Gym Leaders and Elite Four Discussion Thread [Read First Post]

[Endolise]

Who was so forgettable?

Brendan/May

 

[R_N]

Okay I completely agree with Bianca, but they were nothing like Cheren

My point wasn't a "These are exact copies but better" (I guess Cheren & Wally could have some comparisons drawn) but more that BW1 handeled having two rivals (because despite fighting him all of twice and seeing him maybe 3 times, Wally was supposed to be a rival) waaaaaaaaaaay better than RSE. Brendan/May not wanting to be trainers proper (like Bianca) was just something that slipped my mind and was an added relation bonus

 

[Endoplasmic Reticulum]

My point wasn't a "These are exact copies but better" (I guess Cheren & Wally could have some comparisons drawn) but more that BW1 handeled having two rivals (because despite fighting him all of twice and seeing him maybe 3 times, Wally was supposed to be a rival) waaaaaaaaaaay better than RSE. Brendan/May not wanting to be trainers proper (like Bianca) was just something that slipped my mind and was an added relation bonus

I've never really considered Wally a rival, you fight him like twice and the first one barely counts, and he doesn't even get the rival battle music. But that's off subject.

Yeah I loved how BW1 handled having two rivals which had been attempted to be handled in DPPt and HGSS but didn't really pan out (Lyra was a joke). But yeah, I agree May/Brendan were the worst rivals in pokemon history. Followed by Hugh.

 

[R_N]

I've never really considered Wally a rival, you fight him like twice and the first one barely counts, and he doesn't even get the rival battle music. But that's off subject.

Yeah I loved how BW1 handled having two rivals which had been attempted to be handled in DPPt and HGSS but didn't really pan out (Lyra was a joke). But yeah, I agree May/Brendan were the worst rivals in pokemon history. Followed by Hugh.

<Other Player Character> & <Other Player Character> weren't presented as rivals at all though (you team up with DP's other pc once, Lyra was already a trainer and never even got a starter; she just traveled). Meanwhile Wally took the place of the final proper rival battle because ??? and we were probably supposed to connect to him taking on the badges.

And come on, that's a bit harsh on Hugh don't you think? I mean, granted, with only like 6 rivals to choose from "second to last" was always a thing but

 

[Zhanton]

My main qualm with Hugh is how boring his team is. He's stuck with, what, starter/monkey/Unfezant/Bouffalant at Victory Road (which is the same team Cheren had at that point in BW, except Cheren had Liepard instead of Bouffalant) and for much of the game he just had his starter, the monkey and the Pidove line, which is pretty boring imo.

Also am I the only one who was disappointed at the Gym Leaders having three or less Pokemon in normal mode, and the Elite Four having only four? I guess it's so they can have one extra Pokemon in Challenge Mode, but still...

 

[R_N]

Also am I the only one who was disappointed at the Gym Leaders having three or less Pokemon in normal mode, and the Elite Four having only four? I guess it's so they can have one extra Pokemon in Challenge Mode, but still...

You're not the only one who feels that way.

I don't mind too much, it's just one less Pokemon depending on the position of the leader (so like maybe 2 minutes "lost") and I'm a sucker for consistency.

 

[Wishing Star]

Her character development was figuring out what she wanted to do in life. She accepted that she was never going to be as good as you or Cheren (although one wonders why her name is listed on the Certified Trainers statues, then), and later on decided that she was going to become a researcher so that she could befriend more and more Pokemon, which is why she appears in Juniper's lab during BW's post-game.

I'm not in disagreement with this, but one could say that effective Pokémon research could rely on becoming a strong Pokémon trainer. Researching something that the researcher knows pretty much nothing about is quite counterintuitive.

 

[Endoplasmic Reticulum]

It's a shame. I'd rally like to play the entire game in challenge mode. Now it seems kind of like a waste

 

[Endolise]

It's a shame. I'd rally like to play the entire game in challenge mode. Now it seems kind of like a waste

I agree. The Challenge Mode feature was handled terribly.

 

[Zhanton]

You're not the only one who feels that way.

I don't mind too much, it's just one less Pokemon depending on the position of the leader (so like maybe 2 minutes "lost") and I'm a sucker for consistency.

Yeah, I know that one Pokemon isn't much but especially for the final few Leaders, four Pokemon seems more appropriate, and it's not like there isn't a big enough pool of Pokemon to choose from in this Dex.

