>>58284678Pokémon's linearity has evolved over time. Unova and Kalos take on similar design philosophies, but Alola goes much further and Galar (apart from the Wild Area) continues to do so. Starting with Unova, routes were made to be more straightforward on average with easy to follow straight paths and the interesting stuff off to the side. Certain changes started occurring in Gen IV around Platinum and HGSS. You can tell because there are previous versions to compare them to (DP and GSC). In comparison, Emerald is pretty much the same as Ruby and Sapphire, and FRLG is the same as Gen I outside of glitches and the Stadium 2 drink oversight.
Alola is more about guiding you along a series of linear paths. The fences in Hau'oli City will be freshly-painted to prevent shortcuts on your first visit, meaning you'll have to walk up the giant upside-down U path of the city. There will also be the ornery Tauros blocking Route 2 (just like it blocked other places around the Trainer School). Hau and Lillie will stop you every step of the way. Lillie will tell you not to go this way, not to go that way, she's too worried about getting lost. Olivia blocks you from Diglett's Tunnel will tell you to try Kiawe's trial, and then Mallow's trial, and then check out the research lab just for funsies. If you somehow sequence break and reach her before beating Lana, she has dialogue for that too. It's so annoying. It's like every single moment is that guy in Pewter City blocking Route 3. I never got the impression that the game let go of my hand.
