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I made the mistake of going back to the Sun and Moon games because the anime had reminded me of cool locales and whatnot (plus I kept having to look up the English names of some of the PotD, because the Alola dex just has not stuck with me). Almost immediately encountered the game's desire to hold your hand for an hours-long tutorial. I got a few hours in and finally remembered how much of a slog even the good parts are.
I only bring that up because the next episode is the one where Mallow guides Ash into the Totem Lurantis fight. The episode itself is much more engaging than the "item hunt" for Mallow's in-game Trial ever was, and it occurred to me how closely they kept to the basic premises of the games, even when they are doing something so wildly different in terms of rhythm and tone. This one and the treasure hunt episode are also the only times I can remember them acknowledging the existence of things like Star Pieces, Shards, or Miracle Seeds.