rockpapershotgun.com/moonstone-islands-farming-doesnt-quite-gel-with-its-ghibli-esque-poke-like-battles
Thanks! Seems like the author is not very familiar with the game yet, this explains some points of criticism in the article.
For example, you can ask spirits not to follow you. You can receive a Spirit Barn quite early in the game by completing professor's quests. Spawn rate for spirits can be reduced in game settings.