Tbh I don't think PM is desperate ENOUGH. I want that Mewtwo catch lmaoo
And in this series a lot of the "fillers" are Gou capture eps so even if one doesn't enjoy his side of the story you can't really say they're not proggressing in any way.
I'd also argue PM has a clearer direction than SM since we actually know what the end point is and each of Satoshi's battles bring him closer to said point whereas in SM the league wasn't introduced until like a year + in and the Grand Trials weren't actual requirements for anything, Satoshi just did them cause he could (not trying to turn this into "See, it's SM that's bad actually, I think SM's the best series lol, I just think this "directionless" thing is just, well like you say, a buzzword. And I mean look I don't wanna talk down on anyone who truly feels that way but I haven't read a good argument for it yet).