• Hey Trainers! Be sure to check out Corsola Beach, our newest section on the forums, in partnership with our friends at Corsola Cove! At the Beach, you can discuss the competitive side of the games, post your favorite Pokemon memes, and connect with other Pokemon creators!
  • Due to the recent changes with Twitter's API, it is no longer possible for Bulbagarden forum users to login via their Twitter account. If you signed up to Bulbagarden via Twitter and do not have another way to login, please contact us here with your Twitter username so that we can get you sorted.

Alola League: Overall Thoughts

Gengarzilla said:
I see people are still ragging on about the little incident with Ash vs Hau. It's been a month now, don't people move on from this stuff? And, heck, where was that fluffy of intense criticism when Rowlet dozed off against Hala?

Personally I think folks are just overreacting and becoming unreasonably obsessed over the moment. I agree that the timing was weird but it wasn't that big a deal if you ask me.
Click to expand...
The big problem of this scene is that it won't let feel the win like a rightfull win.
I really wish they would have handle the scene different, at least that wouldn't left with many question mark.
 
It was awful. The fact that there were no prerequisites and that anybody (even villains) could compete was silly and I thought that the battle royale round was the worst part since the animators couldn't handle so many battles happening at once. At least Ash won though, even if his win seemed like one of those situations where a person is given a medal out of pity.
 
Gengarzilla said:
I see people are still ragging on about the little incident with Ash vs Hau. It's been a month now, don't people move on from this stuff?
Click to expand...

Well, it was an important battle in the Alola League and this is a thread about everyone's thoughts on the Alola League, so...

Gengarzilla said:
And, heck, where was that fluffy of intense criticism when Rowlet dozed off against Hala?

Personally I think folks are just overreacting and becoming unreasonably obsessed over the moment.
Click to expand...

Did Rowlet have a strong rivalry with Hala or one of his Pokémon? Was Rowlet shown to want to fight Hala or one of his Pokémon or to be very passionate about the idea of fighting one of them? Was there an episode prior to the Grand Trial where we saw Rowlet be defeated by Hala and one of his Pokémon, prompting it to train harder and more seriously in order to defeat it? Did Rowlet persuade Ash to use it in his battle against Hala because it wanted to defeat one of Hala's Pokémon?

I can understand not finding a problem with that scene or even outright enjoying it. But don't act like people don't have legitimate reasons to dislike and criticize it. Or that it's the same as the Hala's Grand Trial, which was completely different, as, for starters, Rowlet didn't have any incentive to take its battle against Hala seriously, while in this case it had a hyperbolically intense rivalry against Hau's Decidueye, making the former excusable (as well as the Grand Trial happening just a few episodes after it's capture and it not being that well-trained at that point).

Gengarzilla said:
There we go, because I'd put Ash's complete ineptitude vs Elesa as infinitely higher.
Click to expand...

In fairness, he did say "one of the worst moments". Not "the worst moment out of all of them".
 
At least letting villains compete gave them something to do and gave other characters more to fight for, even if it's not a very logical decision. Maybe more philsophical, since Alola is about 'everyone being together'. Not that I'm saying that really excuses it, it's just something to take into account.

And with Ash vs Hau, I'm just in full 'take what I can get' mode there, since there've definitely been much worse battles in the anime before. Definitely flawed, but not gonna let it kill me.

Overall I'd say it's... third place. I'm not ultra hyped or losing my mind or anything but I am at least pretty happy
 
It was better than the Kanto and I guess Unova Leagues, but thats not saying much. No 6v6 battles, Ash vs Hau, and who was in the league doesn't do it any good, but Ash won the league so that helps it a bit.
 
Not a fan, personally.

First of all, there's the matter that the entire process leading to to this league, aka the Island Trials, were basically glossed over like after school activities. What was supposed to be the big buildup to the league was were either treated as just normal battles or skipped entirely. There's also the matter that some competitors, like Ash's classmates, didn't complete a single trial and realistically shouldn't have participated in the first place.

And sadly, the league itself didn't make up for it. 1 v 1's, lame cliffhangers, and rushed battles made up so much of this league. It felt more like a mid series tournament instead of the final challenge. There were so many people included here that just didn't need to be. A lot of battles didn't come across as league worthy. The fakeout with Hau was ridiculously cruel and unnecessary. Overall, this was easily one of the worst leagues for me.

Ash winning was nice, but this just did not feel like a league where Ash was at his best...
 
There's a lot less fanfare about Ash's league win than I expected. With all the backlash from the Kalos League (including a staff tweet), I'd thought there'd be a lot more celebration on the internet.
 
