Pokémon: Omega Ruby journal - entry five

Well, I did manage to more or less steamroll my way through the Elite Four – Trevenant and Infernape both swept a good chunk of the competition aside, while I really only had to swap out to Emolga in order to counter Glacia’s Wailrein. The Elite Four battles were not quite the cakewalk that their Kalos counterparts provided, but they weren’t much more of a challenge, truth be told. I even deliberately avoided many of the trainers along Victory Road in the hopes that it might balance the fights out a bit, but it seems this game was designed with players being significantly more powerful than necessary in mind.

It’s a bit of a shame, really, as I found the Pokémon typings spotlighted by each member of the Elite Four to be a fun and interesting combo. The champion battle against Steven Stone would have served as the highlight of the whole experience, were it not for the fact that beating him was similarly all too easy. For the sake of the narrative, however, I did appreciate Steven Stone’s constant involvement in major events, and the fact that he is something of a rival character who also acts as a source of inspiration to the protagonist – someone that most people seem to look up to. Thank goodness he wasn’t just dropped in for a brief cameo and then ignored entirely until his climactic battle (I am, of course, making a not-so-subtle reference to Diantha’s minimal role in X and Y). Regardless, above is my team that triumphed over the Elite Four, my ‘dream team’ for Omega Ruby.

I’ve only spent about fifteen minutes or so with the postgame Delta Episode, and have found its narrative to be considerably more compelling than the main game’s story and conflict with Team Magma. It’s comforting to know that at least some part of this remake might leave me somewhat impressed. The ability to soar around Hoenn on the back of Latios is certainly a visual treat, and is seemingly the only way to reach areas where warp holes containing legendary Pokémon await. I suppose it only makes sense to restrict access to these more powerful Pokémon until the main game is nearly over, though the premise of these mysterious holes simply spitting out Pokémon in front of you makes things, yet again, seem a bit easier than necessary. It shouldn’t be too much longer before I post my final review for Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, though, depending on how long the Delta Episode content runs, I may yet post another journal entry beforehand.