Having to enter separate friend codes for each and every online game on DS is a pain in the ass, but it was assumed this wouldn't be a problem on Wii, with a friend code tied to each console. Now it seems we could be wrong...
A preview of Pokémon Battle Revolution - the Wii's first online game - on IGN reveals that the game has its own separate code system, and new numbers must be traded and registered to play against friends.
Granted, this could just be an early version of the game with a placeholder code system. Maybe this is an isolated case, and other games will simply use the console's friends list, as we expected. Or maybe we're clutching at straws, hoping desperately that we won't have to go through the same 12-digit-code-entering hell we go through on DS.
Nintendo wasn't available for comment at time of writing. More soon.