I'm playing Beginnings as my entry to the series and I made it Mt. Itoi but am really struggling

My Ninten, Ana and Lloyd are levels 28, 22, 23 respectively. I have their best weapons. I'm getting SLAUGHTERED by almost every enemy as soon as I leave the caves. The bear will do a continuous attack that kills a party member instantly and the gargoyles can get my entire party's health down into the teens, or dead in Ana's case, with a PK fire. I haven't been struggling too much up until this point but the sudden spike in difficulty is driving me INSANE. Am I missing something here?? Also, I'm really pissed I had to leave Teddy behind because Lloyd is SO much worse, at least in what I've noticed.