Review AG136: First Battle! Battle Factory! (Part Two)

[randy23]

Lizardon looks much bigger than I remember, I guess he grew when he was training with other Lizardon.

 

[Roses Ablaze]

Was Articuno upset in the end?

And do you mean that people on PokeAni were complaining, or that they've heard about Americans complaining about the ep?

 

[randy23]

Could somebody please explain to me the Battle Frontier rules?

 

[Cybersai]

Could somebody please explain to me the Battle Frontier rules?

The rules of the Battle Frontier have been completely destroyed in the anime thus far.

Noland was simply a 1 on 1 match, just like any other battle. The only difference was Ash asked if he could battle Articuno instead of Noland's other Pokemon.

Otherwise the Frontier Brains are treated like GYM leaders in the show. Ash wins, does a victory pose with his symbol, and continues on.

So far it's exactly the same as any boring GYM battle.

 

[Kthleen]

Was Articuno upset in the end?

Not that we could see. It looked pretty content when Datsura rubbed it.

What did Datsura say when he stopped the referee guy from declaring the match over? I could catch most of the words, but not all. ("[Something that sounds like 'Made']! Hantei wo shiai ga kanzen ni [something that sounds vaguely like 'otte kara' to me] surumon da.)

It was an interesting episode. I loved hearing that music while Satoshi was flying on Lizardon! The battle had me cringing a lot, though. I understood more [words] than I thought I would (though that's still not much...). TR's laugh while trying to cut a hole in the dome was just nasty. Heuhheuhheuhheuhheuhheuhheuhheuh... heuhheuhheuhheuhheuh....

 

[FabuVinny]

The Battle Factory had the challenger choosing which Pokémon Noland would use - which is more than a usual Gym battle.

The other Frontier Brain episodes may include rules a bit closer to the game.

 

[Fig]

Plus, it's not like a 3 v 3 rental pokémon battle would have been particularly original in the anime, since they already did that one anyway.

 

[Cybersai]

Plus, it's not like a 3 v 3 rental pokémon battle would have been particularly original in the anime, since they already did that one anyway.

Yes, but that was a long time ago. 8 years ago to be exact.

If people can stomach watching Team Rocket steal Pikachu in every episode, then they wouldn't have a problem seeing something that we haven't seen in over 8 years.

 

[FabuVinny]

Well, they didn't try to steal Pikachu in this episode. They went after Articuno.

 

[V Faction]

But... yeah, it's pretty crazy on SPP, you'd think Alfonso's slitting his wrists over it. (Yes I know you also go here, kidding)

Bitchin' is what SPPers do best, Oooh Hoo-hoo-hooo!

I know I whined my fair share. Granted, it wasn't all because of this one episode (it's more of a FedEx package), but it was still whining none-the-less. So if you shredded your eyes out with a cheese grater, then I apologize.

Plus, it's not like a 3 v 3 rental pokémon battle would have been particularly original in the anime, since they already did that one anyway.

My biggest hope for the Factory was, in fact, that very scenario. The Pokemon Challenge was such an interesting take on battles at that time. And then now, when there is a random battle system officially in the games, they overlook that, it's disheartening. And I keep saying it: Why Noland? Why not give Tucker Articuno, with his generic set up, or Brandon, since he already possesses Legendary Pokemon? I feel they could have done better.

 

[Kasumi]

If you guys were expecting to see the same rules for the Battle Factory in the anime, you had your hopes way up high. This is the anime we're talking about.

 

[FireEmblemPride]

Rental Pokemon would be very boring. We wouldn't get scenes like Ash flying with Charizard, which I thought was one of the best scenes in the anime. Ash also did the rental gig in Johto, so it wasn't just 8 years ago. Rental Pokemon would only be fun if they were the popular ones, like the evolved forms of the Kanto-Johto-Hoenn starters, or legendary Pokemon. I'm glad the writers ignored the rental Pokemon. I wouldn't care for the battles if they did.

 

[V Faction]

Yes, because actually going by the games' format would be out of the question.

Maybe I should've known better, but "high hopes"? I 'hope' you're joking. Exactly why is it too farfetched to think that they would follow the same basic principle of random Pokemon? The did it in the first season just fine! Are they going to turn Lucy's maze into a hotel now? Maybe we'll get the Battle Sphere instead of the Battle Pyramid with Brandon. I understood well before hand that they would deviate from having the #__ of consecutive battles, but they had to alter the main focus why?

