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You are now aware that Pokémon is set in a rust belt region where the economy went to shit after Pokémon began taking all the jobs from factory workers.
All the doorless houses? They're not simply 'non-interactive areas', they're abandoned, boarded up.
The boarders you can't get out of? Gates to stop the vagrants from coming in and adding to the decay.
Tall grass? Roads are in disrepair, allowing patches of grass to grow up through the pavement.
This is also why urban exploration is encouraged, or at least no-one does anything about 10 year olds going into burnt out laboratories or abandoned powerplants. You also left home because your mother thought being the League Champion would help bring some much needed money to put food on the table. Your father had to leave the region to find work. He liked sports.
