6th Gen Altering Cave?

[HoennTM]

Most of us know that the Altering Cave was at the Battle Frontier, but that other cave, (I can't remember it's name) Near the Trick House on Route 103 how you can find Zubat, but you could possibly find other Pokemon like Stantler but they scrapped the idea. Do you want this to be in this game?

 

[OmegaRuby and AlphaSapphire]

I think it should be replaced with a Friend Safari of sorts.

 

[Elaitenstile]

Yeah, a Friend Safari or something of a linked Pokémon encounter system through games would be nice. It would also expand the Friend Safari idea.

 

[Hiatus]

It'd be great if they could change Battle Frontier up a bit and possibly expand, so that you'd actually have to use Altering Cave in order get from one battle facility to another. I hope to see them add a few new Pokémon there as well; ground and rock-types, specifically, since they usually reside in caves and tunnels. :p Perhaps they could also throw in a couple of hidden stuff there, which you'd use Item Finder to locate.

 

[Salzorrah]

Yes, a Friend Safari is perfect for that useless location and bring back the Battle Frontier.

 

[Abnegation]

Well, The Artisan Cave was the one found in the Battle Frontier. This is where you find Smeargle. Alterning Cave however, which is the cave in question, was intended to be used as an event area when you use the Mystery Gift function at a Wonder Spot hosted by Nintendo. However none of the events actually ended up being held for either the Alterning Cave in Hoenn, nor the one in Fire Red & Leaf Green. It was intended that you would be able to catch some rare Pokémon in there such as Mareep, Aipom Shuckle, Pineco, Teddiursa, Houndour, Stantler, and of course, Smeargle. This was probably a nod to the game's predecessors Gold, Silver, and Crystal. However all the Pokémon were made available in the extended area of the Safari Zone in Emerald, except for Smeargle in the Artisan Cave.

I suppose that both the Artisan Cave and Alterning Cave were two areas that never really got their intended purpose actually resolved during the release of Emerald. I'm assuming that Alterning Cave will receive a whole new function however, with all the extra features in the games these days it is unlikely that it will simply serve as a small cave to host a few wild Pokémon that you need to go to events for. However, changing the name is something I don't think they will do, so they will need to make the cave dynamic in some way, perhaps being an area where you can change Rotom formes or something similar. Making it a Friend Safari seems a bit random to me, especially since it's a cave. However in Emerald the cave opened up after you beat the Champion, much like the Friend Safari accessibility in X&Y. So that is entirely possible. Though I do imagine that the Friend Safari will have a different location, perhaps in the Battle Frontier. Either that, or they'll remove it completely. Though I'm pretty confident that it won't save the same purpose as it did in Emerald (which essentially ended up being nought but a Zubat hangout).

 

[fenyx4]

Well, The Artisan Cave was the one found in the Battle Frontier. This is where you find Smeargle. Alterning Cave however, which is the cave in question, was intended to be used as an event area when you use the Mystery Gift function at a Wonder Spot hosted by Nintendo. However none of the events actually ended up being held for either the Alterning Cave in Hoenn, nor the one in Fire Red & Leaf Green. It was intended that you would be able to catch some rare Pokémon in there such as Mareep, Aipom Shuckle, Pineco, Teddiursa, Houndour, Stantler, and of course, Smeargle. This was probably a nod to the game's predecessors Gold, Silver, and Crystal. However all the Pokémon were made available in the extended area of the Safari Zone in Emerald, except for Smeargle in the Artisan Cave.

I suppose that both the Artisan Cave and Alterning Cave were two areas that never really got their intended purpose actually resolved during the release of Emerald. I'm assuming that Alterning Cave will receive a whole new function however, with all the extra features in the games these days it is unlikely that it will simply serve as a small cave to host a few wild Pokémon that you need to go to events for. However, changing the name is something I don't think they will do, so they will need to make the cave dynamic in some way, perhaps being an area where you can change Rotom formes or something similar. Making it a Friend Safari seems a bit random to me, especially since it's a cave. However in Emerald the cave opened up after you beat the Champion, much like the Friend Safari accessibility in X&Y. So that is entirely possible. Though I do imagine that the Friend Safari will have a different location, perhaps in the Battle Frontier. Either that, or they'll remove it completely. Though I'm pretty confident that it won't save the same purpose as it did in Emerald (which essentially ended up being nought but a Zubat hangout).

A shame the cave went essentially unused for its intended purpose in Generation 3. Since the Pokemon intended for Altering Cave are available in the Hoenn Safari Zone expansion area and Artisan Cave, I think that the cave should either randomize with each entry (containing a mix of some Sinnoh, Unova, and Kalos Pokemon) or act as a Friend Safari to preserve the intended "randomization" factor. The original Emerald design of Altering Cave is pretty bare, so maybe beautify the cave with some sparkling fountains and glittering crystals and such?

At first, I wouldn't mind if the cave contained only Zubat in OR/AS, but Zubat are plentiful in other Hoenn areas anyway, and Artisan Cave's Smeargle are much easier to EV Train on since they can't poison you or confuse you and the like (unless one give them that capability by using a poison/confusion-causing move that they proceed to Sketch >_>), so I would much rather prefer re-purposing Altering Cave into a Friend Safari area (preventing Hoenn Safari Zone from becoming oversized) while preserving Artisan Cave as containing only Smeargle.

 

[OmegaRuby and AlphaSapphire]

I just thought of this. They could add hidden ability Pokemon on there. It could change everyday like swarms. Post game one could find new, non Hoenn-dex species with their hidden abilities there.