take silly pictures. It's on equal footing to the Pokemon Musicals in that regard or the ORAS Contest features of letting you use the 3D's camera to overlay the Pokemon doing a move. And, though we'd like GF to keep in these extra features, let's remember there are limits in place. How much memory space does the Photo Club probably take up, or how much time would GF need to spend updating a feature which probably only a niche amount of players used? Space and time which could be spend on doing something new and potentially more popular.
The only way I can see Photo Club remaining if it actually becomes a part of Pokemon Refresh, but it'll probably be dumbed done to simple side-by-side pictures with the most camera manipulation being moving the camera view up or down.
And if any Pokemon is going to get a new evolution method it'll probably be Inkay. Yes, motion control is a standard now... but at the same time you don't need it and it's hardly ever used. Much like with Feebas, while Inkay will always have the option to evolve by flipping your game console upside down, I think it needs another way to evolve incase there's no motion control for whatever reason.
Pokemon-Amie/Refresh was a MUCH needed feature. The game constantly tells you that the player has a strong bond with their Pokemon, but up till Gen VI you were only being told that as the only way you've been interacting with your Pokemon has been battling or competing in additional competitions. Never did the player take time out of their day to do anything which would be consider forming a personal bond. Than Gen VI came, jumping the main Pokemon series to 3D. And with every Pokemon getting models, a more interactive and animated object than a sprite, GF finally was able to add in a feature where you could just stop what you're doing and interact with your Pokemon. Pet them, feed them, play games with them, later be able to groom and give them medicine. And while this does have a beneficial effect in battle via the Affection bonuses, the point here is that we're finally able to do what someone would be considered bonding: we're spending time playing and taking care of our Pokemon like we would with a real life pet. Taking away Pokemon-Amie/Refresh would be more of a step back then "Eevee has to find another way to evolve to Sylveon", it would take away one of the most crucial innovations the Pokemon games had needed if we're meant to believe we're forming a strong and trusting friendship with our Pokemon.
Photo Club is just an extra feature where you can take silly pictures. It's on equal footing to the Pokemon Musicals in that regard or the ORAS Contest features of letting you use the 3D's camera to overlay the Pokemon doing a move. And, though we'd like GF to keep in these extra features, let's remember there are limits in place. How much memory space does the Photo Club probably take up, or how much time would GF need to spend updating a feature which probably only a niche amount of players used? Space and time which could be spend on doing something new and potentially more popular.
The only way I can see Photo Club remaining if it actually becomes a part of Pokemon Refresh, but it'll probably be dumbed done to simple side-by-side pictures with the most camera manipulation being moving the camera view up or down.
And if any Pokemon is going to get a new evolution method it'll probably be Inkay. Yes, motion control is a standard now... but at the same time you don't need it and it's hardly ever used. Much like with Feebas, while Inkay will always have the option to evolve by flipping your game console upside down, I think it needs another way to evolve incase there's no motion control for whatever reason.
...Lol. This is amazing.Here's one of the more tamer ones:
(Speaking of assed...)
There's several variations of the one above using different Pokemon. There's also ones where, through camera manipulation, you can get some pretty scrupulous scenes.
Never underestimate the perversion of the internet.
Bet that Primarina has a Naughty nature. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Actually, now that you mention it, I could see it happening as soon as the first pair of Switch games are released, because the screen does not have motion controls, and Inkay's evolution involves the screen being upside-down...
(Possibly being changed to just have whatever motion controls the console has being upside down)
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Does anyone remember that guy at the beginning of the game who always speaks about the greatness of technology? Pretty cool little thing, esp. as we're advancing so rapidly in this day and age.
I was a bit disappointed when I found him replaced with the man saying "Yo player, I heard Prof. Elm discovered some new pokémon" in G/S/C, but I was glad when I found the technology guy in Pallet Town :D
It's cool to go back to the older games where they praise stuff like Cable Interaction when we've gone so far beyond that. It's also interesting to think that players in a few generations will be saying the same thing about whatever the tech guy says in USUM.
Well, Pokemon game production and worldly technological advancement both don't show any signs of stopping, as it seems there may be no true boundaries.
Okay. Now that US/UM have been out for three months and the subforum for them is gone, here are some things I like from them and a little from some other games too.
First of all, I really like all the minor differences in US/UM compared to S/M. I like when third/alternate versions have a lot of minor differences, especially the when they are of the kind that which makes you think: "Hey, wait a minute, was it really like this in the previous game? I remember it being different somehow...". There are also some more noticeable ones such as Lillie not going with you to Exeggutor Island. I like those too.
I like all the miniquests and sidequests in US/UM. I said in a previous post that several things in S/M gave me a feeling of other Nintendo games. US/UM continues with that since this feels similar to Xenoblade Chronicles, being able to help various minor NPCs with a lot of different sidequests and miniquests of all kinds. I also feel that it makes the game and the world feel more alive when you interact with various minor characters and help them with things in their lives. Helping others feels good. The only thing I am really missing is a quest log in order to keep track of what sidequests I have completed and which I have left in the game as opposed to having to keep track of it myself. But hey, maybe next time.
There are some areas in US/UM where you can see wild Pokemon in the background, not being intractable with but still existing in the world. For instance, Magmar on Route 7 near the entrance to the volcano or Bewear outside of the Battle Tree, on the left side. And there are many others as well. This also makes the world and the region feel more alive and I love it.
The appearance of "Acerola" in her trial in US/UM, near the end. I thought that was creepy and very well done.
One minor detail I noticed when playing Ultra Moon which existed in S/M as well but I didn't think about then (confirmed it through watching a walkthrough video on Youtube). After you participate in the Battle Royal during the story and then walk out, the four who participated in the battle (the player character, Hau, Gladion and the Masked Royal) are standing on the four fighting fists. I think this is easier to show with a picture, so here we go:
It is very minor but I like how it shows the four who just took part in a Battle Royal standing on the fists that are the very symbols of the kind of battle they just participated in together.
