>>36433239i re-watched dp recently
you had the impression xy only felt a bit different because there was less conflicts overall at the start to play with his emotions unlike dp with paul/hunter j/galactic (but that part is fine is in xyz) and no reference to old seasons
in the same situations they're literally the same, he just had less agressive interactions in xy which led you to think this
what you miss is most likely these conflicts in general and that's understandable
