>>42054874To me, it makes the region feel more natural. Like why would all Gyms be placed in a straight line? Wouldn't having Gyms in various locales that aren't totally connected in a row feel more natural? Like someone who starts in Canalave City (Gym 1) would go to Jubilife, then either Floaroma > Eterna (Gym 2) > Oreburgh (Gym 3) or straight to Oreburgh (Gym 2)? Snowpoint or Sunyshore would be their final destination. The order we see is just how the protagonist's journey takes them based on where they started, what events are happening in the region, and what roadblocks exist. The assumption is that Gym Leaders have different team compositions for different levels of Trainers, going by the number of badges they have. Why would a Trainer in Fuchsia City go to Pewter City as their first Gym?
Unova could maybe work in an Octopath Traveler sort of way where you can loop around the map.
I also really like finding areas early on in the game that seem to lead to other areas that I won't be able to reach for a while.
