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I came across this post today on the front page of r/pokemon, in which the OP attempts to provide a rationale for why Rose was so impatient to start the Darkest Day. I more-or-less agree with their assessment, although I interpret things a bit less sinisterly than they do (I personally wouldn't say that Rose was "grooming" Leon per se). But reading their post reiterated to me that the stuff from the League interruption up to the battle at the top of the tower has never been my problem with the storyline. I can buy that Rose is obsessed with his vanity project and has a problem with impulse control. Sure.
But it's the chase sequence after the Semifinals that makes my mind dissolve into ash. Why does this scene even happen?
It's kicked off because Leon is caught up in a meeting with Rose and doesn't phone Hop to let him know dinner's going to be late. Which is a bit flimsy, but speaking as someone who can be slow to respond to texts or messages even when doing so would be more convenient for all involved, I can almost buy it. I mean, I've also always wondered why Prof. Juniper had Nate/Rosa trek halfway across eastern Unova to go meet with Drayden to talk about legends instead of just ringing him up herself. I'm aware that sometimes with games you just gotta' let stuff like that slide.
But the thing is, Leon actually does think to let Hop know. He passes by Piers at the tube station and asks him to relay the message, which Piers does. But then Hop, despite being up to speed now, decides to just... storm Rose Tower anyway? And Piers just goes along with it as well for lols? Honestly we always talk about Rose's impatience, but it looks like Hop could give him a real run for his money...
And then as soon as we walk outside the hotel, Oleana is waiting for us with the key to Rose Tower and a personal lackey? First of all, how'd she know to be there? I assume she might've been with Leon when he spoke to Piers, and then decided to trail him, but that'd be so... paranoid of her, lol. Which I guess fits her character, but how does she infer that Hop being given an update on the timetable will spur him into attempting an invasion of the most secure facility in Wyndon?
And then she immediately undermines that security by bringing the key with her and encouraging the player and their friends to try to steal it, because "Rose enjoys these kinds of menial games." But does Rose actually care about that right now? Isn't he busy chatting with Leon and preparing for the Darkest Day? Wouldn't it be more beneficial for him for people to not interfere in the meeting? Which could have been easily achieved if Oleana had simply laid low without taunting the player's group. I mean it was funny when Faba fucked that up in the Alola games, but Oleana is supposed to be more calculating and less arrogant than Faba. So why would she make such an obvious tactical blunder?
Oh and then as we're going up the elevator of Rose Tower, Hop says something about how the employees can control the elevator themselves. So why do they keep letting us ascend!!??!??
I don't think any previous game in the series has had so thinly-veiled an excuse for a pursuit or conflict.
I just keep thinking back to how comparatively well this sort of thing was handled in SM. There was the double fake-out on Ula'ula Island where Team Skull outsmarts us by stealing a kid's Yungoos to lure us away so that they can come back around and snatch Lillie and Nebby. That was a good strategy. Lusamine warning the Aether staff about Pokémon thieves to delay us made sense, because she's exploiting how her employees really care for Pokémon. Even the long journey up to Vast Poni Canyon works, since at that point, the only lead we have to go on is a legend talking about the Legendary Pokémon appearing from a wormhole at the altar.
But it's the chase sequence after the Semifinals that makes my mind dissolve into ash. Why does this scene even happen?
It's kicked off because Leon is caught up in a meeting with Rose and doesn't phone Hop to let him know dinner's going to be late. Which is a bit flimsy, but speaking as someone who can be slow to respond to texts or messages even when doing so would be more convenient for all involved, I can almost buy it. I mean, I've also always wondered why Prof. Juniper had Nate/Rosa trek halfway across eastern Unova to go meet with Drayden to talk about legends instead of just ringing him up herself. I'm aware that sometimes with games you just gotta' let stuff like that slide.
But the thing is, Leon actually does think to let Hop know. He passes by Piers at the tube station and asks him to relay the message, which Piers does. But then Hop, despite being up to speed now, decides to just... storm Rose Tower anyway? And Piers just goes along with it as well for lols? Honestly we always talk about Rose's impatience, but it looks like Hop could give him a real run for his money...
And then as soon as we walk outside the hotel, Oleana is waiting for us with the key to Rose Tower and a personal lackey? First of all, how'd she know to be there? I assume she might've been with Leon when he spoke to Piers, and then decided to trail him, but that'd be so... paranoid of her, lol. Which I guess fits her character, but how does she infer that Hop being given an update on the timetable will spur him into attempting an invasion of the most secure facility in Wyndon?
And then she immediately undermines that security by bringing the key with her and encouraging the player and their friends to try to steal it, because "Rose enjoys these kinds of menial games." But does Rose actually care about that right now? Isn't he busy chatting with Leon and preparing for the Darkest Day? Wouldn't it be more beneficial for him for people to not interfere in the meeting? Which could have been easily achieved if Oleana had simply laid low without taunting the player's group. I mean it was funny when Faba fucked that up in the Alola games, but Oleana is supposed to be more calculating and less arrogant than Faba. So why would she make such an obvious tactical blunder?
Oh and then as we're going up the elevator of Rose Tower, Hop says something about how the employees can control the elevator themselves. So why do they keep letting us ascend!!??!??
I don't think any previous game in the series has had so thinly-veiled an excuse for a pursuit or conflict.
I just keep thinking back to how comparatively well this sort of thing was handled in SM. There was the double fake-out on Ula'ula Island where Team Skull outsmarts us by stealing a kid's Yungoos to lure us away so that they can come back around and snatch Lillie and Nebby. That was a good strategy. Lusamine warning the Aether staff about Pokémon thieves to delay us made sense, because she's exploiting how her employees really care for Pokémon. Even the long journey up to Vast Poni Canyon works, since at that point, the only lead we have to go on is a legend talking about the Legendary Pokémon appearing from a wormhole at the altar.
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