I like it when there are many legendaries you can catch in the games. I like catching legendaries in the games because it sort of feels like a new adventure in the games, so the more there are of them, the merrier! Anyway, there are five main series games that stand out regarding this. The first three are Platinum, HG/SS and B2/W2 which all had a great number of legendaries, more than any other games that existed at their time. They also included some or several that weren't native to the region in question, which I thought was great. Then OR/AS came along and took it one step further with even more than these three games, as well as allowing us to capture a mythical Pokemon within the games without an event of some sort. And now we have US/UM which not only has even more legends to catch than OR/AS, but they go as far as to have every single legendary Pokemon that exists being catchable across both games. I like that a lot.
In addition to the above, I like how you can catch an infinite amount of the original Ultra Beasts in US/UM. I also like how you can catch more than one of some of them in S/M, and how you can catch two Stakataka/Blacephalon in US/UM.
I really like how they expanded on Mt. Lanakila in US/UM to make it more into a real Victory Road similar to the ones in previous generations. Adding more areas as well as actual trainers goes a long way when it comes to improve something that was previously just a cave, that is something I appreciate a lot.
Lastly, one big thing, and one of my favorite new features from Gen 7. Z-moves. The idea of powering up regular moves is great, and being able to do it for any regular move and for any Pokemon is even better. I really like how they went all out with it compared to some other things in Gen 7 which feels a bit half-finished (such as Alola forms which there should have been many more of, or Ash-Greninja/Pokemon synchro-evolution/fusion/whatever which was limited to just one Pokemon which in turn could only be obtained through a game demo). Z-moves are useful in battle without being overly broken, they are strong but balanced. There's also the poses, which I have grown to like a lot. At first they might just seem like something you do for fun but if you look a little deeper, there's more behind them. First of all, they all have some sort of connection to their type, like the Electric-type pose is in the shape of a lightning bolt, or Fighting is a lot of pummeling fists. In reality, they aren't the easiest to perform correctly either. The games make it seem easy but you have to move correctly in a specific way to do get them right. Pokemon Adventures shows this better as you need a bit of practice in order to do it. Finally, I like how the Pokemon that performs the Z-move has a determined look on its face before it uses the move. Minor details like that are just so enjoyable to see.
First of all, I really like all the minor differences in US/UM compared to S/M. I like when third/alternate versions have a lot of minor differences, especially the when they are of the kind that which makes you think: "Hey, wait a minute, was it really like this in the previous game? I remember it being different somehow...". There are also some more noticeable ones such as Lillie not going with you to Exeggutor Island. I like those too.
I like all the miniquests and sidequests in US/UM. I said in a previous post that several things in S/M gave me a feeling of other Nintendo games. US/UM continues with that since this feels similar to Xenoblade Chronicles, being able to help various minor NPCs with a lot of different sidequests and miniquests of all kinds. I also feel that it makes the game and the world feel more alive when you interact with various minor characters and help them with things in their lives. Helping others feels good. The only thing I am really missing is a quest log in order to keep track of what sidequests I have completed and which I have left in the game as opposed to having to keep track of it myself. But hey, maybe next time.
There are some areas in US/UM where you can see wild Pokemon in the background, not being intractable with but still existing in the world. For instance, Magmar on Route 7 near the entrance to the volcano or Bewear outside of the Battle Tree, on the left side. And there are many others as well. This also makes the world and the region feel more alive and I love it.
The appearance of "Acerola" in her trial in US/UM, near the end. I thought that was creepy and very well done.
One minor detail I noticed when playing Ultra Moon which existed in S/M as well but I didn't think about then (confirmed it through watching a walkthrough video on Youtube). After you participate in the Battle Royal during the story and then walk out, the four who participated in the battle (the player character, Hau, Gladion and the Masked Royal) are standing on the four fighting fists. I think this is easier to show with a picture, so here we go:
It is very minor but I like how it shows the four who just took part in a Battle Royal standing on the fists that are the very symbols of the kind of battle they just participated in together.
I like it when there are many legendaries you can catch in the games. I like catching legendaries in the games because it sort of feels like a new adventure in the games, so the more there are of them, the merrier! Anyway, there are five main series games that stand out regarding this. The first three are Platinum, HG/SS and B2/W2 which all had a great number of legendaries, more than any other games that existed at their time. They also included some or several that weren't native to the region in question, which I thought was great. Then OR/AS came along and took it one step further with even more than these three games, as well as allowing us to capture a mythical Pokemon within the games without an event of some sort. And now we have US/UM which not only has even more legends to catch than OR/AS, but they go as far as to have every single legendary Pokemon that exists being catchable across both games. I like that a lot.
In addition to the above, I like how you can catch an infinite amount of the original Ultra Beasts in US/UM. I also like how you can catch more than one of some of them in S/M, and how you can catch two Stakataka/Blacephalon in US/UM.
I really like how they expanded on Mt. Lanakila in US/UM to make it more into a real Victory Road similar to the ones in previous generations. Adding more areas as well as actual trainers goes a long way when it comes to improve something that was previously just a cave, that is something I appreciate a lot.
