The Battle Frontier (Japanese: バトルフロンティアBattle Frontier) is a special post-Pokémon League area in Pokémon Emerald that features several arenas where powerful Trainers can battle each other.
The Battle Frontier replaces the Battle Tower in its location south of Route 130, and likewise is only accessible by taking the S.S. Tidal from Lilycove City or Slateport City. Unlike the plain Battle Tower in Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, the Battle Frontier is composed of seven distinct battle facilities, each lead by a Frontier Brain who may be challenged after certain winning streaks have been made through their respective facility.
The Battle Frontier is owned and operated by Scott, whom the player meets throughout the game in Pokémon Emerald. He resides in a house located between the Battle Dome and Battle Tower, and gives the player various rewards as they progress through the Battle Frontier.
Upon the player's first entry into Hoenn's Battle Frontier, their Trainer Card will be upgraded into a Frontier Pass by a woman at the entrance. This pass holds the Trainer Card, as well as a small map of the Battle Frontier and the player's records with the Frontier. Saved-up Battle Points, or BP, are listed, as are any of the seven Frontier Symbols the player has won. One battle from within one of the facilities may be recorded and stored on the Frontier Pass, which may be watched or overwritten with another at any time.
On winning through a set amount of battles in any given facility, Battle Points will be awarded, usually in small amounts, but gradually growing through each consecutive streak. Defeating the Frontier Brain of a given facility for the first time awards the silver Symbol of that facility, as well as 10BP, while the second defeat of the same Brain gives the Symbol a golden color and the player another 10BP. The Frontier Brain will only appear in 3-vs-3 single battle mode.
No two Pokémon entered can hold the same item, though all items are allowed to be held. Items cannot be used from the Bag during battle (except in the Battle Pyramid, in which the player can use items from their Battle Bag). Battles conducted here do not award experience or money. The following Pokémon cannot be entered for battle:
A colored background means that the Pokémon can be found in this location in the specified game. A white background with a colored letter means that the Pokémon cannot be found here.
The Artisan Cave is a long cave connecting one end of the Battle Frontier to the other. It starts near the Battle Palace and the exit is right next to the Battle Tower. The only wild Pokémon found inside is Smeargle.
House
There is a house next to the Battle Tower. Inside, there is a Trainer who wants to trade a Meowth for a Skitty.
Record Hall
The Record Hall
The record hall contains all of the records that the player has set at the Battle Frontier. There are three rooms. The one on the left contains records for the Battle Pike, Dome, and Factory, the one in the center has records for the Battle Tower, and the one on the right contains records for the Battle Palace, Pyramid, and Arena.
If the player mixes records with another Emerald game, Battle Frontier records will be copied over from the other game and compared.
Sudowoodo
A level 40 Sudowoodo is located in the southeast section of the Battle Frontier. Much like in Generation II, NPCs will talk about it as if it is a tree. However, when the player uses the Wailmer Pail on it, it will spring to life and battle the player. This Sudowoodo blocks the path to the Artisan Cave until it is battled. This is the only location a wild Sudowoodo can be battled in the Generation III handheld games.
Betting man
In the house south of the Battle Pyramid a man can be visited. After receiving at least 3 silver Symbols, he will ask the player to compete in a random facility, which changes daily. The player can give him 5, 10, or 15 Battle Points. If the player wins, the man will give him back twice the amount the player gave him. If the player loses, the Battle Points are lost.
In the house above the Pokémon Center is an old man who can judge one of the player's Pokémon's stats. He examines the Pokémon's IVs and gives feedback on how high or low they are. First he describes the Pokémon's "ability", which is based on the sum of all six of its IVs. Then he indicates which stat has the highest IV and what range it falls in. If 2 or more IVs are tied for the highest then he will choose one randomly.
Pokémon's ability
IV total
Average
0 to 90
Better-than-average
91 to 120
Quite impressive
121 to 150
Wonderfully outstanding
151 to 186
Highest IV
Range
Relatively good
0 to 15
Quite impressive
16 to 25
Outstanding
26 to 30
Flawless
31
Move Tutors
In a house next to the Battle Dome, there are two Move Tutors. They will teach a Pokémon a selection of attacks for a price in Battle Points.
The Battle Point Exchange Service Corner, or simply the Exchange Service Corner, sells various goods in exchange for Battle Points earned at other parts of the Battle Frontier. Players can purchase decorations for their Secret Base or room, vitamins, and held items.
