now that the whole debate about "linear is good/bad" started, lets be clear about "linear path"

>the first example just has one straight line from point A to point B
pretty common and the pinnacle of linearity, what many use as strawman for linearity

>the second example has a traight line but adds another path that connects the main one, often offering less difficulty
another classic one, in pokemon this kind of linear paths often have trainers or tall grass in the second path, the player has some agency

>the third example shows many paths but only one of them connects the 2 points, the others are just dead ends
just a path full of red herrings, some argue this is "non linearity" because you can go to each one as if they were points, but most of the time they just have items or battles, not advancing your progress, just rewarding your curiosity with chores

>the fourth example have 2 main paths, each one requiring different tools and perhaps different challenges, the player can get from point A to point B using both, but has the agency to choose which one suits his needs

sound familiar? many people say this is non linearity just because you have more than one option, if anything, non linearity refers to multiple ends instead of multiple paths, instead of A to B, it would be A to B, C or D, depending on what you have or want. This is the best case for linearity and what most pokemon games have, so yes "all pokemon games are linear" but in their own way, not just hallways, and we should strive to the 4th example if open world is not possible