>>36852847They were a good attempt at improving the gym system. They weren't perfect, but I like the concept a lot.
>>36852872Another possibility would be to manage the gym as a single challenge, similar to the trials. As in, once you enter, you can't leave until you beat all trainers including the leader. Maybe prohibit the use of healing items aside from the Fresh Water you get at the entrance. Now you can just fuck off to the pokemon center whenever you want.
>>36853127Gyms are consistently piss easy, yeah. And since they're always 2-4 Pokémon of around your own level you know what to expect, too. And even if you don't, you probably have twice as many Pokémon as the leader, anyways.
What I liked about totem battles is that they actually do feel like boss battles. The odds are stacked against you for a change, since you need to deal with two Pokémon at once, one of which has one or several pretty substantial stat boosts. I just finished USUM and the only one that was genuinely really easy was the dragon one.
