>>36535828Anon, this isn't gen 1, the player character doesn't just hop on an amorphous blob or "generic water monster shape" anymore. Almost none of the Pokémon in Gen 1 that could learn Surf are even big enough for the trainer to ride. Poliwag? Psyduck? Don't be silly.
I reiterate: If they were to force the player to go and find a rideable Water type to progress, it would mean every player would be forced to use one of the same 3-4 Pokemon that are actually big enough to be ridden on in the overworld. That's shitty fucking game design. Players still have to build a balanced team for battling purposes. And by the way, you haven't actually needed to build a certain team for navigation since Gen 4. Gen 5 onwards made HM's entirely optional for progression, or outright replaced them with things like Rideable Pokémon in X/Y and S/M.
>>36535887False. The typing requirement is only for the first Gym, and you're not required to use the Pokémon to progress. You merely have to show the Guide that you've caught a Pokémon and that you understand the typing mechanics. This is not even close to the same thing as forcing every singleplayer who players the game to mandatorily use something from a tiny pool of rideable water Pokémon just to progress, especially that late in the game.
