>>42271147Nothing in the mainline games has ever left me feeling challenged except for one trainer who had a Milotic on route 2 or something in Emerald(?).
Not having access to the entirety of Smogon OU before the first gym isn't "cut off as many ways for you to win as it possibly can". Even Reborn gets this shit despite putting hard counters to almost every gym right outside the front doors. If having to come up with a strategy to beat difficult opponents is "fake" difficulty to you, I don't want to know what you consider real difficulty.