Disclaimer: I didn't read through 14 pages of theoretical nonsense, so forgive me if I missed an important argument.
Like the OP, I firmly believe that
level 50 should be the new standard. Aldaron did a pretty good job in the OP, but let me state my feelings on the issue.
- Level 50 bridges the age-long gap between Wi-Fi and simulator players. There's been this split between the actual cartridge players and simulator players ever since Generation IV. We can go on and on about what a simulator should do and so forth, or we could eliminate all of these silly and tedious arguments by trying to bridge the gap between the two. To do this, we should stop focusing so much on unofficial fan-made simulators that don't even 100% accurately represent the game engine, and focus on the concerns of people playing the actual games. There's no reason for Wi-Fi players to spend literally hours grinding their Pokemon to level 100 when it hardly affects simulator players either way.
- Level 50 encourages the playerbase to grow. Game Freak did an excellent job removing some of the barriers to entry: breeding perfect Pokemon has never been easier, and EV training is a breeze due to hordes and Super Training. However, it seems like the majority of people on this thread want to keep up one of the archaic barriers to entry by forcing people to use level 100 Pokemon. Newsflash: People have lives outside of Pokemon. Why should they go through the hassle of breeding perfect Pokemon, getting the right movesets, EV training their Pokemon, and so forth, then level them all the way up to level 100 when there's a convenient auto-level 50 option? Because some people on an Internet forum who just play unofficial simulators are too stubborn to change? That's pathetic. By setting auto-level 50 battles, the task won't seem as daunting, and we can get some fresh blood into the game.
- Level 50 will help Smogon become less insular. Smogon has a horrible reputation, and one of the reasons is because the Smogon playerbase has become so insular. On this thread alone, I've seen plenty of (bad) arguments about, "Who cares about Game Freak/Nintendo's official formats, we have our own!" Let me turn this around: Who cares about what Smogon thinks? Why should a fan format take place over an official format? The rules Smogon uses today - level 100, etc. - were largely rooted in a time where there was no official ruleset. Times have changed, and GF/TPCi/Nintendo are clearly trying to cater to the competitive playerbase. However, Smogon largely sticks to its old ruleset, refusing to change. This, in turn, causes the competitive playerbase to become fractured between Smogon rules and official rules. The competitive landscape is different, so why does Smogon refuse to change as well? By simply enforcing level 50 rules, it will cause people on the fence to think, "Hey, Smogon actually changed, maybe these guys aren't so bad after all."
- Level 50 is no less "pure" than level 100 battling. One of the many bad arguments I've seen is, "Level 50 Pokemon aren't at their peak potential!" To which I say: Who cares? It doesn't make the game any less skilled; there are slight variances in EV spreads and damage calculations, and you have to memorize new numbers, but that's it. The core system doesn't change; it's just largely the same old Pokemon once you get used to it.
So in short: Level 50 is hardly different from level 100 once you get used to it, and it will help the competitive community to become less fractured and grow. We
could spend all of our time going back and forth arguing over minutiae because some people refuse to realize that the world doesn't revolve around simulators, or we could just eliminate all of these arguments by setting battles to level 50. Sure, some people will complain, but that will happen no matter what.
It's 2013, Smogon. Get with the times and look outside of your own echo chamber.
