The Hoenn Battle Frontier is one of the most difficult in-game challenges of any mainline Pokémon game. Players must select three or fewer Pokémon, none of which can have a higher level than their opponent's Pokémon. Then, they must compete in gimmick-based challenges and rack up massive win streaks in order to challenge the Frontier Brains for their Symbols. The only comparable challenges are similar areas in other games like the Battle Maison and the Sinnoh Battle Frontier. This post-game content is a true test of skill that only the best trainers can overcome.

As tough as the Battle Frontier is in the game, it doesn't seem nearly as challenging in the anime. Ash was able to beat all the Frontier Brains and earn their Symbols in a little over one season. There are certain reasons for how the Battle Frontier functions in the anime, though they don't necessarily make up for the drastic change in difficulty. To prove this, here's an in-depth look at what the challenges are like in the games and how they compare to the anime.

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The first thing to look at is the level cap. In the games, players have the option to compete in one of two levels of challenge, Level 50 and Open Level. In the former format, all Pokémon must be no higher than level 50 to compete. In the latter format, opponents will bring Pokémon whose levels match that of the highest-leveled Pokémon on the player's team, though they'll go no lower than level 60. In other words, a player can't simply grind levels to beat their opponents; they have to have good Pokémon and legitimate skills and strategies in order to win.

This is something that the Pokémon anime actually gets somewhat right. Generally speaking, all Pokémon seem to be around the same level of power. The victor of a match is decided by which Pokémon has the better trainer.

Another important aspect of the Battle Frontier is the number of Pokémon one is allowed to bring. Unlike the main game, players aren't allowed to bring a full team of six Pokémon to bully opponents with fewer Pokémon. In order to earn a Symbol, they must compete with no more than three Pokémon at a time.

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Again, this more or less checks out in Ash's case. Throughout the anime, most battles are three-on-three anyway, maybe less. The only time Ash fought with more than three Pokémon in the Battle Frontier was in his four-on-four match against Brandon; even then, they both brought an equal number of Pokémon to the match.

The only thing that's suspect about this aspect of the Battle Frontier is how many Pokémon Ash had to face. Some of the Frontier Brains only fought with two or even one Pokémon. The only place this happens in the games is at the battle Dome where trainers are expected to bring two of their three Pokémon to each battle, including Dome Ace Tucker. However, this still doesn't account for Arena Tycoon Greta, Factory Head Noland, or Pyramid King Brandon allowing Ash to earn their Symbols if he could beat just one or two of their Pokémon.

Pokemon Ash vs Greta

Another thing that made Ash's Frontier challenge easier was the number of wins he needed. In the games, players needed long win streaks against multiple trainers in order to earn the right to face a Frontier Brain and earn their Silver Symbol. Then they needed to rack up an even longer win streak and fight the Frontier Brain again with even harder Pokémon to earn their Gold Symbol.

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Ash only had to fight the Frontier Brains once in order to earn their Gold Symbols. This was likely done by the anime to streamline the process of Ash earning the Symbols. Going through 70 trainers to earn a Gold Symbol in the Battle Tower may be a worthwhile challenge in the games, but from a storytelling perspective, it's long and tedious. The same thing is done with Gym trainers and puzzles. This may make the anime challenges easier, but it at least keeps the story moving.

Another thing Ash didn't really have to deal with is the Battle Frontier's gimmicks. Most of the facilities made the trainer compete in battles with special rulesets. These could be anything from going through a maze of trainers and wild Pokémon to relinquishing control of a Pokémon's attacks. Only the Battle Tower lets players compete in straightforward matches. These various challenges were meant to test different aspects of a trainer, like their knowledge, tactics, and even luck.

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Ash almost never had to deal with special rulesets in his Frontier battles. The closest he ever got was when he battled Palace Maven Spenser in a forest rather than on a traditional battlefield. He actually was supposed to use rental Pokémon for his Battle Factory challenge like in the games, but he was allowed to bring in his Charizard. Compared to the games, Ash's Frontier Battles were pretty straightforward.

Anime Pokemon Pikachu Beats Brandon's Regice

In fairness, despite the simplification of the format, the Frontier Brains did still pose some of Ash's toughest battles ever. He even had to go up against Legendary Pokémon like Articuno and the Titan trio. Regardless, this doesn't make up for everything else that's done to tip the odds in Ash's favor.

The anime's overall simplification of the Battle Frontier, while understandable, is difficult to justify. Even if the goal was to streamline the challenges or make them easier for Ash's sake, there could have been a little more of the in-game gimmicks incorporated into the anime. As it stands, the Frontier Brains of the anime are more like glorified Gym Leaders than genuinely unique and difficult obstacles for Ash to overcome.