I'm player 3, I don't mind grinding but I dislike it, also, if you do SWITCH TRAINING you can get the freacking Vulpix ready for use before you're at Aster and Eclipse at Azurin(Foongus) Island. As for the level caps, these are like that so you can remember it at all times and not think"the cap is lvl 28" and it turns out to be 26. and the grinding is something you'll need at Aya, Ice type leader(forgot her name), Radomus and Luna, and if you do you're grinding work good, you can(ep 11 stuff, please ignore this) use the Gyarados WITH Dragon Rage before the first PULSE. For speed runners this may not be at their likings, but that's this game.