>>51745962I've been saying the same thing since the open world meme first started on here. Pokemon is fundamentally a level-based RPG with boss fights gatekeeping the player from accessing parts of the map. You can't have a true open world in a game like this.
The best you can hope for is something like Crystal Clear or ROWE, but these were pretty lackluster in my opinion. Once the novelty of the free gym order wears off, the game feels boring and uniform.
Linear progression is not inherently a bad thing. Take Hoenn for example. The gyms have to be done in a fixed order (Brawly and Winona are technically skippable, but there's no real reason to do so), but the region is still praised as one of the best. I think /vp/ is mistakenly assuming open world = exploration when they're not the same thing, and you can have an open world game with very little to explore.