Lastly, one big thing, and one of my favorite new features from Gen 7. Z-moves. The idea of powering up regular moves is great, and being able to do it for any regular move and for any Pokemon is even better. I really like how they went all out with it compared to some other things in Gen 7 which feels a bit half-finished (such as Alola forms which there should have been many more of, or Ash-Greninja/Pokemon synchro-evolution/fusion/whatever which was limited to just one Pokemon which in turn could only be obtained through a game demo). Z-moves are useful in battle without being overly broken, they are strong but balanced. There's also the poses, which I have grown to like a lot. At first they might just seem like something you do for fun but if you look a little deeper, there's more behind them. First of all, they all have some sort of connection to their type, like the Electric-type pose is in the shape of a lightning bolt, or Fighting is a lot of pummeling fists. In reality, they aren't the easiest to perform correctly either. The games make it seem easy but you have to move correctly in a specific way to do get them right. Pokemon Adventures shows this better as you need a bit of practice in order to do it. Finally, I like how the Pokemon that performs the Z-move has a determined look on its face before it uses the move. Minor details like that are just so enjoyable to see.
The sages vs the gym leaders in gen 5 in N's castle was a really cool moment. Talking to the gym leaders brought back memories, such as when Skyla tells you about her mon using air slash or whatever. The music is really grand and fitting as well.
Just when you thought you knew or wrote off everything about a Pokemon, you discover a little neat thing about it. What Pokemon is it this time:
We all know how the Elemental Monkeys have a slight theme of the Three Wise Monkeys: Pansage is Speak No Evil (it's the only monkey who's mouth is open), Pansear is Hear No Evil (it has its hands to its hear), and Panpour is See No Evil (its eyes are closed).
However there's another slight theme which is kind of easy to miss due to the way that Pansage's is set up: the tip of tails resemble three of the four suit of cards: Pansage is hearts, Pansear is spades, and Panpour is clubs/clovers. This leaves out diamond, though consider how angular diamonds is wouldn't look natural (still, with their being a fourth "Wise Monkey", I'd say they could maybe make a fourth one with a Diamond tail):
Taken from Reddit which took it from 4Chan.
Also, it doesn't only have a Diamond tip tail but its hands are behind its back, which is a reference to the fourth Wise Monkey being Do No Evil.
How did I discover this? Accidentally. Looking through Bulbapedia's Elemental Monkey page, it makes note that Panpour's tail is in a shape of a club/clover. Now at first I thought Bulbapedia noticed this mini-theme and expected it to mention the same for the other two, but it doesn't note the shape of their tails so it also slip past them.
We all know how the Elemental Monkeys have a slight theme of the Three Wise Monkeys: Pansage is Speak No Evil (it's the only monkey who's mouth is open), Pansear is Hear No Evil (it has its hands to its hear), and Panpour is See No Evil (its eyes are closed).
However there's another slight theme which is kind of easy to miss due to the way that Pansage's is set up: the tip of tails resemble three of the four suit of cards: Pansage is hearts, Pansear is spades, and Panpour is clubs/clovers. This leaves out diamond, though consider how angular diamonds is wouldn't look natural (still, with their being a fourth "Wise Monkey", I'd say they could maybe make a fourth one with a Diamond tail):
Taken from Reddit which took it from 4Chan.
Also, it doesn't only have a Diamond tip tail but its hands are behind its back, which is a reference to the fourth Wise Monkey being Do No Evil.
How did I discover this? Accidentally. Looking through Bulbapedia's Elemental Monkey page, it makes note that Panpour's tail is in a shape of a club/clover. Now at first I thought Bulbapedia noticed this mini-theme and expected it to mention the same for the other two, but it doesn't note the shape of their tails so it also slip past them.
I think I just found our mother from Sun & Mother in the Gen I game!
As some may know, one of the post game side quests in USUM is about our mother and her Meowth. In it, it's revealed that in her youth our mom was known as the "Cat Scratch Girl" due to her battling expertise with Meowth in Kanto. When I found that out I tried looking up "Cat Scratch Girl" on Google to see if there was such a character in the Gen I games but came up empty. However, after watching a video about Meowth, it gave me an idea. Our mother would have most likely been Lass if she was in Gen I so I checked Bulbapedia's Lass Trainer Class page for a Lass who uses a Meowth. Surprisingly there were only two and both of them were on Route 8. Now one used five Pokemon with the others being Pidgey, Rattata, Nidoran (m), and Pikachu. Probably not her.
Than there was one who used three Meowths, Lass Andrea (Miki in Japanese). You actually may remember her, she's one of four trainers that's standing in a straight line near the middle of the route:
Curious to see what her dialogue was, I found a playthrough of someone going through Route 8 and this is what she says (it's the same in both Gen I and FRLG):
Before Battle: "Meowth is so cute, meow, meow, meow!"
When Defeated: Meow!
After Battle: I think Pidgey and Rattata are cute too!
I guess I should also note there's Picnicker Caitlin (Sachie in Japan) in front of Route 9's east entrance who has a single Meowth, but her dialogue really isn't noteworthy, at least in the English version:
Before Battle: Don't you dare patronize me!
When Defeated: No! You're too much!
After Battle: You're obviously talented. Good luck to you!
Curious what they says in the Japanese version.
Anyway, if GF did base the Gen VII player's mother off a trainer NPC in Gen I (and don't laugh, remember a random NPC dialogue in Gen I resulted in Munna's creation five generation later) I'm more willing to bet it's Andrea than Caitlin. Also, Caitlin can later be rematched via the Vs. Seeker and her third battle will show she evolved her Meowth into a Persian (same with the other Lass on Route 8). Andrea cannot be rechallenged thus the fate of her Meowths aren't known. Though, if Andrea is your mom, what happened to the other two Meowth?
As some may know, one of the post game side quests in USUM is about our mother and her Meowth. In it, it's revealed that in her youth our mom was known as the "Cat Scratch Girl" due to her battling expertise with Meowth in Kanto. When I found that out I tried looking up "Cat Scratch Girl" on Google to see if there was such a character in the Gen I games but came up empty. However, after watching a video about Meowth, it gave me an idea. Our mother would have most likely been Lass if she was in Gen I so I checked Bulbapedia's Lass Trainer Class page for a Lass who uses a Meowth. Surprisingly there were only two and both of them were on Route 8. Now one used five Pokemon with the others being Pidgey, Rattata, Nidoran (m), and Pikachu. Probably not her.
