The sign at the end of the game does mention the pod and being able to go back to Sablee / Auria ^^
I actually disagree about the clouds and bricks in Auria! The bricks are slightly discolored, but also shake when hovered upon ^^
The clouds are harder to think of, until you encounter these lines of clouds jumping in the background. Although, I'm planning on giving them a better SFX when clicked, and maybe making it so you don't have to click them 3 times to destroy them, that could help.
About the fights, you can always walk back the way you came from when you encounter one, so it's possible to skip them in that sense! Smash also lets you instantly destroy fights if you're 10 lvls or more above the enemy, but yeah that doesn't work on Shape fights, you'll need a Heart dummy for these ^^