>>43368174Dungeons are mostly defined by being an area of heightened difficulty. usually an enclosed space that you have to delve into and explore in order to get through, a gauntlet or sorts if it's laid in your direct path. Good examples are most caves as they have constant risk of random encounters and are much more of a labyrinth. Alternatively a dungeon can be optional, in which case they are less of a gauntlet and more of a pit that you can delve into for rewards like rare items. Most johto caves are like this, simple paths if you just wanna get through but they have depths that you can choose to explore if you want the goods. The key feature here that routes are missing is being an area of heightened difficulty. In pokemon specifically, the hm fly, as well as the ability to often walk around grass patches makes them less tense. Routes are meant to take you from one point to another while dungeons are meant to give the player a more demanding bit of exploration by making it easier to get lost and making battles more numerous and harder to avoid.
