One of my favorite feelings in the series is going on a vast
adventure with my Pokemon, and having to train and rely on them to
cross a vast region. In Sword and Shield, the route sizes take this
feeling away for me because the next town is often visible early on
in the route. I can't feel like I'm on a grand journey when I can
see the next gym stadium about 30 seconds down the road. Even with
a long route, like from Motostoke to Turffield, they even put in
healers, which robbed me of the satisfaction I used to feel from
stumbling out of the wilderness with my party hanging on to
consciousness by a thread, desperately looking for the Pokemon
center. To Sw/Sh's credit, they did put in a couple of routes like
this, such as the Glimwood Tangle, Slumbering Weald, and Route 9
from Circhester to Spikemuth. But these routes were often over far
too quickly, and they only made me think of what could have
been.
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