Like a wild pokemon out of nowhere, lets get ambushed by the music shall we? Actually, that is the point. The opening motif is sort of a siren like sound letting the player know something is up. :00-:03. The screen transitions into a fight.
It'll be a thing synonymous for pokemon games to come.
One interesting thing is that there is a second motif :03-:07. Here the player is unsure of just what exactly is going to show up on screen, its shaded out, so its unfamiliar. Just what sort of wild animal has appeared before us? A rattata, a pikachu, or a wild Pineappling bird?
But soon we're given control and four options as how to deal with this creature. The chase notes keep our attention on the battle, this is a wild animal we have on our hands, after all.
:28 is a shift from alarm to decisiveness. We know what we must do, defeat the creature or capture it. I prefer this tonal shift since it sort of builds confidence in our decision making, the back and forth turn based battle lets us see the moves infold during these shifts in music.
What's particularly interesting is that Pokemon has multiple battle themes for common encounters. Trainer themes, however are preceded by little tunes while you talk to trainers/challengers.
The opening motif :00-:03 isnt one of surprise, but of getting down to business as the screen transitions.
:03-:11 is when we set the table of our confrontations. Challenge accepted, now go forth my critter I've trained for a few hours!
One of my favorite aspects of trainer battle music is that there is a back and forth between how the music is played, representing the flow of a turn based battle. The music never stays one way for too long. Here are those shifts. Sometimes they are echoes of a previous part of the song, other times they diverge, showing the shift of battle.
:11
:25
:37
:48
:57
1:08
1:19
Essentially boss battle music, this theme lets you know its not kidding around with an increased tempo. It follows the pattern of an intro motif like the trainer battle theme, but its accelerated pace lets you feel the urgency. :00-:12
:13 its sounds so heroic, you've worked your way to this challenge and nothing is going to stop you.
:24 except that rock type you've never fought before, suddenly, as drastic the change is in music, you know this opponent is no pushover
:39 but you will not be swayed so easily, keep battling and you will be victorious. Use what you've learned.
Where the music in a trainer battle shifts subtlety, I feel the gym leader battle has hard shifts. Auditory representations in the changes of battle.