Than there was one who used three Meowths, Lass Andrea (Miki in Japanese). You actually may remember her, she's one of four trainers that's standing in a straight line near the middle of the route:
Curious to see what her dialogue was, I found a playthrough of someone going through Route 8 and this is what she says (it's the same in both Gen I and FRLG):
Before Battle: "Meowth is so cute, meow, meow, meow!"
When Defeated: Meow!
After Battle: I think Pidgey and Rattata are cute too!
I guess I should also note there's Picnicker Caitlin (Sachie in Japan) in front of Route 9's east entrance who has a single Meowth, but her dialogue really isn't noteworthy, at least in the English version:
Before Battle: Don't you dare patronize me!
When Defeated: No! You're too much!
After Battle: You're obviously talented. Good luck to you!
Curious what they says in the Japanese version.
Anyway, if GF did base the Gen VII player's mother off a trainer NPC in Gen I (and don't laugh, remember a random NPC dialogue in Gen I resulted in Munna's creation five generation later) I'm more willing to bet it's Andrea than Caitlin. Also, Caitlin can later be rematched via the Vs. Seeker and her third battle will show she evolved her Meowth into a Persian (same with the other Lass on Route 8). Andrea cannot be rechallenged thus the fate of her Meowths aren't known. Though, if Andrea is your mom, what happened to the other two Meowth?
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Interestingly, it says at the bottom of this Route 8 Japanese Wiki page that Lass Andrea/Miniskirt Miki is removed from Yellow. They also mention that it's possible this trainer is our mom in USUM, too.I think I just found our mother from Sun & Mother in the Gen I game!
As some may know, one of the post game side quests in USUM is about our mother and her Meowth. In it, it's revealed that in her youth our mom was known as the "Cat Scratch Girl" due to her battling expertise with Meowth in Kanto. When I found that out I tried looking up "Cat Scratch Girl" on Google to see if there was such a character in the Gen I games but came up empty. However, after watching a video about Meowth, it gave me an idea. Our mother would have most likely been Lass if she was in Gen I so I checked Bulbapedia's Lass Trainer Class page for a Lass who uses a Meowth. Surprisingly there were only two and both of them were on Route 8. Now one used five Pokemon with the others being Pidgey, Rattata, Nidoran (m), and Pikachu. Probably not her.
Than there was one who used three Meowths, Lass Andrea (Miki in Japanese). You actually may remember her, she's one of four trainers that's standing in a straight line near the middle of the route:
Curious to see what her dialogue was, I found a playthrough of someone going through Route 8 and this is what she says (it's the same in both Gen I and FRLG):
Before Battle: "Meowth is so cute, meow, meow, meow!"
When Defeated: Meow!
After Battle: I think Pidgey and Rattata are cute too!
I guess I should also note there's Picnicker Caitlin (Sachie in Japan) in front of Route 9's east entrance who has a single Meowth, but her dialogue really isn't noteworthy, at least in the English version:
Before Battle: Don't you dare patronize me!
When Defeated: No! You're too much!
After Battle: You're obviously talented. Good luck to you!
Curious what they says in the Japanese version.
Anyway, if GF did base the Gen VII player's mother off a trainer NPC in Gen I (and don't laugh, remember a random NPC dialogue in Gen I resulted in Munna's creation five generation later) I'm more willing to bet it's Andrea than Caitlin. Also, Caitlin can later be rematched via the Vs. Seeker and her third battle will show she evolved her Meowth into a Persian (same with the other Lass on Route 8). Andrea cannot be rechallenged thus the fate of her Meowths aren't known. Though, if Andrea is your mom, what happened to the other two Meowth?
On the Route 9 page, however, none of this is mentioned. I'm struggling to find any information of the dialogue, though.
One thing I really appreciate from B/W is the small touches in the music, like characters playing instruments affecting the background theme or the fact that the music adds a bit of a marching drum to route themes when you run.
In R/S/E, I like the fact that they didn't have random houses that connected routes to towns or such. It makes the world feel more natural. Like you can go all the way from littleroot to pacifidlog without triggering a single transition. The only clear outside areas that are locked behind transitions are Rustboro City and the routes directly connected to it.
In R/S/E, I like the fact that they didn't have random houses that connected routes to towns or such. It makes the world feel more natural. Like you can go all the way from littleroot to pacifidlog without triggering a single transition. The only clear outside areas that are locked behind transitions are Rustboro City and the routes directly connected to it.
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I agree, the instrument-playing in gen 5 is great. Village Bridge is one of my favorite locations in all of Pokemon.
Village Bridge is incredibly dull. Then you find the different musicians and they add their instruments to the background music and make it much more interesting.
However, I think Black and White's build up to Victory Road is much cooler, with each part of the track being added as you pass each gate until finally you're at Victory Road.
The sandwich making job you can get at the Village Bridge is also pretty cool. My favorite Victory Road badge gate is the one where you levitate due to air. What's yours?
Unova's Badge Gate:
Unova had a great Badge Gate, not only with the music but with how each area reflected the Gym Leader's Badge you needed to enter:
Also I wished they did this idea again BUT they had the Badge Gate someplace you can always visit, like having it on Route 1 (or maybe even making your home town the entrance to the Pokemon League). And then as gain a new Badge (thus access to a new area) they can have extra trainers to battle and wild Pokemon to battle/catch (maybe also some items to find or berries to pick).
Elite Four Rooms:
On a similar note, I also like it when they personalize the Elite Four's chambers. Now all games do this to some extent, but some feel more like their palette swaps than then Elite Four designing the rooms for themselves:
Unova had a great Badge Gate, not only with the music but with how each area reflected the Gym Leader's Badge you needed to enter:
- First you start off in a completely empty canyon area, a representation of having no Badges.
