Pokemon Sword and Shield‘s second DLC expansion, The Crown Tundra, has been available for nearly two weeks now. This DLC is heavily focused around Legendary Pokemon, with trainers being sent on various missions to uncover mysteries in the snowy landscape. Dynamax Adventures are a new feature introduced that fits this theme by letting players encounter Legendaries from previous Generations of mainline Pokemon titles, but they also stand out as a unique take on a classic game mode.
The Max Lair that players find when they first enter the Crown Tundra is the subject of scientific research due to the mysterious appearance of so many Legendaries and Ultra Beasts, and a strange energy that affects Pokemon from outside its confides. As a result, players have to rent the monsters they use when going on a Dynamax Adventure. Rental facilities are a long-standing tradition in Pokemon games, but the cooperative twists added by Sword and Shield‘s DLC show how a future Battle Frontier in particular could evolve with the times.
Though rental Pokemon are seen in spin-offs like Pokemon Stadium and Pokemon Battle Revolution, they are also one of the alternate means of play found in Battle Frontiers. The first Battle Frontier appeared in Pokemon Emerald, offering a collection of seven post-game facilities that boast matches under unique conditions. Each facility houses a Frontier Brain, a boss with powerful Pokemon that award players with signifiers of mastery.
In Emerald version, the Battle Factory let players choose rental Pokemon with niches to try and build a team. Other facilities included the Battle Palace, in which Pokemon take no input from their trainers; the Battle Arena where all matches are decided in three rounds; and the Battle Pike that features a maze of rooms with randomized events. A controversial aspect of Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire was the decision to leave out Hoenn’s Battle Frontier in favor of the Gen 6 Battle Maison, but still tease its existence via a cheeky construction site.
The Battle Frontier returned in Pokemon Platinum, Heartgold, and Soulsilver with five facilities and new Frontier Brains. For example, the Battle Arcade put every fight under conditions set by a roulette wheel, while the Battle Castle created a pseudo-RPG in which players accumulated points to spend on new items, healing, and more between matches. A Battle Factory is one of two facilities that return for the new Battle Frontier, and the rental concept is revisited again in Black and White 2‘s Pokemon World Tournament as well as Ultra Sun and Moon‘s Battle Agency.
Sword and Shield‘s Dynamax Adventure feature builds upon previous rental facilities by making a truly cooperative, strategic game mode. Players can join with up to three others similar to Max Raid Dens in the base game, but are offered a limited selection of niche rental Pokemon. Whenever one player chooses a monster it gets swapped out, so all adventurers have to use a different option.
The adventure consists of four Dynamax battles in a row that caps off with a Legendary Pokemon (there is also an unlockable endless mode). All four players have to vote on which Pokemon to encounter next based solely on a type designation and brief glimpses revealed through pink fog, exploring a maze with limited room options ala the aforementioned Battle Pike. After each match, one person on the team can choose to swap out their rental with the captured Dynamax Pokemon.
Where the strategy truly shines in this mode is the complete obscurity of the Legendary at the end. Since all players know is the final encounter will be, for example, a Water-type Legendary, choosing a path through the maze becomes a calculation of whether it’s more important to get each team member a type advantage or to focus on encountering an NPC who offers a service such as free items to equip. However, even the best calculations can go awry if it turns out the Water-type is something like Palkia, as dual types are not indicated but can change what moves they are weak to.
The final encounter can be less randomized if players pay for a specific Legendary offered by Peonia, daughter of former Gym Leader Peony, or if they let the head scientist record a Legendary that was seen but not caught. However, this doesn’t change what shows up in the maze, so there’s always the chance a string of bad luck will still result in a failed attempt by accruing four faints. Despite each round taking a potentially long time to complete, these conditions make them uniquely engaging, similar to older Battle Frontier facilities.
Fandom love for Battle Frontiers have led to them being a highly-requested feature whenever Pokemon games are in development. Game Freak has also integrated Frontier Brains into the overall world, with Emerald Salon Maiden Anabel joining the International Police in Sun and Moon, and Platinum Castle Princess Caitlin returning as a Unova Elite Four member. Many Frontier Brains have also appeared in DeNA’s mobile game Pokemon Masters EX.
The creativity on display when designing the rental-based Dynamax Adventure feature is particularly encouraging for the inevitable Pokemon Diamond and Pearl remakes. Based on the developer’s previous releases these are the next remakes set to be created, and after Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire it would behoove them to bring the Battle Frontier back. Even if it isn’t included with the base game, the precedent set by Sword and Shield‘s DLC means it is ultimately possible.
While bringing the Sinnoh Battle Frontier back unchanged would work well enough as solid post-game content with nostalgic references, Dynamax Adventures show that there is a lot of untapped potential for game modes making clever use of cooperative or competitive online activities. Nintendo Switch Online is not a perfect service, so single-player battle challenges would likely still be the highlight. However, if players are able to do something like team up and work toward harder challenges by independently knocking out one-on-one matches in the Battle Hall, a new Battle Frontier could shine brighter than ever.
Pokemon Sword and Shield are available now on Nintendo Switch.
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