The locations of the first six Kanto Battle Frontier facilities in the anime
In the anime, this Battle Frontier, rather than being on one of Hoenn's many small islands, is spread across the Kanto region, presumably so as to reflect on the then-recent releases of Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen as well as Emerald. Much like the Gyms do not have a requirement that Ash beats anyone besides the Gym Leader, Ash is not required to compete in any matches besides those against the Frontier Brain.
The Battle Frontier is owned and operated by Scott, whom Ash first met in The Scheme Team.
The proper Hoenn Battle Frontier appeared in SS007, where Ash and Go traveled there to participate in the Battle Frontier Flute Cup, a small tournament with a set of flutes as its prize. There they met Houji, a Trainer from Lavaridge Town who was also there to compete. Ash eventually emerged victorious and brought back the flutes to Sakuragi Institute. While on the island, Go also caught a Taillow and three Wurmple.
In the manga
In the Ash & Pikachu manga
The Battle Frontier first appeared in Off To The Battle Frontier!!. Unlike the anime, only the Battle Factory, Battle Arena, and Battle Pike appeared.
In the Emerald arc, a Pokédex holder named Emerald challenged the Battle Frontier during its seven-day opening ceremony. Eventually it was revealed that he had been sent to the Battle Frontier by Professor Oak in order to catch the MythicalWish PokémonJirachi, which he had predicted to be awake at the site during the same seven days that the Battle Frontier opening ceremony would take place. It turned out that an armored villain named Guile Hideout was also planning to catch Jirachi for his own evil ambitions, even stealing all the rental Pokémon from the Battle Factory to be used against anyone getting in his way.
During his Battle Factory challenge, Emerald rented a Sceptile, which turned out to be on a higher level than the other rental Pokémon. This made Emerald realize that Sceptile was not a rental Pokémon to begin with, but had been snuck into the facility by someone. Thus, he decided to take it with him. During Emerald's Battle Dome challenge, Ruby revealed that Sceptile was actually the very same Treecko that Emerald had once been supposed to receive from Professor Birch.
Despite Emerald and the Frontier Brains' best efforts, Jirachi was eventually caught by Guile Hideout. Using Jirachi's wish, he summoned a giant Kyogre-shaped mass of water to sink the Battle Frontier into the ocean. However, thanks to Emerald's own wish to Jirachi, Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, and Silver were freed from their petrified states, and all ten Pokédex holders and their Pokémon united their strengths to defeat Guile Hideout and save the Battle Frontier. Shortly before Jirachi fell asleep again, Scott used the last one of its three wishes to summon thousands of people to visit the Battle Frontier.
Accompanying Emerald during his Battle Frontier challenge were also reporter Todd Snap, as well as Latios and Latias, Emerald's close friends.
In the Pokémon Battle Frontier manga
The Battle Frontier in Pokémon Battle FrontierThe Battle Frontier in Pokémon Pocket Monsters
The Pokémon Battle Frontier manga featured a boy named Enta being invited to the Battle Frontier by Scott. Once there, he was tutored by Pokémon League ChampionRald, and begun to challenge the Frontier Brains. In the end, he managed to defeat six of the seven facilities.
The manga concluded with Enta's battle with Anabel, which ended in a draw. Despite Enta's challenge of the Frontier Brains being a major focus, Noland, Greta, and Brandon didn't appear within the actual series, only appearing on the title page of the fourth chapter.
It's possible for the Trainers fought in the Battle Frontier to have Shiny Pokémon.
All enemy Trainers in the Battle Frontier, except the Frontier Brains, greet the player character before battle with a string of up to six preset words, phrases, or characters from the easy chat system. After the battle, the enemy gives out another message of the same format which depends on whether they have won or lost. This is also the case for all enemies in the Battle Tents or Trainer Hill.
However, this is not the case for the greetings of any Apprentices that have been mentored by the player or other individuals. When greeting the player prior to battling in the Battle Tower, the Apprentice will typically state the name of his or her mentor, as well as his or her numerical position in the line of all Apprentices tutored by someone (such as being the 7th apprentice tutored by the player).
Messages are also altered for enemy Trainers present within the Battle Pyramid. After a battle, they provide the player with contextual hints on certain aspects of the challenge, such as the location of a given floor's exit, the number of remaining Trainers to be fought on a floor, or the number of remaining items on a given floor.
According to an interview with Junichi Masuda, the Battle Frontier did not make a return in Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire for the following reason: "Put simply, the Battle Frontier wasn't included because only a tiny number of players would have appreciated and used this game feature. Players get fed up more easily than they did in the past and aren't attracted by these 'demanding' challenges."[1]
