by Ash » Wed Mar 16, 2011 3:32 pm
That final meeting, when I (the Champion) finally got challenged, was really fun. I'm sorry that I wasn't able to hang out more but my Enforcer duties dictated that I be elsewhere. I'm glad that I got beaten so that other people could take on the "new" Champions in my stead. To be fair, I don't tend to IV/EV train my team and mostly pick ones that I think are neat/ cute/ fun (like Sableye. Seriously, who the hell uses a Sableye?), so I suppose I was doomed to lose from the start. Still, it was a lot of fun for me and it seemed like everyone else around was also having a good time.
That being said, here's my thoughts:
*) I like the idea that someone else came up with to show that you're an Elite Four rather than a trainer, whether it be a large button with a "4" on it on your scarf or even a stripe of colored tape above and below your PPL patch. I found that when I wandered with just my scarf but not the Champion hat I got stopped a lot and had to politely turn people down, but when I wore the hat it immediately identified me. People still stopped to talk about the League and all, but knew where I was in the challenge order.
*) There are a lot of new ideas and concepts being bandied about, many of them really intriguing, that involve collectible emblems or Trainer "henchmen" that would have to be battled first, but my one fear is it simply becoming too complex and people losing interest. Being told to find a certain number of badges is one thing, but now having to find other items/ people runs the risk of getting harder instead of easier. Maybe it can be simply fixed by adding more Gym Leaders and maybe even an Elite 8 (of which you need 4 victories to progress). I accept that having more people in the "gym" makes it more like the games, but sacrifices need to me made to make it workable in reality. I'm trying to consider this from the stance of a challenger as well as a leader, and I can see pros and cons on both sides.
I had other ideas, all of which escape me now that I'm trying to make them public.
--A