Pokémon ORAS | Timing Changes Response

Despite my extreme lack of input on the ORAS speedruns, I have picked them up in the past and watched a decent amount of it in the past, so I'm going to speak out about this anyway.

I'm personally really really against the changing of the timing, I'll go through each of the points on the proposed timing here and give my takes and reasons for disagreement.

"The final rival fight isn't meaningful since the outcome of the game is the same (no EXP, EVs, or money)"
- Regardless of if the fight has any actual impact on the ending of the run, you're still playing the game. Applying this logic to White 2, we could totally exclude Iris from the timing all together. Any EXP you get is useless (you could complete the fight at the same level as you go into it at, even if you gained no extra levels.) EVs are capped anyway, so no extra benefit would be gained here. Last shopping trip is already complete, so the money wouldn't matter anyway. I understand this is an extremely extreme example that obviously will never happen, but its a way of explaining it in the context of another game. You still have to keep playing the game until the final input, you can't just cut out a fight because it "isn't meaningful".

"The beginning of the credits represents the end of the main game; The final rival fight can be considered postgame/prologue"
- Whilst the Rival fight taking place after the credits is true, I see it as much more fitting to consider "The End" as the actual end of the game. (After this, the game soft resets and goes back to file select). This will link into a later point, of why every other game ends on HOF blackout, because in all the other games, there are no inputs between credits starting and 'The End' appearing. Therefore timing ends on the last input (which makes far more sense than just excluding a fight essentially because you feel like it).

"Rule changes have impacted strats in the past and shouldn't impact how rules are determined; Rules should determine strats, Strats shouldn't determine rules"
- I don't see any strat in ORAS that determines that the rival fight signifies the end of the timing, nor would it be this way if the timing system was changed. I am not as experienced with the late-game, so DM me if I'm wrong about this, DM me on Discord and I rewrite this segment.

"Waiting for 10 minutes can kill the hype at the end of a run and have an adverse effect on runner morale"
- I fail to see how watching a cutscene (during which your pace cannot change) can have an adverse effect on morale? As someone who has ran JPN categories quite extensively in the past, in which the credits must be watched as timing ends on 'The End' appearing, I know for certain that I don't get less excited just because the credits are playing. If anything it is *more* exciting because I still don't know what time I'm going to get. Besides, if you've just completed a run, you're absolutely going to be watching the credits regardless of if the timer is still going. A timer going during the credits because there is still gameplay after the credits should not demotivate you. You are not finished playing yet.

"The longer it takes for a new timing method to be implemented, the more of an adverse effect it will have on old runs"
- It's difficult for me to interpret this one, because it reads to me that this will keep being requested until it eventually happens, Regardless of if that's the intention, the only thing that will change is the number of runs that have to have their timing amended (which is an extremely easy task, would take only a couple minutes per run). The prospect of the ending split and the timing in the title being different does annoy me a little I will admit, but I don't see this as a big enough reason to warrant changing an entire timing system over.

"Every other main series Pokemon game ends timing at some point before the credits (Johto being before the 2nd)"
- I've already touched on this a little, but allow me to elaborate a bit. Every game in the series does have timing end before the credits play, this is true, however none of the games in the series have any gameplay post credits, before 'The End' appears. ORAS is the only example of this. The rest of the games end after the final input of the game. ORAS has inputs beyond the credits, before the game is definitely over.

And finally I'll address a point which was very prominent last time, that "Viewers keep asking why the timer is still going."
- This is natural and I understand this can be annoying, but the answer of "The game isn't over, we still have 1 fight left to do." easily suffices. As a viewer I always understood why the timing was the way it was. If the question comes up, after your short 5 second explanation, everyone in chat will too.

Long short; the gameplay is not over yet, you still need to keep playing before you reach the definitive end of the game. Cutting out a fight for seemingly arbitrary reasons does not make any sense in my mind.