>>47593518It's a built-in hard mode. It's pretty bad in-game, so by making it less likely to encounter one, younger/newer players are less likely to encounter and try to use it in-game. The 1% encounter rate means it's a veritable challenge insofar as dex completion (the actual postgame of any of these games..) Returning players will grind for the 1% encounter, and having proved their competence, have the option of actually trying to use it, or will just box it.
It actually works really well, and is probably as much of a reasonable way of implementing in-game difficulty options without an outright "EASY MEDIUM HARD" at the start of the game.
