>>41440232The game is okay, but your friends are retarded, COPING, or both.
You won't be underlevelled unless you avoid every possible fight and only catch raid Pokemon, which give no Exp when caught, unlike normal captures.
The story is more intrusive, or at least seems that way because Hop is literally the worst character in the franchise and Leon cucks you out participating in any interesting plot points by stopping you and basically saying "I'll handle this, go to the next Gym."