I like the concept of this game and always am a fan of Skyward's art, but this project definitely felt a lot more dry compared to Project Skyward. There are pieces in the game that just don't seem to matter, like the Luvdisc Token or being locked out of the S-card access even though it feels like we're working our way towards that. There's the kid who steals your pearl necklace too.
The battle system shouldn't be as one sided as it is either. For a collection game, it was pretty bothersome having to stall every boss battle with poison + heals or 2 attacks + heals. The level ups only mattered to keep your Pokemon from being one shot, but they did the same DMG unless there was a random crit. Losing = a white out and the battle system became more of a chore with the H-scene rewards feeling like they "weren't enough".
I know Hot Pink was a side project so I shouldn't expect much, but I feel like this might've been better if it were added to Project Skyward as some type of islander DLC?