>>86349588Pokemon more or less relies on the player wanting to try different strategies and use different creatures. It's part of why nuzlockes are compelling. When players branch out they run into some of the things you're talking about, like using a pokemon with a poor base stat total just because you like it despite it being objectively bad. Or if a player wants to use a legendary pokemon or certain evolution lines the penalty for using them is that they level up slowly, and at least in the case of legendaries their ability is typically shitty. But like you say the "make it so that even the dumbest kid you've known in the 1st grade could finish it" means all the starters level up fast, and have respectable stats. So dumb kids, and Michi, will never switch off of them and steamroll the game. At least as a kid that's a bit fun though. In Pokemon Legends Arceus they did change how damage as calculated so a lvl 30 pokemon with a type advantage over a lvl 60 pokemon is a legitimate concern. But the mainline titles aren't like that. I wish they added the hard mode feature from Black/White 2 to other titles.