In hindsight, it really makes me wonder if the league might've been better if Fujisaku hadn't been involved in writing so many of the episodes. Or is it petty for me to blame him for the failures of the Alola league?
 
The Battle Royal opening was a good idea as it was unique, I just feel that it could have been longer

Some characters just appeared without battling to get defeated off screen
 
Overall I really liked it and appreciate what it did. Unlike past leagues, most of the battles that got focus had some sort of character significance, and it goes hand in hand with how little of the league itself was skipped. The Battle Royale was a bit messy but it was still pretty fun to watch. The first round was great imo, the battles that weren't as relevant/interesting were kept short enough and Lillie vs. Gladion, Mao vs. Suiren, and Ilima vs. Guzma were some really good storytelling done through the battles. The second round was a bit more of a mixed bag, mostly because of the Hau vs. Ash battle, I personally didn't mind it much but I get the frustration (I still don't think there was any way they could believably excuse Ash losing to Hau even if he was battling the final stage of Mokuroh, but the fake out was mishandled), aside from that I liked all the battles and thought they were given the time and focus they deserved. Aside from some seemingly unnecessary padding, which was probably to not break the pace with commercial breaks and may have some payoff (mostly the TRio stuff), I have no complaints about the final rounds. Maybe just the Double Iron Bash spam, but even that felt believable.

It wasn't as visually impressive as Kalos for the most part, but honestly, I don't mind less flashy battle animation if we get characters actually moving on a more consistent basis like we've gotten all through SM.
 
The Alola League was actually kinda well...It was decent. For the Sun and Moon series, it was certainly a high point. It certainly didn't have the best battles, but then again, most of the Sun and Moon series was lacking in the battles department. Starting out, I really wish it was formed a lot sooner and given a prerequisite, though at the same time, it was interesting to see Ash's friends competing in it with him. It was kinda disappointing though that just anyone could join, regardless of how many Pokemon they had or if they have beaten all four Kahunas.

The battles themselves were actually decent for the most part. The Battle Royale round was kinda sloppy and chaotic, but it was alright. This is the only league where we actually saw the majority of the battles, which was a great thing. Some of the battles that really stood out to me were Lana vs. Mallow, Guzma vs. Ilima, Lana vs. Guzma, Kiawe vs. Sophocles, Ash vs. Guzma, Kiawe vs. Gladion, and the final battle between Ash and Gladion. The low points were certainly the bland battle between Jessie and James, Ash's battle with Faba, and the infamous fakeout loss Ash experienced against Hau. Rowlet's tendency to sleep during battles being played off as a gag was certainly a low point. It was also disappointing that there were no full battles during this league.

A huge high point for this league though was Ash's battle with Gladion. For once, we actually got to see Ash FINALLY win a league. Even though he should have won the Kalos League first, this is still a legitimate league win for Ash and I am very happy that he did.

Overall, its not the best league, but its miles ahead of Kanto and Unova's league. Ash winning does give it a big boost, so I'd say its at least a 7/10.
 
Urgh! This was a really lackluster League. It was nothing more than a glorified Don Battle-like tournament, full of random 1v1 and 3v3 battles that are way more fitting for a random tournament than for an event of such grandiose magnitude. But hey, it was Alola’s first League, so good job for trying, Kukui?

Regardless, the writing was all over the place. Between “gems” like Jessie VS James and Ash VS Hau and appalling / static animations, this wasn’t really what I would expect from a League. Many past Leagues accomplished much more and actually delivered what the hype was asking for.

I wouldn’t say that this is the worst League — Unova takes the cake for that, hands down — but this certainly left a bad taste in my mouth and crushed my decades-long expectations for a true finale for Ash and a true culmination of his growth as a character.

Thank you, OLM, for adding this disappointment to an already long list of disappointments. Onto the next saga, hoping for the best.
 
Please note: The thread is from 2 years ago.
Please take the age of this thread into consideration in writing your reply. Depending on what exactly you wanted to say, you may want to consider if it would be better to post a new thread instead.

Similar threads

Greninjaman
  • Poll
Ash's Strongest Team
Replies
16
Views
1K
Ghost Diplocaulus
Ghost Diplocaulus
Johtoo
It's a shame we never had a league/tournament where Ash used all of his Pokemon
2 3
Replies
46
Views
3K
AndreskX
A
c la fet
If every champion was replaced
Replies
13
Views
651
Nemona
Nemona
Queen Of Space
What Pokémon side content do you miss
Replies
7
Views
387
SekihaTenkyo
SekihaTenkyo
BigDocFan
Paldea Pokemon Debuts
Replies
0
Views
345
BigDocFan
BigDocFan
Back
Top Bottom