>>35302156While I don't think this would apply to the Ultra Guardians arc, I do want to note - the anime might not be contractually obligated to do anything, it probably is 'ruled by the game' so to-speak. It's safe to say the writers of the anime have had to alter their plans for the series before to incorporate aspects from the games. Look at Ash battling Roxie for his final gym badge in BW instead of Drayden as originally planned, for example. (Or Juan hastily being included as the final gym leader in Hoenn even when he's using Wallace's team from the games in AG)
And while the Ultra Guardians arc might not be directly connected to Ash taking on the Island Challenge to master Z-moves, I wouldn't call it filler, despite the pacing it's clearly supposed to be one of the series' overarching plots.
