Revisiting Kanto: Giovanni's Secret Gym Makes Viridian City Great

thegamer.com:

Folks, I've been back in Kanto for two weeks and I haven't even left my hometown yet. Replaying Pokemon Blue slowly, thinking more about the world around me than the gyms to beat or the Pokemon to catch, has so far given me a fresh perspective on one of my most beloved games, but this week sees the first real test. When I'm looking at the setting as a whole, or exploring the starting town before I get my first Pokemon, it's easy to not care about the battling or the teams. As I move through the game though, I'm going to need to catch, grind, and win, and I'm curious to see how my love for the setting holds up even with these complications. My intrepid reader, if you're curious too, then come along on my journey with me.

I choose my starter (I will largely be avoiding writing about specific Pokemon, but rest assured it was the best one) and head out into the world. My first thought - what are those big circle things along the path? I will see them constantly across this journey, and will never find an acceptable answer. The trees that get in your way make sense, even though realistically a ten-year-old boy could easily wander through some trees. By the logic of video games though, I'll allow it. Same deal with the one weedy, strategically placed tree that I need to CUT in order to progress. But those circles, man. What are they? Stone bollards, maybe, but then why are they so many of them all the time? And why are they also in water? Do they go all the way to the ocean floor? Or are they somehow able to float while also being rigid enough to be impassable on land? Answers on a postcard, please.

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I wasn't expecting to obsess over the walls that clearly only exist to