Even though our rental Pokemon were all level 50, they were all second evolutions and armed with so-so moves. Thus, going up against a level 50 Palkia and Empoleon was a bad idea from the start. Grotle's Razor Leaf managed to cause a bit of damage, but one by one, all our Pokemon fell to Spacial Rend. We were asked if we wanted to battle again (hell no) and then sent back to the lobby to adjust the rental pass Pokemon.
To test out the DS functionality, we loaded up our copy of Pokemon Pearl. Only one DS is recognized per PBR save game, so make damn sure you're using the system and cart you want when you transfer for the first time. Once inside the transfer menu, we turned Pearl on and connected it to the Wii console. Once the Poke-crew was transferred over, we set our custom battle pass with a level 74 Torterra, a level 53 Mew, a level 43 Crobat, a level 27 Luxio, a level 51 Golduck and a level 33 Bibarel.
Despite having Pokemon over level 50, we weren't able to choose a higher level cap, so the crew's stats were downgraded. Moves stay the same, but the extra levels were lost for the sake of a level playing field. According to the manual, there is no other option other than 50-for-all. Offline free battle is fair game though, all levels against all levels. You can also store up to 30 Friend Codes and edit victory catchphrases while tooling around the online options.
This time we searched for a one-on-one Pokemon battle. An opponent was found, this time with more manageable Pokemon - a Torchic, Empoleon and a Staraptor. Once the battle was done, we exchanged friend passes - this option lets you fight that person's six Pokemon offline at any time, complete with trainer info. It's a very low-rent way of exchanging Gamertags, but it's a nice community-minded effort nonetheless.
Our final verdict? This game works... but it's just one game. A very simple, bare bones battling game with little else to worry about. Pokemaniacs should enjoy the community options and ability to play friends and rivals from anywhere in the country, but July's Mario Strikers Charged will help cement our overall opinion. Actually, that game's been out in the UK for a month now, online, so read our impressions of thathere.
With no online chat or personalized hub, Wii's online presence will remain sterile for the time being, but hey, at least the games work. Look for a full review of Pokemon Battle Revolution's gameplay soon.
