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What makes a great battle?

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Madame Pika

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With battles being a huge part of the show I was wondering what you guys consider important and entertaining in a battle including things like how important game mechanics and anime only things are?
 
Good Animation
Emotion during the battle
Pretty much anything in the Ash and Paul battles.
 
Great strategy. Not flagrantly screwing the rules. You can bend them, but you'd better be able to justify it. An example of screwing the rules would be the Iris/Georgia battle, where Dragonite takes two direct Ice Beams without flinching or showing any sign of damage. As for what I mean by justifying any bent rules, I can believe a Pokémon taking less damage than usual from a super-effective hit if there's some kind of protection effect in play, or if the Pokémon has been specially trained to resist that type of attack. A Water Pokémon being exposed to low-level electric shocks so that a Thunderbolt doesn't hurt it so much--I'll buy that.
 
IMO the battle has to be consistent with the game mechanics(FFS POISON TYPE MOVES DON'T EFFECT STEEL TYPES ^%#$%##@!%!) and the rest of the anime . I just got finished discussing an early gym battle between Ash and Misty and inconsistent mechanics really ruin it for me. Also, a big build up to a battle makes it much better. Part of the reason Ash vs Paul was so great was because it was a battle that people waited for the entire region with things like the chimchar plot-line and the previous 6v6 battle they had.

Also, an added bonus is strategy. For example Ash vs Gary in the Johto league was really good because of that. The battle between Charizard and Blastoise and the way Ash used his environment made it very interesting to watch.
 
Good Trainers and Good Writing by the Writers and that is all I think and will think others to say and do.
 
I'm surprised that more people aren't saying game mechanics are super important considering that that's usually mentioned like anything almost any time the anime does go against game mechanics (especially in terms of 'that pokemon shouldn't know that move'.)

For me I always like it when the battle actually means something. It's really really nice to have battles with good animation and strategies but if it's between two people I don't care about then I care a lot less. That's one of the reasons that a lot of people didn't care for DP contests after the Houen ones including the battles. Whilst the DP ones show that the creators have gained a lot of skill in creating battles (and appeals) that are exciting animation wise, the characters involved are dull.

I also really want good animation and strategies of course. For me though, this is best done when it says something about the characters. One of the reasons that Shinji vs Satoshi battles are so great is because of their (almost) opposing styles. I also tend to think that the best gym battles tend to be the ones where the gym leaders have the most character. (There are some exceptions to this like Natsume.) I also want the battle to go on for some time so that I can get into it. (I hate battles that feel like they're over before they've begun like well many of the one on ones.)
 
Madame Pika said:
I'm surprised that more people aren't saying game mechanics are super important considering that that's usually mentioned like anything almost any time the anime does go against game mechanics (especially in terms of 'that pokemon shouldn't know that move'.)
Click to expand...

I'm kinda iffy on the idea of being totally faithful to game mechanics, since the anime is a different format. Things work differently, and certain things can be done in the anime that can't be done in the games. (Example: In Ash's first Johto gym battle, he had Charizard goad Pidgeot into making a certain move, and then use Flamethrower where Pidgeot was going to be a moment later. Can't do that in the games.) I wouldn't have a problem with TPTB adapting game mechanics to fit the anime, but those adaptations should make some kind of sense, and they should be more-or-less consistent.
 
I am fine with things not sticking to Game Mechanics. For example, Koffing's Gyro Ball in the anime makes more sense than the game Gyro Ball which becomes stronger with low speeds. Obviously, they have ignored the basic equation for Kinetic Energy.....unless the "Gyro" in Gyro Ball is somehow a justification of rotational Kinetic Energy. (Don't ask me how, because that's a question I am putting for the audience.)

A battle can be good without any build up too. But of course Satoshi versus Shinji's main factors was the build up, but build up only contributes to 20% of a battle's worth. A very good six on six match with a CoTD can always do the trick. But the character shouldn't be generic and seem like an actual trainer than a name sake character who randomly throws moves for the sake of Ash countering it. The best example would be Ash versus Drake. Drake was introduced only in the episode he was to fight Ash and still gave us a memorable battle.

So, buildup isn't necessarily a factor.
 
If it is a Fair Battle with Strong Pokemon and not a First Stage Starter beating a Final Evolved vForm of a Pokemon.
 
A battle can also be fascinating even it is Magikarp vs. Caterpie. What makes battle interesting (in my very own personal viewpoint, welcome to disagree if one don't like it) will be:

-- Having the action and action speed like Dragonball series
-- Having the strategic and tactic minds like Naruto series
-- Having the special explosion and battle effects like Gundam 00
-- Having the thrilling feeling when ever audience watch it like battles in Super Robots Taisen series
-- Make uses of camera slow and fast motion in different situations, and make uses of "imaginative" and "emotional" cuts like within battles of Rurouni Kenshin

When all of the above are fulfilled, I'm definitely sure the Pokemon battle will be the best of all the anime series.
 
I can't say anything that hasn't been said before except that I would like to see more about the referees. I know their job isn't as "protagonic" in a battle, but still at least some shots of the referee supervising the fight (without commenting of course) would be good. Also, saying something more than introducing the rules and announcing the winners and losers, like "this movement isn't allowed". The Trainers seem pretty much free to do whatever they want because of that.

Aside that, a great battle is made of strategy, new animation and realistic pacing.
 
I think what makes a great battle is a combination of action, and strategy working hand in hand together to make an unpredictable battle. One of my favorite battles in the Anime has been the Ash and Katie battle in the Hoenn Pokemon league, where they actually switched Pokemon back and fourth to try to obtain type advantages against each other. At the same time, neither Ash or Katie were 100% perfect and made the occasional mistake which made the battle all the more believable.
 
Good Pokemon Used with a Good Strategy and Know when to Switch Pokemon if they are Getting tired or they Do NOT Have Any Energy to Battle and give it a break.
 
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