True af!!

I dont want hardcore difficulty, just less hand holding

Eh, I actually see no problem with adult fans wanting it to have a hardcore mode. There's a lot that GameFreak could do to add optional difficulty levels for experienced players who want to be more challenged. Pokemon games are aimed to bring new people into the franchise, true, but it shouldn't come at the expense of longtime players. The demand for harder difficulty only becomes toxic when people are demanding that Pokemon games just be harder outright, or that they stay they way they used to be, or get more complicated in follow-up ways, or other things that come at the expense of recruiting new players.
"Pokemon games are too easy and are for babies" = toxic
"Pokemon games need to stop with the trainer-Pokemon relationship buffs, it takes away the challenge" = toxic
"Pokemon games would benefit from a difficulty option that you can turn on or off that scales trainers' Pokemon levels with yours/gives gym leaders full teams/uses a smarter AI/etc." = not toxic

I didn't even know this was a thing, but why is it BAD if part of the fanbase-- incidentally the part that has been around the longest-- would like to have a more engaging game mode?
'
-The newer players don't have to play on it and can enjoy a more casual experience
-The older players have something more engaging to play, ergo:
-The older players have even more incentive to spend money on the fandom, which benefits Nintendo by extension
-two generations have another element they can bond over, instead of constantly being at each others' throats over everything
'
Literally everyone wins. Except the person who made this meme, I guess

literally none of this is true. If you can't make it through ANY pokemon game without being a total fuckwad, that's on you.
It's become stupid easy over time... and the first gen wasn't even difficult. Gen 2 and Ash is the hardest it ever got.... and Ash was still a bitch.

Pokémon isn’t meant to be hardcore. Enjoy it for what it is, because it has always been this way.

Im a gen 1 kid but my favorite bit was in x/y going around to all the shops buying clothes and changing outfits every time i played. I love doing outfits with my eevee on lets go.

Im not asking for hardcore games, I just want the difficulty that black and white brought.

I don’t want super hard in fact I like it easier so I can enjoy the world building and the weird storylines, but the constant “taller grass usually hides wild Pokémon” or “hold b to run” is annoying. I’ve seen these ‘hint’ signs all the way to the very end in Alola