Pokemon Sun and Moon’s Cut Battle Frontier Explained

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Pokemon Sun and Moon's Cut Battle Frontier Explained

As a seasoned gamer with over two decades of Pokemon adventures under my belt, I can’t help but feel a twinge of nostalgia when I hear about the scrapped Battle Cruise feature from Pokemon Sun and Moon. The concept was nothing short of ingenious – a floating battle arena that takes us on a journey through the rich tapestry of Pokemon regions past.

As a long-time enthusiast of the Pokemon series, I’ve noticed a growing concern among us fans about the lack of complexity in post-game content in newer titles. The Battle Tower, once a staple for challenging battles, has become simpler or even absent in some games, replaced by repetitive versions of itself. This issue resonated strongly within our Pokemon community when the Gen 9 games were released without the Battle Tower, and while we’ve seen glimpses of the Battle Frontier in past generations, it’s been a long time since we’ve had a truly grand version of this feature. In fact, plans for an elaborate Battle Frontier were initially set for the Gen 7 titles.

Indeed, details about Pokemon have spilled onto Discord and Reddit, causing quite a stir known as the “Pokemon teraleak.” This event has led to an extraordinary amount of early Pokemon content becoming publicly available online. Over the past month, fans have been exploring forgotten creature designs, pre-alpha game builds, and abandoned gameplay elements from various periods in the franchise’s history. The latest leaks also offer a sneak peek into some upcoming projects by Game Freak.

How Pokemon Sun and Moon Nearly Took Players Back to Classic Regions

Prior to the release of “Pokemon Scarlet and Violet”, almost every mainline “Pokemon” game included a variation of the classic Battle Tower as part of its post-game content. While each game’s Battle Tower had its own unique characteristics, the fundamental concept was consistent – engage in battles against NPC trainers using teams of three Pokemon that were capped at level 50, earn Battle Points (BP), and progressively defeat opponents for an opportunity to fight against special boss Trainers. In “Pokemon Sun and Moon”, the Battle Tower was rebranded as the Battle Tree, but it wasn’t until recently that we learned that the Gen 7 games were initially intended to include another post-game activity called the Battle Cruise. This planned activity would have offered a wealth of exciting content, surpassing even the Battle Tree in terms of quality.

Different from certain trainer-accommodating ocean liners featured in past Pokemon games like the Royal Unova, the Battle Cruise was designed to transport players to cities from earlier game versions, such as Olivine City and Castelia City. Here, players would have encountered legendary characters and champions, battling them for the purpose of enhancing their trainer reputation, as well as fostering relationships that would lead to exclusive Pokemon trades. The ship’s crew members could also be recruited as partners in double battles. The main concept was to engage in battles with non-player trainers on board to grow your trainer status, while simultaneously forging connections that would yield unique trading opportunities.

In Pokemon Sun and Moon, players don’t have the ability to journey to different regions, but instead, they get the chance to challenge important characters from past games as bosses within the Battle Tree.

How The Battle Cruise’s Facilities Would Have Set It Apart From Pokemon Sun and Moon’s Battle Tree

Pokemon Sun and Moon's Cut Battle Frontier Explained

Just as the Battle Tower, players could participate in Single and Double Battle playlists at various locations on the ship. Upon achieving a series of victories, they would be given the opportunity to challenge a “Battle Captain.” The Battle Cruise would offer more than just battles; it would also house a Training Center designed for solving puzzles and playing minigames, such as a version of the Japanese strategy board game shogi. This center might have even included a Pokemon rental system, an idea that could have been reused in Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon in the Battle Agency.

The proposed “Fast Battle” feature was intended to revolutionize Pokemon battles with a streamlined approach, although it seems this abandoned feature didn’t have much depth. Furthermore, the Battle Cruise would not only host events for player interaction but also offer various facilities for nurturing and training Pokemon. These facilities included a Pokemon stat judge, an on-board daycare, egg hatching trails, and more. The six main facilities on the Battle Cruise were designed to cater to all player needs.

  • Deck Battle for Single Battles
  • Team Battle for Double Battles
  • Fast Battle for a new kind of simplified Pokemon battles
  • Training Center for playing battle-related puzzles and minigames
  • Event Hall for interacting with other characters
  • Grow-Up! for Pokemon breeding and stat judging

How Parts of The Scrapped Battle Cruise Live On In The Gen 7 Pokemon Games

Regrettably, an expansive feature planned for Gen 7 games didn’t come to life, despite it being far from the only intriguing Pokemon content that could have delighted fans. Often, cut content like this leaves traces behind, and such is the case here. Remnants of the original idea can be seen in the final product, notably in the social features of Festival Plaza and the option to fight main characters from previous games within the Battle Tree.

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2024-11-17 21:23