The Generation 4 Pokemon remakes, Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl were just released last month to relatively mixed reviews. Regardless of whether players enjoyed the remakes or didn’t, one criticism most fans and critics could agree on is in regards to Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl's difficulty. Because of various reasons, many believe these remakes are too easy.
There has been a lot of debate over Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl’s experience share feature. Essentially this allows each Pokemon in the party to receive experience. Although the experience shared to party members isn’t as high as the experience Pokemon actually doing the battling receive, many players found themselves having unusually strong Pokemon at certain points.
Another factor that made things easier is Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl's Friendship stat. A user on Reddit by the name of gjeorges has clipped a moment from their battle with Sinnoh’s champion, Cynthia, where it showcased how incredibly strong Friendship is. The trainer’s Girafarig survived from fainting with one hp when getting hit by Cynthia’s Gastrodon. Girafarig was left burned which would have fainted the Pokemon after surviving the initial blow, but then Girafarig healed itself.
Both instances where Girafarig survived was solely due to its Friendship level with the user. Pokemon can sometimes tough it out and live with one health from a move that otherwise would faint them. Pokemon can also heal themselves from status effects such as burn. There are several quick and easy ways to level up a Pokemon's Friendship stat which could also provide other benefits to Pokemon.
Apart from the two bonuses mentioned previously, Friendship can also increase the Pokemon’s chance of getting a critical hit. Unfortunately, the clip didn’t see Girafarig get a critical hit, but the Pokemon surviving as long as it did was already quite comical. Chances are trainers that keep the same party through till the end when they face the Elite Four will have formed a pretty solid bond with their Pokemon at that point. Although Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl's champion would normally challenge players, the mechanics introduced in the remake can make the battle easier.
If players have a good bond with their Pokemon, apart from potentially being over-leveled due to experience share, trainers will also be able to progress in situations that they wouldn’t normally progress in. At the end of the day, though, many players are still enjoying the Sinnoh remakes quite a bit with Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl breaking sales records in Japan. Despite fan backlash over the difficulty in the recent games, it's possible the Friendship stat and experience share will return in future titles.
Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are available now for Nintendo Switch.