It's a shame. I'd rally like to play the entire game in challenge mode. Now it seems kind of like a waste

Mmmm yeah. I get that they're trying to make it so you have to physically interact with others more (and that's been one of their aims recently what with things like the Entralink) but the Easy/Challenge Keys could have been handled better imo :s at least the mode is there now, though, and that's something.

 

[Bolt the Cat]

My main qualm with Hugh is how boring his team is. He's stuck with, what, starter/monkey/Unfezant/Bouffalant at Victory Road (which is the same team Cheren had at that point in BW, except Cheren had Liepard instead of Bouffalant) and for much of the game he just had his starter, the monkey and the Pidove line, which is pretty boring imo.

Not only that, but he doesn't really seem to act like a proper rival. He seems almost completely unconcerned with trying to beat you, instead only really concerned with defeating Team Plasma the entire game, and then seemingly out of nowhere deciding to challenge the League once that's done. And you only fight him like, what, 5 times throughout the storyline? Most rivals you fight at least 6 or 7 times. There's nothing wrong with a friendly rival, they did it before in DPPt, but this is the wrong way to do it.

Also am I the only one who was disappointed at the Gym Leaders having three or less Pokemon in normal mode, and the Elite Four having only four? I guess it's so they can have one extra Pokemon in Challenge Mode, but still...

Challenge Mode can't be the reason, since the Gym Leaders and Elite 4 members had the same number of Pokemon in BW1 as well.

 

[Wishing Star]

Not only that, but he doesn't really seem to act like a proper rival. He seems almost completely unconcerned with trying to beat you, instead only really concerned with defeating Team Plasma the entire game, and then seemingly out of nowhere deciding to challenge the League once that's done. And you only fight him like, what, 5 times throughout the storyline? Most rivals you fight at least 6 or 7 times. There's nothing wrong with a friendly rival, they did it before in DPPt, but this is the wrong way to do it.

Is Hugh (is that his official name?) actually a rival, or is he a friend of the player character?

 

[Endolise]

Is Hugh (is that his official name?) actually a rival, or is he a friend of the player character?

Hugh is his official name, and while he's supposed to fill the "rival" role in these games, he is, in fact, more of a "friend" to the player.

 

[Wishing Star]

Hugh is his official name, and while he's supposed to fill the "rival" role in these games, he is, in fact, more of a "friend" to the player.

So strictly speaking, the player shouldn't expect Hugh to fill in the rival role if he isn't actually a rival. But that'd be a break in formula, since in pretty much every other main game, there's an actual rival.

 

[Endolise]

So strictly speaking, the player shouldn't expect Hugh to fill in the rival role if he isn't actually a rival. But that'd be a break in formula, since in pretty much every other main game, there's an actual rival.

Well, most players will likely recognize that he's supposed to be the "rival" of the games and may be subsequently disappointed when he doesn't live up to past standards. In-game, we have to experience the fact that he's more of a "friend."

Although I like him just how he is and I've been playing since the beginning, so...

 

[Wishing Star]

Well, veteran players will likely recognize that he's supposed to be the "rival" of the games and may be subsequently disappointed when he doesn't live up to past standards. In-game, we have to experience the fact that he's more of a "friend."

Yeah, that's the break in formula that I'm talking about, with the veteran players automatically putting Hugh into a "rival" position and not a "friend" position.

Although I like him just how he is and I've been playing since the beginning, so...

I'm still down for the ability to change the rival's gender (and consequently, their dialogue).

 

[Endolise]

I'm still down for the ability to change the rival's gender (and consequently, their dialogue).

Hm...I suppose that'd be cool, as long as they didn't throw in any of that "hubba hubba your Pokemon are so strong Nate now kiss me" crap. Because I seriously hate that.

 

[Wishing Star]

Hm...I suppose that'd be cool, as long as they didn't through in any of that "hubba hubba your Pokemon are so strong Nate now kiss me" crap. Because I seriously hate that.

Eww... yeah, that'd be too much. Ideally, the female rival would have a similar personality to the male one: competitive yet kind.

 

[Nyarlathotep]

Hm...I suppose that'd be cool, as long as they didn't through in any of that "hubba hubba your Pokemon are so strong Nate now kiss me" crap. Because I seriously hate that.

You mean... romance and stuff?

That is a thing I expect to NEVER see in Pokeymanz games.

 

[Endolise]

Eww... yeah, that'd be too much. Ideally, the female rival would have a similar personality to the male one: competitive yet kind.

Exactly.

You mean... romance and stuff?

That is a thing I expect to NEVER see in Pokeymanz games.

I certainly hope you're right.