>>16652862>>16652874I was going absolutely mental trying to find a solution for this as well, don't worry. I totally know your pain.
I'm a little bit OCD about organization whenever I play games (Party Members have to all be the same level, items have to be arranged a specific way, etc etc) so having long-deleted Friends cluttering up my bottom screen made me crazy.
I busted my ass for days online trying to find a solution, and eventually stumbled across this "fix" when I tried playing Pokemon X over at my friends house. MASSIVE RELIEF.
I'm really glad I could help out. All the best with starting to play again!