In addition to the technical issues of the current Pokémon games, the difficulty is a major point of criticism. Many find the RPG series simply too easy. Until Scarlet and Violet, there was a way to make the game harder, but hardly anyone used it.
The Pokémon games are far too easy. This is especially disliked by adult fans of the series, who have long been wishing for a hard mode. At least the option would sweeten the experience for many players.
Interestingly, there has been an option since the beginning of the series that made the game significantly more difficult, but hardly anyone used it. In the settings, you can switch your battle style. You can choose between Switch
and Follow
. With Follow
, the game becomes significantly more challenging.
Many players make the games harder with their own rules. In the latest installment, however, one starter was too strong: Pokémon Scarlet & Violet: “It took on 5 gyms by itself” – Starter is considered overpowered in special mode
The latest Pokémon installment no longer offers this option:
Option that is rarely used
What does the setting Follow
bring? Switch
is automatically activated and ensures that when you defeat an opponent’s Pokémon, there is a message indicating which Pokémon will be called next. You can then switch in a new Pokémon without sacrificing a turn.
This gives you an advantage over the NPC, allowing you to react without any downside, for instance, to compensate for type weaknesses.
With Follow
, it looks very different. There, the opponent’s next Pokémon is called without warning. If you want or need to switch, the new Pokémon has to withstand an attack from the opponent. Pokémon Legends Arceus only had this option.
Follow
is used by very few players, as it was mostly hidden in the settings. If you want to change that, you have to do it consciously. This is often configured by players during so-called Nuzlocke challenges, precisely because of the difficulty.
The latest installment of the series, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, no longer had this option. Whether the setting will return in the future is unclear.
A Pokémon game has tried even more. Pokémon Black 2 had the Hurdle Mode
. As Pokéwiki explains, the games then had the following difficulties:
- The levels of opponents are increased by up to 5 levels
- Gym leaders and Elite Four have more Pokémon and different moves and items
Unfortunately, you could only unlock the mode after the Pokémon League, meaning you could not choose it from the start. After the story, you unlock the Hurdle Key, which makes everything harder for you in the postgame. If you want to start with that directly, you have to have a friend send you the key.
Pokémon White 2, in contrast, had the Helper Key which makes everything easier. To make the games harder, the community creates their own game modes. This results in crazy challenges that only a few trainers can manage. One example would be the Kaizo Ironmon
challenge: Twitch: Streamer faces one of the hardest challenges in Pokémon, succeeding after 1,786 attempts