- Then you go on in the Trio Badge Gate and you're in this quaint garden that has grass, a small river, lit torches, and tables & chairs to sit down and maybe grab a bite.
- Enter the Basic Badge Gate and you're in essentially a mini-route, complete with tall grass you can encounter Pokemon in! While it's a stretch to directly connect it to Lenora, I can sort of see that each area is designed by their Gym Leader and Lenora going "I'm going to give trainers one last spot to train in before entering Victory Road". There's also some old looking and broken stone fencing around, possibly a reference to Lenora being a Museum curator.
- Next is the Insect Badge Gate and it's just a giant sculpture of a beetle insect plus some honeycomb-shaped tiles. Oh Burgh, at least we didn't need to go through a wall of honey.
- Dash into the Bolt Badge Gate and it's a generator. Odd for a supermodel, though Elesa's Gym was a rollercoaster so, maybe like Lenora, she was thinking more functional than matching her tastes so her gate is used to power the Pokemon League.
- Make your way into the Quake Badge Gate and its a small canyon. It looks like it was dug through as the walls are littered with crystals and you can see the sediment layers. You could also say it looks like it was a piece of land that was split apart by an earthquake.
- Don't look down going into the Jet Badge Gate as it's nothing but a gaping chasm! But like Skyla's Gym, show no fear and a strong wind current that's blowing up from the chasm will float you across. And thankfully no faceplanting.
- Slip into the Freeze Badge Gate, literally! It's a small ice sliding puzzle but it doesn't take much thought to figure it out. Just because you're at the end of your adventure doesn't mean you shouldn't keep your mind sharp.
- Finally the Legend Badge Gate greets you with two dragon statues and the entrance to Victory Road ahead looking like something that'll come from a legend.
- Trio Badge: "Oh, holder of the Trio Badge! Challenge all that you face!" (referencing the Gym having multiple Gym Leaders, even though you only needed to battle one)
- Basic Badge: "Oh, holder of the Basic Badge! Show the knowledge you've obtained!"
- Insect Badge: "Oh, holder of the Insect Badge! Fight valiantly like an insect!" (obviously someone struggled to think of something appropriate to say, they could have referenced Burgh being an artist but whatever)
- Bolt Badge: "Oh, holder of the Bolt Badge! Unfurl a shocking battle!"
- Quake Badge: "Oh, holder of the Quake Badge! Make your foes' hearts tremble!"
- Jet Badge: "Oh, holder of the Jet Badge! Blast ahead with tremendous force!" (Hopefully not out of a cannon)
- Freeze Badge: "Oh, holder of the Freeze Badge! Show the sharp edge of an icicle!" (Oh come on, you could have though of something more clever)
- Legend Badge: "Oh, holder of the Legend Badge! Pass through Victory Road, which lies beyond here, and head for the Pokémon League!""Prove that you, too, can be a legend!"
Also I wished they did this idea again BUT they had the Badge Gate someplace you can always visit, like having it on Route 1 (or maybe even making your home town the entrance to the Pokemon League). And then as gain a new Badge (thus access to a new area) they can have extra trainers to battle and wild Pokemon to battle/catch (maybe also some items to find or berries to pick).
Elite Four Rooms:
On a similar note, I also like it when they personalize the Elite Four's chambers. Now all games do this to some extent, but some feel more like their palette swaps than then Elite Four designing the rooms for themselves:
RBY: I'm going to give them slack here, limited graphics, though they did their best to give each one their own unique feel. Lorelei is surrounded by water, Bruno has boulders stacked around, Agatha is the same but with gravestones (and they're positioned differently), and the hall to Lance's room "curves" around like a serpent before entering his room which is lined with Pokemon statues. Oh, and the Champion's room is just a small room with Pokemon statues on either side of the entrances, womp womp.
FRLG: However I'm not going to give FRLG any slack. Because, wow, BLAND. Each room is set up the same, main difference being the colors of the room and what their six pillars are (Lorelei is ice blocks, Bruno is cylindrical stone blocks, Agatha are giant tombstones I think, and Lance are giant claws/fangs though he still at least have the curling hall). At least the Champion's room is a bit better, more spacious and high tech looking. But overall feels same-y and repetitive.
FRLG: However I'm not going to give FRLG any slack. Because, wow, BLAND. Each room is set up the same, main difference being the colors of the room and what their six pillars are (Lorelei is ice blocks, Bruno is cylindrical stone blocks, Agatha are giant tombstones I think, and Lance are giant claws/fangs though he still at least have the curling hall). At least the Champion's room is a bit better, more spacious and high tech looking. But overall feels same-y and repetitive.
GSC: Limited tech again and it shows as Will, Bruno, and Karen's rooms are the same set up but with different textures. Now it looks like they tried doing something interesting with Will's room. Since it was Lorelei's room it still has the pool of water on either side but it's now frozen. Either they tried psyching you out thinking the Elite Four was going to be the same, they were trying to go with a mirror/reflection theme, or maybe both. Eitherway when you enter Koga's room do you know things are really different. Koga's room room is a grassy field with trees, Bruno's pool is filled with lava, and Karen's just has pits of darkness. Champion Room is more fancy though, Lance extended it and placed statues on either side of the path (note in Crystal they added in more dragon motifs to the room, like the statues being Dratini instead of a Pokeball). Feels like they sort of ran out of time when it came to Bruno and Karen's room and copy and pasted Will's and just making Lance's room long (and giving it more details in Crystal).
