I do think you have a point that SM will end like Kanto and Unova did, where only the Fire-type starter evolved. If it ends like Kanto with Torracat evolving to Incineroar, I'll be fine with that since Ash looked more worthy to get Incineroar than Decidueye, plus Ash was shown on Incineroar's concept art. It is so sickening that Rowlet is sadly confirmed to be the new Oshawott or Piplup, a Pokemon whose cute design is so popular that it prevents evolution in any circumstance possible, all because said cute design is milked to sell toys.
But if it ends like Unova and stays as Torracat, then I can agree that it's sunk to a level that's as bad as Unova. Having like, only three Pokemon on the main cast even evolve is very lame, especially if the girls (Lillie, Lana, Mallow) all end the generation with no additional captures. It's already looking bad for Lillie and Lana at this stage, since their only Pokemon will both likely be prevented from evolving due to merchandise reasons. While Primarina did place at number 3 on the poll, it's more likely that Ida will showcase it than Lana. It would also sadly confirm Lana as a Dawn 2.0, a female blue-haired main character who owns a Water-type starter that goes against evolution solely because of marketing.
Which is worse, BW's problem of Ash having a huge team of underdeveloped Pokemon, or SM's problem of the resident main cast in general suffering a severe lack of evolutions and captures due to stupid marketing? I'd say the latter, because it annoys me a lot when a Pokemon I wanted to evolve is prevented from doing so because of merchandise or being more appealing than the evolutions are.
And of course, the darn latest episode title trolled us... ASH DID NOT CATCH THAT PASSIMIAN!