>>46624681No it doesn't
>>46624900>>46624985That is my favorite stretch of the game. It's a gauntlet route, and a number of games have them. See, you're rewarded with a much faster shortcut down Cycling Road if you've been talking to NPCs and backtracking to get the bike, and not only that, if you have Cut on you right before it, you can get Fly for fast travel to any place you've been.
The alternative is a grueling 4-5 route path of Trainers. Your team gets steadily worn down but you don't want to go back to heal and waste time. But there are a number of different route designs, from the "grass maze" of Route 11, Route 12's totally different aesthetic and Snorlax (along with the fact that a number of Trainers are fishers that won't battle unless you speak to them), and the maze of fences that is Route 13. You feel compelled to check every path for items. Route 14 and 15 aren't complex, but they're the end and they almost feel like more of a breather.
The biggest problem with this section is more a problem that the game in general has: it lacks Pokémon and Trainer variety. Battles don't really offer you anything new here, and the Trainers mostly feel meaningless because of it. They could stand to add more Pokémon that you can't find elsewhere (it is the first place you'll find Ditto and Venonat, and Blissey in Gen II), along with maybe a hidden path to a Legendary area much like Spring Path in Sinnoh.