HGSS: An interesting thing they did, each room mirrors its GSC counterparts but making them having different eye-catching visuals (though Will's, Bruno's, and Karen's room are still shaped the same). Will's room was completely redone, now having a pit where holographic cubes float in and out of while the room looks to be . Koga's feel less like a field and now more like you're in secret location deep in a forest, Bruno's room looks more like a factory and has giant cylinders pouring more lava into the lava pool, and Karen's room looks like a theater stage with a curtain, sparkling tiles that look like a starry night sky, and pits filled with glistening dark crystals. Finally the Champion Room is clad in golden colors, still has the Dratini statues but there's also these piston things on either side of the room which I'm not quite sure why they're there. Overall much better than anything we've gotten up till this point (even when compared to RSE's and DPPl's) and could be considered the start of really making the Elite Four's rooms a spectacle.
HGSS: An interesting thing they did, each room mirrors its GSC counterparts but making them having different eye-catching visuals (though Will's, Bruno's, and Karen's room are still shaped the same). Will's room was completely redone, now having a pit where holographic cubes float in and out of while the room looks to be . Koga's feel less like a field and now more like you're in secret location deep in a forest, Bruno's room looks more like a factory and has giant cylinders pouring more lava into the lava pool, and Karen's room looks like a theater stage with a curtain, sparkling tiles that look like a starry night sky, and pits filled with glistening dark crystals. Finally the Champion Room is clad in golden colors, still has the Dratini statues but there's also these piston things on either side of the room which I'm not quite sure why they're there. Overall much better than anything we've gotten up till this point (even when compared to RSE's and DPPl's) and could be considered the start of really making the Elite Four's rooms a spectacle.
RSE: Blandest yet. Like in FRLG, each room is set up the same though it has even less if you can believe that. Each room has two pits on either side which have something relating to the Elite Four member's time, and that's it apart from color scheme. Sidney is to look like a deep pit, Phoebe's has broken brick floors or a ruin or something visible, Glacia is just ice blocks visible, and Drake is a floor of spikes visible. Finally Champion Room is an octagonal platform with tiled walls in colors reflecting the Champion, purple for Steven in RS and cyan for Wallace in Emerald.
ORAS: Now the rooms were made even more dull if you can believe that... but that's not the interesting part. The interesting part is that each room (which is a pagoda) now has a bridge you need to cross and something happens as you cross the bridge. Also when you challenge them their battle intro has a special effect.
Sidney's bridge is surrounded by sand with sand raining down; halfway across a sand storm happens piling up the sand as Sidney's room's doors light up and open. Considering Sidney is dressed nicely maybe that's not sand but gold dust? Sidney himself is sitting down when you enter his room, the only one to be doing so plus his chair looks like a wooden chair compared to the others who have a sofa chair sitting next to the door in the background. Sidney's battle intro is black smoke.
Phoebe's bridge starts with you passing through the hanging flowers of a weeping tree to see its surrounded by a lake with giant flowering lily pads; halfway across a ghostly flame appears and lights up the floating & shaking paper lanterns of Phoebe's room, opening the door. And do I even need to bring up what happens in Phoebe's room with the ghost girl? Her battle intro's effect are a rainbow spectrum of blooming flowers.
Glacia's bridge has it snowing (her pagoda's roof is covered with snow and has icicles hanging down); halfway across a blizzard happens which blows open the doors and freezes the bridge (though the bridge doesn't become slippery). Glacia's battle intro effect is a gust of snowy wind with snowflakes fading in and out around here.
Drake's bridge is surrounded by lava; halfway across pillars of flames will jump over the bridge until entering a dragon head statue on Drake's room (which isn't a pagoda but more of an ancient stone temple), having the eyes light up, nostrils spew flames on either side of it, and the door opens. His battle intro has a dragon head bite down, leaving behind navy blue flames.
Finally, Steven's bridge leads to a giant door which gradually opens up as you get close to it. He doesn't get a battle intro as he's one of the few characters to have a detailed 3D model as a battle intro.
This was quite an interesting idea and makes up for the bland rooms (a bit). Also they tried adding some spectacle both walking down the bridge and when challenging the Elite Four member. If only they could have added a bit more personality detail in the rooms.
ORAS: Now the rooms were made even more dull if you can believe that... but that's not the interesting part. The interesting part is that each room (which is a pagoda) now has a bridge you need to cross and something happens as you cross the bridge. Also when you challenge them their battle intro has a special effect.
Sidney's bridge is surrounded by sand with sand raining down; halfway across a sand storm happens piling up the sand as Sidney's room's doors light up and open. Considering Sidney is dressed nicely maybe that's not sand but gold dust? Sidney himself is sitting down when you enter his room, the only one to be doing so plus his chair looks like a wooden chair compared to the others who have a sofa chair sitting next to the door in the background. Sidney's battle intro is black smoke.
Phoebe's bridge starts with you passing through the hanging flowers of a weeping tree to see its surrounded by a lake with giant flowering lily pads; halfway across a ghostly flame appears and lights up the floating & shaking paper lanterns of Phoebe's room, opening the door. And do I even need to bring up what happens in Phoebe's room with the ghost girl? Her battle intro's effect are a rainbow spectrum of blooming flowers.
Glacia's bridge has it snowing (her pagoda's roof is covered with snow and has icicles hanging down); halfway across a blizzard happens which blows open the doors and freezes the bridge (though the bridge doesn't become slippery). Glacia's battle intro effect is a gust of snowy wind with snowflakes fading in and out around here.
Drake's bridge is surrounded by lava; halfway across pillars of flames will jump over the bridge until entering a dragon head statue on Drake's room (which isn't a pagoda but more of an ancient stone temple), having the eyes light up, nostrils spew flames on either side of it, and the door opens. His battle intro has a dragon head bite down, leaving behind navy blue flames.
Finally, Steven's bridge leads to a giant door which gradually opens up as you get close to it. He doesn't get a battle intro as he's one of the few characters to have a detailed 3D model as a battle intro.
