For this season (or region, or whatever), the show takes on a more slice of life style, and as a slice of life show, it is decent. You have some likeable characters, each with their own personalities, and they're all in a school. Why is Satoshi (Ash) in a school? IDK, but don't question it.
Now, although the characters are decent to begin with, after 146 episodes, you would expect them to like. Change. But that doesn't really happen as much as I would have liked. We do get some decent development through Lillie, and to be honest, this show would have been a lot more engaging if there was a more prominent overarching arc about her and her family. (Like seriously? There was so much being hinted at with her family, BUT it just doesn't end up being talked about). The other characters don't really get too much development, instead choosing to solve small problems that they have, but not too much else (I.e., one character is afraid of the dark so… his electric mouse lights up. Solid development I guess)
The biggest change is clearly the animation, so I'll briefly touch on that. It's worse, but it's still alright. Satoshi's design is kind of annoying at first, but it's not really a big deal. In all honesty, it fits very well with the intended slice of life format, so it's not really something to hold against this show.
The biggest problem for me is the actual story/plot. I know I'm saying that it's more slice of life, so like. This shouldn't be a problem. But it's really missing that little something that makes pokemon, pokemon. So we no longer have gym battles, and instead have the island challenges. What are these island challenges? That's kinda the problem. I DON'T REMEMBER. Nothing about this is memorable. I NEVER remembered how many of these challenges he had completed, or even what he did to get them. This is mostly my own fault for having a bad memory, but I really feel that it could have been done in a better way. Maybe the fact that the school setting is there throughout is part of the problem. I don't really know. (as in, the fact that the setting is the same for most of the series makes it easier to kind of mesh everything together and not remember as much as I would have liked to)
(There's also another problem that I have with the story, but I won't go into it as it would involve too many spoilers)
Overall, although there seems to be something lacking in this series, it does do a good job at what it's attempting to actually do. And don't get me wrong, there were many, many enjoyable moments throughout the series. If you go into this KNOWING that it will essentially be a slice of life, then this will definitely be a very good and enjoyable show, so if after reading this, you think you might be interested, then you should definitely watch it! The issue for me is that I didn't want this to be what it is, because I don't feel as though this is what pokemon SHOULD be. But don't let that stop you! (Unless you're like me, in which case, let it stop you. Although if you are like me, you'll be watching it anyways).
See you all in Galar!