I feel like AG the series feels irrelevant to Journey's compared to every other saga is for a few reasons:
1. Obviously the biggest is May can't appear, so the main female companion did not get a return like most of the others. Dawn, Serena, Iris and the SM cast all got big returns either for arcs or to further their development. When the main female lead of Hoenn is completely absent, well, you can't say anything one way or the other.
2. For whatever reason, the writers don't want to show Max without May, so even though Max could technically appear they won't bother with him.
3. Ash had no main rivals in AG, so unlike Gary, Paul, Gladion, etc. there's nobody they can bring back.
4. Brandon could have been used, but they did the Regi plot without him so that kinda screws him over from appearing.
5. Norman is connected to May, and none of the other Hoenn Gym leaders (unless you count Wallace) are popular enough to return or be used again.
It's why every series has something in Journey's, but other than seeing Ash's Hoenn Pokemon at Oak's lab there's nothing for it in this series at all. Steven was practically re-invented as an XY character so even Ash battling him feels more for the XY anime than Hoenn.
1. Obviously the biggest is May can't appear, so the main female companion did not get a return like most of the others. Dawn, Serena, Iris and the SM cast all got big returns either for arcs or to further their development. When the main female lead of Hoenn is completely absent, well, you can't say anything one way or the other.
2. For whatever reason, the writers don't want to show Max without May, so even though Max could technically appear they won't bother with him.
3. Ash had no main rivals in AG, so unlike Gary, Paul, Gladion, etc. there's nobody they can bring back.
4. Brandon could have been used, but they did the Regi plot without him so that kinda screws him over from appearing.
5. Norman is connected to May, and none of the other Hoenn Gym leaders (unless you count Wallace) are popular enough to return or be used again.
It's why every series has something in Journey's, but other than seeing Ash's Hoenn Pokemon at Oak's lab there's nothing for it in this series at all. Steven was practically re-invented as an XY character so even Ash battling him feels more for the XY anime than Hoenn.