Revisiting Kanto: Viridian Forest Is Still One Of Pokemon's Worst Settings

thegamer.com:

For the past month, I've been exploring the wonderful land of Kanto in Pokemon Blue, trying not to beat the game (although sure, that is a necessity if I want to proceed), but instead to soak up the setting itself. While there is some nostalgia at play, Kanto has stayed with me more than not just any other Pokemon region, but practically every setting in any video game ever. Some of you have Blood Gulch, some of you have Nuketown, and I have Kanto. Today, I venture into Viridian Forest, the first real test of my magical mystery tour.

Viridian Forest is one of my least favourite locations in Kanto. My reasons for this are many: I don't like any of the Pokemon there (certainly not enough to see this as an opportunity to grow my team), none of the Pokemon are good against Brock (the only purpose they could serve as disposable 'mons), getting poisoned is irritating, and I often end up being dragged into Pokemon battles when I just want to get through this damn forest as quickly as possible. While I may have a lot of reasons, when I thought about them before entering the forest for the first time, I realised they were all linked to gameplay. If I'm not trying to rush the game as fast as possible, and am less concerned with gym battles, maybe I'll grow to like Viridian Forest.

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

Of course, even then, there are issues. The game is unaware that I'm after a bit of tourism, and it will still demand I beat each gym leader in turn, so at some point I'll need to actively start building a decent team. While the point of this column is less about the battles and more about the journey, let's just say the starter I picked won't have any trouble against Brock. That