>>503652971. Serena wasn't in it
2. Aurelia
3. Tonal shift from allegedly the best Ash to a school sol
4. Toned down the abuse and darkness of the game storyline for cringe anime mom #48747
5. The one time the anime lets Ash win a canon game league...they gimped it to a 3x3
6. Gimped therefore illegitimate
Take your pick.
On the other hand, Alola is still cool. At least the anime had the balls to rip the formula up this time and let Ash win at last.