>>32461113My theory is that they thought releasing a remake on the 20th anniversary of the series might send the wrong message: that they're just rehashing the same shit over and over. So instead, they rushed to Sun and Moon, where they tried to mix up the formula and revitalize the series a bit. Send a message that the series is trying new things, aiming for the future.
I don't think the message survived past Gamefreak's front door, though.