It's of course a marketing deploy to make kids WANT to see it. But narrative and characters often suffer from making the "powerful/mysterious character" the center of the story and thus, making it mindless popcorn entertainment.
I actually like the current Pokemon movie trend of putting characters and drama first.
New and exciting new Pokemon doesn't work as hype/selling point anymore. People want to engage with the property in a more meaningful way and I think the new direction reflects that well.