This was quite an interesting idea and makes up for the bland rooms (a bit). Also they tried adding some spectacle both walking down the bridge and when challenging the Elite Four member. If only they could have added a bit more personality detail in the rooms.
DP: I'm sorry, RS, did I say you were the blandest? I think DP is the undisputed champion here. All rooms are the same, just the colors are different. This even goes for Cynthia!
Platinum: A bit better, as I said it was't until HGSS did they really start making the Elite Four's rooms (or Bridges in ORAS) interesting. Aaron's room now looks like you shrunk down to a size of a bug having large rocks and a fallen hollow tree trunk you can run through. Bertha is a canyon with a cliff on one side and batch of rocks on the other. Flint's room has pits filled with flames. Lucain's room just has four glowing orbs near each corner. Finally Cynthia's now has these glowing cubes stacked all over and the elevator that takes you up looks more hi-tech.
Another neat thing about Gen IV's Pokemon League is that you need to take an elevator platform to get to the next room, making it feel like you're climbing up though sadly it never does feel like that (not like you can see the previous or next Elite Four's room). Still, a little neat feature to an otherwise dull Pokemon League design.
Platinum: A bit better, as I said it was't until HGSS did they really start making the Elite Four's rooms (or Bridges in ORAS) interesting. Aaron's room now looks like you shrunk down to a size of a bug having large rocks and a fallen hollow tree trunk you can run through. Bertha is a canyon with a cliff on one side and batch of rocks on the other. Flint's room has pits filled with flames. Lucain's room just has four glowing orbs near each corner. Finally Cynthia's now has these glowing cubes stacked all over and the elevator that takes you up looks more hi-tech.
Another neat thing about Gen IV's Pokemon League is that you need to take an elevator platform to get to the next room, making it feel like you're climbing up though sadly it never does feel like that (not like you can see the previous or next Elite Four's room). Still, a little neat feature to an otherwise dull Pokemon League design.
BW: Now this is what I'm talking about! Each room is set up with a winding pathway you're automatically taken up to the Elite Four's member stylized platform. Shauntal's room is like a haunted house, two will-o-wisps takes you up the stairs and to a wooden platform. Shauntal's platform is wooden with papers scattered about, behind her a desk with an open book on it, books stacked on one side next to it, and a curly street lamp overlooking it on the other side.
Marshal's room is a caged wrestling ring, a mechanical platform takes you up the winding tracks as steam spurts out. Marshal's platform is the wrestling ring and upon entering two spotlights turn on.
Grimsley's room is like a fancy mansion, a red carpet conveyor belt bringing you up to him, torches lighting up as you pass them. Grimsley's platform has simple black and white checker board tiling, a red carpet continuing to him and behind him a black couch. There's also a chandelier hanging overhead.
Caitlin's room is a celestial bedroom, a glowing orb surrounding the player and taking them up a ribbon pathway. On Caitlin's platform, pearl colored curtains open up to reveal Caitlin sleeping in her bed, her getting up walking in front to accept the player's challenge.
The best I could Alder's room is that it's designed to look like the sun.
B2W2: And just when you thought they couldn't make it any better! No more winding pathway, instead there's stairs leading straight up though their platforms are much more stylized to their Elite Four member and Champion.
Shauntal's room is now a library with shelves and shelves of books and tall ladders. Entering the room will-o-wisps create a staircase you climb up. Shauntal's platform is now purple Poke ball logo, but its covered with tall stacks of books with just a desk and lamp in the back. When you first go up, Shauntal's back is turned facing the desk as will-o-wisps are causing books to float. As you get close, Shauntal turns around as you hear a ghostly scheme, the will-o-wisps vanish turning things dark. As the lamp turns on and jumps to the center of the platform you see the book piles have fallen (blocking you from going back).
Marshal's room is still the cage. As you go up the stairs to the half Pokeball platform, they pull back as Marshal comes rushing down on the other Pokeball half completing the platform, spotlights then turning on.
Grimsley's room is still the same mansion appearance but is much darker. His stairs have these red claws covering them that opens up to let you climb up them but then close behind you. Grimsley's platform is now a green Poke Ball logo though also looks like a gambling table. There's now torches which light up when the claws close behind you, the black couch is still there, and so is the chandelier. There's also now chains holding up Grimsley's platform.
Caitlin's room looks even more celestial. Glowing dust is is raining down which create stairs. Caitlin's platform looks like a celestial Poke Ball logo surrounded by white marble and Roman pillars. In the middle is a flower which blooms and then breaks apart into glowing dust to reveal Caitlin inside.
Finally Iris's room just has a big ol' dragon statue with an orbiting wheel behind it with symbols representing the Elite Four spinning around. When she's beaten they align and the statue descends, and stairs from the center of the wheel come out leading to the Hall of Fame.
This is by far my favorite Elite Four rooms as they have so much personality! That's not to mention this is the first Elite Four to let you challenge them in any order so they also have two additional rooms: The Elite Four hub which looks nice and then a grand staircase which leads up to the Champion's room.
Marshal's room is a caged wrestling ring, a mechanical platform takes you up the winding tracks as steam spurts out. Marshal's platform is the wrestling ring and upon entering two spotlights turn on.
Grimsley's room is like a fancy mansion, a red carpet conveyor belt bringing you up to him, torches lighting up as you pass them. Grimsley's platform has simple black and white checker board tiling, a red carpet continuing to him and behind him a black couch. There's also a chandelier hanging overhead.
Caitlin's room is a celestial bedroom, a glowing orb surrounding the player and taking them up a ribbon pathway. On Caitlin's platform, pearl colored curtains open up to reveal Caitlin sleeping in her bed, her getting up walking in front to accept the player's challenge.
The best I could Alder's room is that it's designed to look like the sun.
