>>44803015I mean the contrived shit with the PokeFlute definitely could've been handled better, like give the player some agency to track down and find out where the thing is rather than just directing the player, that was the whole appeal of it in the original was that you had to find a way to move those two Snorlax blocking you from getting to Fuchsia and by extension Cinnabar.
But what I like about that span between the first and second gym is that you get a lot of decently spaced interactions with your rivals, you get a nice double battle against Trevor & Tierno and while I'm not sure what the point of Team Flare being in Glittering Cave was aside from being a homage to Team Rocket in Mt. Moon the introduction could've been worse. I do wish we'd gotten more out of Viola and Grant though given Korrina just shows up partway through that span but neither of them do outside of Grant right when you get to Cyllage City.
