JFrombaugh
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Just for clarification, by hardest I mean specifically beating the Elite Four & Champion. No post-game quests or any of those 3D Pokémon games like Stadium.
For me I'd have to say, in order of hardest to not-as-hardest:
1. HeartGold/SoulSilver
After all these years of playing Pokémon RPGs, I still find HGSS very hard, in particular because of how tough Falkner, the second Rival battle, Whitney, Morty, and Clair can be. The Elite Four are not a cakewalk either - many of them use status moves like Confuse Ray that will really test your patience and unless you spent hours playing Voltorb Flip for an Ice Beam TM, chances are you'll only have Ice Fang or Blizzard for Lance's Dragonites. And that also sums up a much bigger problem - your Pokémon selection for the main Johto part of the game is extremely limited due to the two-region nature of the games, and many of the best 'Mons for your in-game team are also well hidden, like Headbutting (specific) trees to get a Heracross, or catching a Lapras in Union Cave on a Friday.
2. Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon
After a super-easy Gen VI, GameFreak certainly did not shy away from challenging their fans this time around. The Totems are even tougher than before and require a lot of foresight and strategy to take down, especially Togedemaru & Marowak. And Ultra Necrozma's Photon Geyser will OHKO literally almost anything that doesn't resist it. Thankfully, the affection perks got me out a tight spot many times in my first playthrough (especially the Focus Band effect), and Hau is a total pushover compared to Ghetsis & Cynthia.
3. Platinum
If you didn't do much extra training, your Pokémon will only be about Level 48 by the time you reach the Pokémon League, and the Elite Four & Cynthia will be basically impossible. However the Gym Leaders aren't too bad for the most part if you know your type matchups and take the time to train beforehand, and there's more than enough Pokémon in the expanded Sinnoh Dex to build a solid & varied team to take Cynthia down.
Other than those three games, I've never really found Pokémon RPGs to be that hard all-in-all, but then again I am a long-time veteran of the series.
For me I'd have to say, in order of hardest to not-as-hardest:
1. HeartGold/SoulSilver
After all these years of playing Pokémon RPGs, I still find HGSS very hard, in particular because of how tough Falkner, the second Rival battle, Whitney, Morty, and Clair can be. The Elite Four are not a cakewalk either - many of them use status moves like Confuse Ray that will really test your patience and unless you spent hours playing Voltorb Flip for an Ice Beam TM, chances are you'll only have Ice Fang or Blizzard for Lance's Dragonites. And that also sums up a much bigger problem - your Pokémon selection for the main Johto part of the game is extremely limited due to the two-region nature of the games, and many of the best 'Mons for your in-game team are also well hidden, like Headbutting (specific) trees to get a Heracross, or catching a Lapras in Union Cave on a Friday.
2. Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon
After a super-easy Gen VI, GameFreak certainly did not shy away from challenging their fans this time around. The Totems are even tougher than before and require a lot of foresight and strategy to take down, especially Togedemaru & Marowak. And Ultra Necrozma's Photon Geyser will OHKO literally almost anything that doesn't resist it. Thankfully, the affection perks got me out a tight spot many times in my first playthrough (especially the Focus Band effect), and Hau is a total pushover compared to Ghetsis & Cynthia.
3. Platinum
If you didn't do much extra training, your Pokémon will only be about Level 48 by the time you reach the Pokémon League, and the Elite Four & Cynthia will be basically impossible. However the Gym Leaders aren't too bad for the most part if you know your type matchups and take the time to train beforehand, and there's more than enough Pokémon in the expanded Sinnoh Dex to build a solid & varied team to take Cynthia down.
Other than those three games, I've never really found Pokémon RPGs to be that hard all-in-all, but then again I am a long-time veteran of the series.
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