Victory Roads have usually been that one generic cave dungeon at the end of the game that usually comes after a way more interesting story dungeon to me. Not particularly interesting most of the time, much like how Pokemon League tends to kinda just happen for the sake of happening. Navigate a slightly more elaborate cave, beat the lights out of any mooks that get in the way, have one final confrontation with a rival in some games, and then arrive at the Pokemon League with a party of misfits looking to make whoever 5 jobbers I need to get outta my way for me to beat that particular game catch them hands.
Gen VI, for all its problems, had arguably the best one in the series in terms of appearance, while I can appreciate Gen II's for being part of the iconic endgame gauntlet of routes despite it being the simplest and smallest of them all. The rest, though... weren't particularly interesting to me. Even for Gen V, the Victory Road seemed forgettable compared to the roller coaster that preceded it or the finale that would come after in both games of the duology.
In fact, when I was brainstorming the Kaluai region scenario while hanging out in the Pokengine fan game community for a bit, one particular thing I wanted to do was to make it so the Pokemon League trope would serve more as the backdrop for the 1st Act of the region, with that region's equivalent to Victory Road, the Nether Canyon & Lake Nether gauntlet, serving more as the rite of passage to the 2nd Act where the real game would begin. It would also foreshadow the deeper lore of the region by having the player contend with "the otherworld" mechanic for the 1st time. Beyond Lake Nether, an entire new part of the region, the North Kaluai, would present itself with multiple factions and ways of life that would contrast the more urban South Kaluai, allowing the themes of the region to play out in their full splendor.
Gen VI, for all its problems, had arguably the best one in the series in terms of appearance, while I can appreciate Gen II's for being part of the iconic endgame gauntlet of routes despite it being the simplest and smallest of them all. The rest, though... weren't particularly interesting to me. Even for Gen V, the Victory Road seemed forgettable compared to the roller coaster that preceded it or the finale that would come after in both games of the duology.
In fact, when I was brainstorming the Kaluai region scenario while hanging out in the Pokengine fan game community for a bit, one particular thing I wanted to do was to make it so the Pokemon League trope would serve more as the backdrop for the 1st Act of the region, with that region's equivalent to Victory Road, the Nether Canyon & Lake Nether gauntlet, serving more as the rite of passage to the 2nd Act where the real game would begin. It would also foreshadow the deeper lore of the region by having the player contend with "the otherworld" mechanic for the 1st time. Beyond Lake Nether, an entire new part of the region, the North Kaluai, would present itself with multiple factions and ways of life that would contrast the more urban South Kaluai, allowing the themes of the region to play out in their full splendor.
