First impression was that this is such a "nothing game". The gameplay is so barebones. With that said, I was a little surprised that i still wanted to come back and finish it. Evolving Mons and catching them all for the collectathon still rewards you with dopamine I guess.
Surprisingly a lot more engaging than Sword, which despite aiming relatively high felt extremely shallow and soulless. Maybe it's because of nostalgia that I enjoyed this entry a lot more? Maybe, I don't know.