Pokémonhas often tried to experiment with game elements besides battling, and one of the more successful experiments was the introduction of Contests. However, the game version of Pokémon Contests never quite managed to live up to the excitement that the anime was able to give the feature.
Pokémon Contests were designed to offer players an alternative game mode, a way to make use of Pokémon without having them do battle with one another. Contests are, however, still competitive, and involve enrolling a Pokémon to put on a show using an alternate set of stats, rating things like “Beauty” and “Coolness”. Contests in the games and the anime differ considerably, however, and they would continue to evolve in different directions as the series grew.
How Pokémon Anime Contests Differ from Game Contests
The Anime’s Take on Contests is Far More Interesting
In both the anime and the games,Pokémon Contests were introduced in the 3rd generation,RubyandSapphire. In the games, Contests are divided into two rounds: an introductory round, which features a basic judging of the Pokémon’s Contest stats, and a Talent Round, where the Pokémon uses its moves to impress the audience or throw other competitors off their game. A Pokémon’s Contest stats can be increased using Pokéblocks made from berries, and contests generally specialize in one particular stat. Winning Pokémon are awarded ribbons, which are attached to the Pokémon.
In the anime, Contests are similarly split into two rounds: a Performance Stage and a Battle Stage. The performance stage has the Pokémon and trainer go through a scripted routine, often designed with visual flair, and the battle stage features the trainer and Pokémon battling together against another competitor, with a focus on winning with beauty and grace. Trainers who specialize in contests are called Coordinators, and need a contest pass to participate. Contests in the anime don’t focus on a particular stat, and the winning trainer, rather than Pokémon, is awarded a ribbon, and these are tracked similarly to badges.
Better still, in the anime, the contests held in each city represented a means of winning entry to the Grand Contest, a larger tournament of winners who had obtained a certain number of ribbons.With a finite number of contests being held in each region, that meant that there were big stakes for every contest. In the anime, May participated in contests in Hoenn, Kanto, and later Sinnoh, while Dawn participated in contests in Sinnoh. Despite Contests not appearing inXY, the anime had very similar Showcases, which Serena participated in, and Serena would be seen doing Contests inJourneys.
Contests Were Way Better Used in the Anime
Contests Gave Ash’s Companions Their Own Goals
One of the problems that thePokémonanime had with Misty was that she had a very vague goal, being a Water-type master, and it wasn’t always clear how to progress her towards that goal. That meant Misty was often just hanging around with Ash, and not really progressing on her own journey. When May was introduced, however, she was a novice trainer with little knowledge of anything. She had to find a goal of her own, and soon found it in the form of Contests. May appreciated the stage presence and talent needed to do well in Contests, and thus set out on a very different goal from Ash.
The same was more or less true for Dawn and Serena as well. All three were new trainers who found they didn’t enjoy battling that much, but discovered a new way to bond with their Pokémon in Contests.It made them more equal as protagonists to Ash, since the journey was now just as much about their Contest careers as it was about Ash’s gym battles. There would be episodes focused on coming up with routines for Contests, and the girls would each receive rivals of their own, such as Zoey and Drew.Even Team Rocket’s Jessie got to participate in, and even win, some Contests.
Contests in the anime managed to have all the drama of a battle tournament, while emphasizing a different side of Pokémon, and a less violent way for humans and Pokémon to bond with one another. It was something that the anime really needed, as the constant battling in the games makes sense as a game mechanic, but becomes strange in an anime world. Most Contests were multi-episode arcs, with their own dilemmas and problems, and winning and losing meant that May and Dawn experienced a lot of ups and downs on their journey.
The Games Could Take After Anime Contests in Future Versions
Contests Could Return in An Exciting New Form
Contests more or less faded away in the main series games; there were no Contests or Contest-like mechanics in the 7th generation games, and that has continued to be the case forSwordandShieldandScarletandViolet.However, Contests did reappear in a revised form inBrilliant DiamondandShining Pearl, so the idea hasn’t been completely forgotten. Contests could make a grand return in the 10th generation games, and if they do, they should take after the anime.
Turn Contests into multi-stage tournaments, like the anime did. Have a complete circuit of contests, like for gym badges, which culminates in a Grand Festival just like in the anime. Have players practice routines by performing certain moves at well-timed intervals, allowing them to create visual shows the way May and Dawn did.The full 3D of modernPokémongames could make Contests incredible to witness, and it could even be split into its own story arc, like howScarletandViolethad three distinct story arcs: the gym circuit, the Titans, and Team Star.
Contests are too good of an idea to be totally abandoned inPokémongames, and the anime has already shown how they can be made more exciting and dynamic than they already were.Generation 10 should absolutely bring back Contests, but only if they take more after thePokémonanime’s iteration of the concept.