Rental Pokemon would be very boring. We wouldn't get scenes like Ash flying with Charizard, which I thought was one of the best scenes in the anime. Ash also did the rental gig in Johto, so it wasn't just 8 years ago. Rental Pokemon would only be fun if they were the popular ones, like the evolved forms of the Kanto-Johto-Hoenn starters, or legendary Pokemon. I'm glad the writers ignored the rental Pokemon. I wouldn't care for the battles if they did.

Forgive me, but I find this to be a very ignorant post.

 

[Silktree]

The Battle Factory had the challenger choosing which Pokémon Noland would use - which is more than a usual Gym battle.

This may give the facility a more unique touch, but is still in complete contrast to the Battle Factory in the game. In the game, not even a knowledgeable player can tell in advance which Pokémon Noland will use in battle; there is a person in the Battle Facility who hints at the battle style of the opponent before each battle, but when it is time to face Noland, he refuses to give any kind of information on his strategy. This has evidently been ruined in the anime, where the challenger has the privilege of selecting the opposing Pokémon. As far as Gym Leaders are concerned, the challenger in both the games and anime knows in advance what type of Pokémon the leader uses, and can conduct research on the leader's team and strategy. With the anime's Battle Factory, the challenger is given quite an advantage, and nothing remains a surprise other than Noland's way of countering the challenger and somehow turning the tables.
In terms of how predictable the battle is, the game's Battle Factory and its anime counterpart are at two extremes. I cannot imagine how the system in the anime would have been successfully pulled off if it had not been for Articuno, being as versatile as it is.

 

[FabuVinny]

Are they going to turn Lucy's maze into a hotel now? Maybe we'll get the Battle Sphere instead of the Battle Pyramid with Brandon.

We did still have a factory. Just because they decided to have a battle between Charizard and Articuno, does not mean that the other facilities will deviate extremely from the games.

 

[Zhen Lin]

Besides which, aside from the random Pokémon and trading [which is impossible because they eliminated the 41 other trainers] - Battle Factory is quite mundane. Battle Tower similarly, though if they eliminate the other trainers there, there wouldn't be much of a point, would there?

 

[V Faction]

We did still have a factory. Just because they decided to have a battle between Charizard and Articuno, does not mean that the other facilities will deviate extremely from the games.

They seem to love to change things. How can you say that they won't? I was pretty sure that Noland would fight with 3 random Pokemon against Ash's 3 random Pokemon, but that didn't happen. As a matter of fact, I believe someone said somewhere that when they saw the different Facilities flash (as Scott spoke them in Agatha's episode), Lucy's facility wasn't a Seviper. It didn't even look like a tube. It was vertical.

Besides which, aside from the random Pokémon and trading [which is impossible because they eliminated the 41 other trainers] - Battle Factory is quite mundane. Battle Tower similarly, though if they eliminate the other trainers there, there wouldn't be much of a point, would there?

Well then I guess you shouldn't be a fan of Pokemon. Strip away the 'quirks' of the Battle Frontier areas and they become no more than your average battle. That's why they need to keep these styles in there. Because otherwise, heh, what would be the point, besides wasting time for the relase of D/P?

 

[Zhen Lin]

Ah, but you see, the actual rounds of the Battle Tower and Battle Factory are quite mundane. Battle Arena, Battle Palace - that's what I mean by not mundane.

 

[V Faction]

Ah, but you see, the actual rounds of the Battle Tower and Battle Factory are quite mundane. Battle Arena, Battle Palace - that's what I mean by not mundane.

Like I said, take away what makes them special and it's just as bad.

Arena - Take away the judging and you get a standard 3 on 3 Battle.

Palace - Your Pokemon fight on their own. If you don't have that, you get another standard Battle.

I do see what you're trying to get at, that Factory, Dome and Tower (especially the last 2) just go with the usual tourney setup. Well, with Palace and Arena, they hold battles that are just like your average fight, but set restrictions. So I don't see how it's 'okay' to swap out the Factory's special trait because it's 'mundane', when another facility could be seen exactly the same way.

Think of this though. Since Dome is essentially Factory without the random characteristic, why not save a dramatic legend battle for that less appealing area and let the Factory retain it's boring-yet-still-intriguing factor? I don't see why they couldn't have gone with a more appropriate choice.

 

[Kasumi]

My point here is: why would they give random pokémon to Satoshi? It wouldn't make sense for him to take HIS pokémon with him in the Battle Frontier season if they used the very same rules as the game ones.