>>48108268Yeah, look, I'm not the OP and I agree his threads are petty and childish and generally just being an exaggeratory prick for the sake of riling up gen wars (sometimes it feels like he's intentionally making it look harder than it is), but USUM IS genuinely difficult (by Pokemon standards, at least) even WITH the EXP Share turned on.
Unlike prior games, USUM was designed with the EXP Share in mind the majority of trainers not only have good ivs but maxed EVs as well, and even many basic trainers you fight along the way have fairly competent movesets. Even some of the Pokemon who only have three moves instead of four can actually be threatening (Guzma is a good example of this, and he has actually good coverage on his Pokemon as well). The Totem Pokemon fights are also generally extremely difficult with few exceptions, far surpassing anything in Black and White 2 in terms of challenge. Araquanid gets a special mention though given that he can summon allies to hinder you or buff him, is neutral to grass and takes jack shit from fire, and has his Water Attacks boosted by STAB, Water Bubble, AND RAIN all at once. And he's even holding a Wacan Berry so that your first electric attack does 1/2 damage, and any electric type you have at that point is going to be fucking liquidated by his water move. The fact that he can drain HP with a different STAB is just icing on the cake. (pic rel for first time vs him).
And this isn't even bringing up Ultra-Necrozma.
The only thing USUM lacks is a good final boss, because Hau's champion fight is pathetic compared to the rest of the game, but even this is made up for by the villain rematches and a proper post-final boss with Giovanni and his fucking Mega Mewtwo.
Turn the EXP Share Off and it becomes a whole new level of hard, and frankly I love it. I'd play through it again in a heartbeat if it weren't for the fact that I don't want to lose everything I have on my file. Basic S/M just isn't as good.