B2W2: And just when you thought they couldn't make it any better! No more winding pathway, instead there's stairs leading straight up though their platforms are much more stylized to their Elite Four member and Champion.
Shauntal's room is now a library with shelves and shelves of books and tall ladders. Entering the room will-o-wisps create a staircase you climb up. Shauntal's platform is now purple Poke ball logo, but its covered with tall stacks of books with just a desk and lamp in the back. When you first go up, Shauntal's back is turned facing the desk as will-o-wisps are causing books to float. As you get close, Shauntal turns around as you hear a ghostly scheme, the will-o-wisps vanish turning things dark. As the lamp turns on and jumps to the center of the platform you see the book piles have fallen (blocking you from going back).
Marshal's room is still the cage. As you go up the stairs to the half Pokeball platform, they pull back as Marshal comes rushing down on the other Pokeball half completing the platform, spotlights then turning on.
Grimsley's room is still the same mansion appearance but is much darker. His stairs have these red claws covering them that opens up to let you climb up them but then close behind you. Grimsley's platform is now a green Poke Ball logo though also looks like a gambling table. There's now torches which light up when the claws close behind you, the black couch is still there, and so is the chandelier. There's also now chains holding up Grimsley's platform.
Caitlin's room looks even more celestial. Glowing dust is is raining down which create stairs. Caitlin's platform looks like a celestial Poke Ball logo surrounded by white marble and Roman pillars. In the middle is a flower which blooms and then breaks apart into glowing dust to reveal Caitlin inside.
Finally Iris's room just has a big ol' dragon statue with an orbiting wheel behind it with symbols representing the Elite Four spinning around. When she's beaten they align and the statue descends, and stairs from the center of the wheel come out leading to the Hall of Fame.
This is by far my favorite Elite Four rooms as they have so much personality! That's not to mention this is the first Elite Four to let you challenge them in any order so they also have two additional rooms: The Elite Four hub which looks nice and then a grand staircase which leads up to the Champion's room.
The rooms have gone back to being same-y, preferring HGSS's style of just having colors and a unique feature that sets them apart. Also, this is the first game to give each room their own unique name.
Malva has the Blazing Chamber which fires pillars of flames upon entering; she's also sitting down on the throne each Elite Four member has in their room.
Siebold has the Flood Chamber which has two chains which spin two plugs that flood the chamber with water; Siebold is standing in front of his throne but with his back turned, turning around when the player talks to him and asks them a question before battling.
Wikstrom has the Ironworks Chamber where two giant swords come down from the ceiling, turn 90 degress to lower a metal wall revealing Wikstrom, and then turning 90 degrees letting the player move again; when you approach Wikstrom he comes down from standing in front of his thrown to challenge you.
Drasna has the Dragonmark Chamber which is filled with blue mist that clears and a dragon statue opens up, spreading its wings and lifting its head which reveals Drasna. Two incenses start releasing smoke as you then can approach Drasna who is standing in front of her throne.
Finally Diantha has the Radiant Chamber which is a room that has light flooding through its stained glass windows. The center of the floor is also a gorgeous stained glass mural with a symbol for each type (wish they had a larger image of that just, hard to make out the details from a DS screen; Google search only showed what each symbol looks like).
Malva has the Blazing Chamber which fires pillars of flames upon entering; she's also sitting down on the throne each Elite Four member has in their room.
Siebold has the Flood Chamber which has two chains which spin two plugs that flood the chamber with water; Siebold is standing in front of his throne but with his back turned, turning around when the player talks to him and asks them a question before battling.
Wikstrom has the Ironworks Chamber where two giant swords come down from the ceiling, turn 90 degress to lower a metal wall revealing Wikstrom, and then turning 90 degrees letting the player move again; when you approach Wikstrom he comes down from standing in front of his thrown to challenge you.
Drasna has the Dragonmark Chamber which is filled with blue mist that clears and a dragon statue opens up, spreading its wings and lifting its head which reveals Drasna. Two incenses start releasing smoke as you then can approach Drasna who is standing in front of her throne.
Finally Diantha has the Radiant Chamber which is a room that has light flooding through its stained glass windows. The center of the floor is also a gorgeous stained glass mural with a symbol for each type (wish they had a larger image of that just, hard to make out the details from a DS screen; Google search only showed what each symbol looks like).
Sadly Gen VII's Elite Four rooms aren't that interesting, going back to all looking the same except with changing some small details. They're inside a cave with crystals that glow the color of their type specialty, upon going onto their platform a hologram is created with a decorative part around the pedestal behind the Elite Four member and the barrier being made of something relating the Elite Four member's type:
Hala: Yellowish orange color, flexing arms around pedestal, interlocking hands barrier.
Molayne: Gray color, hexagons around pedestal, hexagon barrier.
Olivia: Brownish red color, tall mountains around pedestal, mountain range barrier.
Acerola: Purple color, smoke around pedestal, aura barrier.
Kahili: Teal color, wings around pedestal, wing barrier.
Also the Chambers are just named after the Elite Four member's type.
Champion Chamber looks alright, I like how the cave walls have a hologram of you being on top of the mountain would look like. Though, being this is my personal chamber, kind of sad I'm not able to choose what it look like.[/hide]
Hala: Yellowish orange color, flexing arms around pedestal, interlocking hands barrier.
Molayne: Gray color, hexagons around pedestal, hexagon barrier.
Olivia: Brownish red color, tall mountains around pedestal, mountain range barrier.
Acerola: Purple color, smoke around pedestal, aura barrier.
Kahili: Teal color, wings around pedestal, wing barrier.
Also the Chambers are just named after the Elite Four member's type.
Champion Chamber looks alright, I like how the cave walls have a hologram of you being on top of the mountain would look like. Though, being this is my personal chamber, kind of sad I'm not able to choose what it look like.[/hide]