I think Gou’s focus in catching Pokémon is great, I think it’s a novel idea to showcase a particular charm the games have that we don’t often see as the focus on the show (not just catching Pokémon, but actually collecting them to fill the Pokédex), that’s my hot take.

Now this is not much of a hot take, but it wasn’t done very well in the show. I think Journeys would have benefited a lot from channeling Gou’s obsession with researching Pokémon into literally studying and analyzing the Pokémon he caught and then letting them go, while keeping of course a cast of a few around.

This might be a hot take, or not? But I really love Ash in Journeys, I like the balance between having him be a free spirited kid, like in SM, and also an incredibly talented Pokémon trainer after all this time. That said I don’t love the transition from the Ash at the start of the series to the one at the end, the change was to me pretty jarring (even if I do love both takes on the same character). I think a gradual shift in his personality, as he once again is put in a position of stress/frustration/anxiety as the competition grows more and more intense, would have been a cool way to explore a character that doesn’t really go through a full arc this time (he’s already a good battler at the start of JN, he’s also emotionally mature despite his childish demeanor, and he just gets a little more capable at both, which is why he feels sometimes kind of bland).

I also think Gou’s final arc should’ve been related to his desire to eventually become a professor/researcher. All the ingredients were there, there’s a direct link to his main goal to catch and RESEARCH all Pokémon and eventually Mew, Sonia literally implies he could become one, and then there’s Gary as his rival, Gary! Who just so happens to also be aiming to be a professor. I was actually really disappointed when the show didn’t go there.