Yeah, it's funny. When I first started playing and was flailing around in confusion, I did power up my mon. Then I realized that was silly because I was catching ones that were higher CP! So I stopped. And I told myself I wouldn't power up again until level 30 when CP scaling stops.
I live in the suburbs and for a while I was just barely competitive (and even then, only because I'm pretty good at dodging), but now that people are settling in the level 20ish stretch, I'm probably mid-tier. Now that the bots are gone, I don't actually see 3000+ CP dragonites in the gyms. I occasionally see high 2000+ CP dragonites, but the range is usually 1600-2300 CP for mons. So I've never felt that pressure to level up my mon that I'm sure I would feel if I lived in Berkeley.
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I live in the suburbs and for a while I was just barely competitive (and even then, only because I'm pretty good at dodging), but now that people are settling in the level 20ish stretch, I'm probably mid-tier. Now that the bots are gone, I don't actually see 3000+ CP dragonites in the gyms. I occasionally see high 2000+ CP dragonites, but the range is usually 1600-2300 CP for mons. So I've never felt that pressure to level up my mon that I'm sure I would feel if I lived in Berkeley.