Honestly though, do you think a 9 or 10 year old cares about "over-arching story", outside of maybe a tournament/league arc? And I'm not saying kids are too stupid or don't deserve good stories, but I really don't think a kid who played the games is going to care that when watches the anime on the day it airs, there isn't a big over-arching plot. It's about two boys having adventures, catching Pokemon and battling, and I don't really think they'd have a problem with that. .
Yes, actually. I can only go by my own experience, but when I was that young, I did care about the over-arching story. I might not have been as keen on the details, but I knew there was a story and was very much invested in Ash's journey from A to B,
in addition to seeing Pokemon I liked on a TV screen.
More to the point, I absolutely think we should avoid assuming we know what kids want, because they have just as many reasons for liking a show that adults do. All we have here is anecdotal evidence.
But I've always thought that the people who make the anime don't honestly care one way or another if the adults who loved the series are still watching - for them, I believe it's "if they are still watching that's good and I hope they like it, but they are not who we think of when we make this series." People who have gotten older and don't really care about it anymore are not who they are trying to draw back - they are looking to draw in kids flipping through anime wanting something fun to watch, and weekly battles and catching monsters is probably plenty of fun for them.
PM2019 was stated to be a showed for fans "new and
old", and kicked off with an episode about Pikachu's backstory with the intention of it creating a buzz. Since then, it has shown us Lugia, Ho-oh, Bulbasaur, Piplup and Croagunk, which is a mighty specific selection of Pokemon for a show that
apparently has no concern for its older audience, especially when you consider all the new Pokemon that have been released. They are making these episodes so that an older fan can go "oh yeah, I remember that Pokemon!".
The idea they have no concern for anyone above the age of 10 is dated, and this applies to the whole franchise. The advertising for the games has heavily featured adults and has centred on a theme of rediscovering childhood innocence. If you watch the show live on TV Tokyo, you'll see an advert for Sword and Shield where two adults are reminiscing about the older games and begging their mother to buy them the new one. Even the card game adverts show adults playing the game, not kids.
When Ash won the Alola League, the aftermath wasn't about how it was a great moment for new viewers and kids, but a great moment for people who have been following his journey for a long time. The 20th movie was a reboot of Ash's first adventure; the 21st took inspiration from Pokemon 2000; the 22nd was a remake of Mewtwo Strikes back; SM brought back Brock and Misty and featured Mesaze! Pokemon Master and Type: Wild for its OP and ED at different points. PM2019 literally showed us Ash's old badges and trophies without actually explaining what they were and where they came from, because they knew long-time viewers would know what they are already.
This is not the behaviour of a franchise who only see its older fans as an afterthought.
Also, while cameos from old characters are something I would love, for newer fans they would be not be very exciting because they don't know those characters or care about them at all. With Brock and Misty, those were Kanto characters so if you'd heard of Pokemon you probably at least knew OF them, but unless you watched BW why would you care that Iris is popping up? I would LOVE seeing the Alola kids but would not be surprised if that never happens (or if it does, it's only Lillie so they can remind people to buy her figures).
I wasn't suggesting they bring back a bunch of old characters, but I want to address this anyway. Sure, cameos aren't as exciting for newer viewers, simply because they don't know the character. However, these characters appearing can make those new viewers curious and want to check out older episodes or older games.
As for kids getting bored because you can miss episodes without missing anything - do you know which TV shows in America tend to be the most popular and run years and years? Not the ones with actual story plots, the ones that have the same kind of plot every episode and if there is any big plot stuff, it's sprinkled in, aka procedurals. Detective shows, cop shows, medical shows, people tune in despite the formula being the same and every episode being mostly self contained, mostly because in the end they are there for stuff other than any big main plot. Yes, they don't get the critical acclaim that serialized shows do, but they make a lot of money and stay around for years that way and usually spawn spinoffs too. In Pokemon's case, the draw would be the Pokemon themselves, which is basically what these episodes have been - show off these specific Pokemon, then move on.
In the first place, I didn't say anything about kids skipping weeks out of boredom. Whether a show is serial or episodic isn't really the issue here. The issue here is that PM2019, for me anyway, is boring and using superficial means to win its audience over when it should be focusing on being the best show it can be, whatever form it takes.
Also to be clear, I am not bagging on anyone who doesn't enjoy this, lots of people don't enjoy shows that are mostly made up of one-off episodes and prefer really tightly plotted stuff that has a set number of episodes so the writers have to wrap the story up. But I don't think this season of Pokemon is going for that at all and they aren't worried that it will turn people off because the kinds of people who don't like that are not who they are angling for. Every new game and every new anime season is all about capturing the interest of children right now so that they can get hooked and stick around for a decade or so playing the games and buying the merch. They want to attract the broadest amount of people as possible so they can plug them into the nostalgia machine that has Pokemon Go making almost $1 billion last year. Much easier to do with a fast-paced, fun romp that gives you something new every week and then moves on (so if something isn't working they can just leave it and on to the next thing). I don't even think this season of that approach is bad per se, but if it's not an approach you like, the whole series is probably gonna be a bust for you.
I know this point isn't specifically aimed at me, but for what it's worth, I like episodic shows. But an episodic show can still have an over-arching story and a sense of continuity to it. If they're going to do away with those things, then fine, but what they're bringing to the table in their place hasn't been of a good standard. The show is a "bust" for me because it simply hasn't been very good.