I also sunk way more time into this much faster than expected, to the tune of 33 hours since I started it on Monday. I was under the weather and pretty much just lying in bed that whole time, which helps, but damn.
yeah so i fuckin loved this game. I can't believe it really said the battle with the champion-equivalent is a lesbian couple fusion mirror match. Pokemon would never. Unfortunately Aleph ended up being kind of a pushover, like probably the easiest boss in the game, but it was still pretty hype because of the good music playing and the whole crew fusing. I think I'd have liked the ending itself better if everyone, or at least your character (and maybe your romantic partner, if any) had decided to stay on New Wirral, but I can see how that could make the game feel kinda pointless. I guess you can just make it happen anyway by never leaving on your own file. I also wish the protagonist had been a real character (actually can we just make kayleigh the protagonist, thanks) but that's not really something I expected, it just would've been a nice bonus.
I ended up finishing the bestiary (aside from all the 5 star info and Magikrab) and I'll probably do some of the post-game, though my understanding is that it's absurdly grindy for no real reason so we'll see if I give up on it.
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Congrats to BKSheikah, who knows more about years than anyone else.