>>47585085The Cynthia encounter in B/W was already a better take on the idea because it didn't make things absurdly obvious. The only hint you got was Caitlin and even that was only if you played Platinum. You found her not in some corner of a dungeon but in one of the towns the post-game opens up and you're bound to be exploring as is, while also riding high that you beat N, Ghetsis and the trainers along the way with their higher levels.
And then you hit the villa. And the piano kicks in. Cynthia's there and itching to fight. You can say no but let's be real: this is at a point where the difficulty curve is a bit tougher and you think you're invincible. So you fight her. And she feeds you your own teeth. Even your legendaries ain't shit against Garchomp if you think they're going to save you. So you think "maybe I should grind." And if you head to the Elite 4 like usual, you find out they're all on some next-level shit now and will easily turn you inside out which makes perfect sense given the main game's finale.
That's why she's better in a nutshell: she's not an endpoint, she's there to tell you how much more of the hill you have left to climb.
