LogFAQs > #975669855

No. You move from location to location from a world map screen instead of it being transitionless (this is the reason why Pokemon Legends Arceus wasn't quite open world either despite appearing/coming very close to it, and why Scarlet/Violet is)

You have freedom (mostly) in what order you tackle the clubs in, but that by itself doesn't make the game open world, it just makes it nonlinear. Another example of this sort of nonlinearity would be the Mega Man games (which also aren't open world, at least the classic ones aren't; I have no idea about more modern entries in that series)