Here I am, battling in the PWT or Battle Subway trying to get those points and shards. I finally have a reason to go battle somewhere to 'not earn experience', but to earn items for my Pokemon or for Move Tutors.
Sure, gathering BP and shards is fun, but my main reason for battling in PWT and Battle Subway is just because the battles themselves are fun, actually. Plain and simple. PWT is even better as it has a nostalgic touch to it. I mean, come on, gym leaders of all generations! And they're tough too!
If I just wanted quick BP, I could perhaps enter the single train (not the super single train mind you) with very strong Pokemon, wipe out everyone in the first 7 battles, let myself be defeated in the 8th battle, rinse and repeat. That way, I'd always meet very weak opponents I could wipe out quickly and earn 3 BP each time. But that'd destroy the fun. No, that's not what I want.
Why are pokemon battles serious business? Is it because players are desperate to win? Or is it because they feel humiliated if they lose at a game which they've played ever since they were young?
Why is it fun to raise them? Isn't it basically just alot of exp farming? >_> I would never even put the effort into raising a pokemon just for competitive play :/ It sounds plain boring to make every single member of your team completely perfect.
I dunno. Everyone might have their own reasons, but I don't consider myself desperate to win, nor do I consider losing humiliating. After all, very slight differences in very simple things―like speed, type match-ups of the first Pokemon in the field, and the like―can impact the course of a battle significantly. A single missed attack can lead to disaster and turn the tide for the rest of the battle. That, in and of itself, has its own fun.
As about the fun in raising Pokemon... I think that's a very broad question directed at pretty much RPG aspects in general. Or monster-raising games, if you'd rather narrow it. Why because it's fun of course! I'm not a fan of excessive EXP farming either, but that's not all there's to raising Pokemon. Personally, there's this irreplaceable feeling of satisfaction when I manage to raise the Pokemon I want the way I want, no matter how insignificant that might be.
Competitive teams? Not really. I have many considerations when choosing Pokemon, some of which incoherent to their prowess in battle but I still consider important anyway, like their looks. Like, I don't think I'd raise a Garbodor even if it suddenly had a new Forme with Rayquaza-like stats. I don't really seek to make all my Pokemon perfect either; just the way I want them.
[MENTION=2]Ignis[/MENTION] ;
I agree with that. Also why I eventually gave up breeding and because I practically bred everything I wanted too. There's nothing left for me to breed. It's not that I'm gonna breed 5 of the same Pokemon just for different movesets. 1 or maybe 2 is more than enough.
I remember that Rattata..boy..did that thing caught me off guard when I first battled it >_>
Indeed Gen 1 en 2 were simple but that didn't take the fun out of it. I prefer it a bit simple than way to elaborate to be honest. All the new 3D stuff doesn't appeal to me much..
That, and every time I get close to spending too much time getting Pokemon, I tend to think that there are still other Pokemon games in this generation... and there'll be new generations too, so I'd rather not exhaust every single option in a single game. As for moveset-focused breeding, I rarely do so except for Pokemon I know I'll use for long or in specific tourneys like Battle Subway and the PWT.
And I dunno about you, but when Black and White first came out, I jumped in joy. True, the earliest generations were simple, but such simplicity had its own charm. I'm not saying they were bad, no. I grew up with them, after all. But B&W had a revolutionary breakthrough in the world of Pokemon by the way they refined the battles. That's a much better way to make the most of the dual screens in comparison with Gen IV, if you ask me.
That's my way of beating the E4 so I guess that it would work against players as well? :/
