>>46316912I'm not saying it's open world, I'm saying it wasn't as linear as the modern games. I don't think that Pokémon should be like BotW, it always maintained a good balance of linearity and non-linearity.
The Pewter City guy is the guy blocking Route 3 I mentioned.
The Snorlaxes are another item check for the Poké Flute rather than a scenario check, and there are two which means one is optional and you can take two totally different paths to Fuchsia City, one which is an expressway if you did optional content and got the bike and the other which is a grueling gauntlet of Trainers across up to five routes. But it's not like you can't go to Fuchsia City if you haven't beaten Erika or anything. You can challenge the Gyms in multiple orders
>Brock - 1>Misty - 2>Lt. Surge - 3/4/5/6/7>Erika - 3/4/5/6/7>Koga - 3/4/5/6>Sabrina - 3/4/5/6/7>Blaine - 4/5/6/7>Giovanni - 8Would you realistically challenge Sabrina as your third Gym or Blaine as your fourth? Probably not, but it's cool that the option is there.
Is beating Team Rocket at Silph Co. required to beat the game? Yes, but you can do it anywhere between 2-6 badges because the sequence of events and locations you visit is pretty open.
And when I say item flag checks, the example I think of is if you use Stadium 2 to transfer a drink into Gen I early in the game. Just allows you into Saffron without challenging Misty for that one Cut spot, Sabrina can hypothetically become your second Gym if you so choose. It's my adventure so I'm given the choice if I want to do that. What I hate is being absolutely forced to follow a specific sequence of events that every single person who plays will do in that order and then calling it "my" adventure because I end up becoming the most replaceable aspect of the game since everyone has an identical experience.
