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Random encounters should be very difficult.
Trash trainer battles and trash random encounters leave a lot of the games feeling unmemorable. I dont really care about routes or cities outside of the resources i can get in them and im not going to use 90% of the pokemon or items i encounter anyways. I end generations having no idea what the majority of pokemon do, their stats or movepools or even their types sometimes. If random encounters were much harder, and i mean actually had the potential to white out, i would be more interested in learning about each pokemon and maybe even using more of them in a single playthrough. I would remember the strategies of pokemon in certain areas better and what beats them.
monster sanctuary has a lot of unique skill sets and synergies between monsters found in the same areas. its very apparent on master mode that the high potential for a trash overworld encounter to wipe your team was a much better model for tension/engagement than relying on the keeper battles (equivalent of rival/gym battles in pokemon). sure the game has a lot more complexity but the comparison can still stand that the more difficulty and problem solving you endure, the more memorable the game as a whole is.
