Review JN025: A Battle Festival Exploding With Life! VS Mega Lucario!!

[lonerlotad]

What are the chances that we'll get to see Korrina battle Ash again but in Hyper class rank? Probably Mega Lucario vs. Mega Lucario kind of battle in the future. Losing the battle means your rank getting lower but you still have the chance to step up to higher ranks and have a rematch with some trainers again.

 

[KrspaceT]

What are the chances that we'll get to see Korrina battle Ash again but in Hyper class rank? Probably Mega Lucario vs. Mega Lucario kind of battle in the future. Losing the battle means your rank getting lower but you still have the chance to step up to higher ranks and have a rematch with some trainers again.

Both Korrina and Visquez are good candidates to appear later. I would not be surprised personally. Then again this series has been filled with surprises....and probably more than half of them are good surprises.

 

[Daren]

To commemorate Ash's class upgrade they're giving away 10 Dragonite plushes by lottery.

View: https://twitter.com/anipoke_PR/status/1274636176096288768

...I actually have a Dragonite plush (because I am hyper manly) and it may even be the same type.

Both Korrina and Visquez are good candidates to appear later. I would not be surprised personally. Then again this series has been filled with surprises....and probably more than half of them are good surprises.

I'm leaning towards Korrina reappearing for various reasons, and if we get that Surge rematch I wouldn't be surprised if Visquez appears there.

"Full of surprises" is right. Weird how a show long criticized for being too formulaic now feels so unpredictable.

 

[KrspaceT]

To commemorate Ash's class upgrade they're giving away 10 Dragonite plushes by lottery.

View: https://twitter.com/anipoke_PR/status/1274636176096288768

...I actually have a Dragonite plush (because I am hyper manly) and it may even be the same type.


I'm leaning towards Korrina reappearing for various reasons, and if we get that Surge rematch I wouldn't be surprised if Visquez appears there.

"Full of surprises" is right. Weird how a show long criticized for being too formulaic now feels so unpredictable.

And in a way that works better, IMO, than Sun and Moon. Then again I like a more battle series than a Slice series in general.

 

[Moe]

Feels kind of early for Ash to be out of the Normal class, tbh. He is already 921 and it hasn't even been 30 episodes

He's the champion of Alola and finished very high up in most Leagues he's entered, and this episode shows continuity with that legacy - so I think it's good he's moving up rankings quickly, he's a very accomplished trainer and that should be reflected in him being able to relatively quickly get up near the top. I hope it slows down around the 100 mark, and that coincides with some longer battles and some losses, but for now I think it's him getting up to a position to get close to trainers who are his peers.

The only exception and this episode is very much a good example of that - is how much it's Ash the trainer vs Ash's Pokemon team.

That I think is why this episode and his progress feels odd - because there's been so little time with Dragonite on screen training with Ash seriously - and it can take out a Mega Lucario. That's the problem I think - that if you had him using the sort of well trained Pokemon that won him leagues and major Gym battles, the wins wouldn't seem cheap, but at the moment it's either spam Pikachu, or have cases like Dragonite where they feel really overpowered.

That's the real thing that will drag down Ash's progress up the classes - Gengar and Dragonite just feel like gifts, too strong for the amount of effort he's put in to them on screen. Gengar being blown away makes sense - I hope they deal with that and don't just have it be suddenly good the next battle they are in.

To circle that back, I think that's where the disconnect is - Ash is easily a top 1000 trainer, most likely top 100. But I don't yet have a reason to believe his current non-Pika-mons are at his level. I'll suspend disbelief because of how poorly paced the season is - if the trade off is odd Pokemon development or Ash's skill level being nerfed to match his level of on screen training - after this amount of time, I'll take Ash's characterisation being consistent.

----

I thought Gou was fine this episode - none of the random catches were difficult Pokemon to catch. If he were using Quick Balls he'd be doing exactly what I did to check off Pokemon I had zero interest in ever using off my Living Dex.

Riolu was great here - that enthusiasm is really fun and made up for a rather odd battle.

 

[Daren]

That's the real thing that will drag down Ash's progress up the classes - Gengar and Dragonite just feel like gifts, too strong for the amount of effort he's put in to them on screen. Gengar being blown away makes sense - I hope they deal with that and don't just have it be suddenly good the next battle they are in.

To circle that back, I think that's where the disconnect is - Ash is easily a top 1000 trainer, most likely top 100. But I don't yet have a reason to believe his current non-Pika-mons are at his level. I'll suspend disbelief because of how poorly paced the season is - if the trade off is odd Pokemon development or Ash's skill level being nerfed to match his level of on screen training - after this amount of time, I'll take Ash's characterisation being consistent.

Yeah, I'm in the "this is quite badly paced but when the alternative is another reset? I'll take it" phase.

I guess one way of summing it up is:
*Would this feel weird if instead Infernape had come in and wrecked face? Nope.
*Is there any in-reason universe he couldn't do that? Nope.
So it's consistent with Ash's level as a trainer. It would be more strikingly off if he got a new Pokémon then beat Lance with it or similar--something on a level we haven't seen him able to perform on in the past.

 

[KrspaceT]

We've seen some training on screen in Journies. True it was with Pikachu and Scorbunny, and Riolu against Mimey's barriers, but it does confirm training does occur.

 

[Queen Cynthia]

I wanna be honest with you: I was so looking forward to this episode because Lucario is one of my all-time favorite Pokemon. But after watching it I was ... disappointed!

No, Ash didn't deserve that victory! First, Drogonite is a recently catched Pokemon and we've hardly seen Ash doing any training with him so far. Second, look at those massive attacks by Mega Lucario that literally blew away Dragonite. I mean, this is not an "ordinary" Lucario, but freaking MEGA(!) Lucario we're talking about. After the first Aura Sphere followed by the consecutive Grow Punches Dragonite should definitely have been down. Yes, I know Dragonite got that Dragon Dance boost but still, he effectively landed only one hit (I'm not counting that Hurricane move that hardly did any damage to Lucario)

So, either Korrina hasn't trained her Lucario since her first battle with Ash anymore (something I can hardly believe to be honest) or Ash got an unfair power boost just for the sake of him moving up the ranks into the Super Class.
The battle itself was very intense, but the result was very disappointing as well. Mega Lucario definitely should have won this!

 

[Nicolas721]

The battle counts as passable in my book. It flowed very well, it didn't have any show-stopping moves and it was very cool to see Megas again, to learn more of Dragonite's battle style, meeting Korrina and Gurkinn again and motivating Riolu. But the presentation felt...weird. Part of it is because of the aforementioned Goh captures. I think they were added after the writers realized the battle contained zero Gen VI Pokemon. But even then, catching Flabebe at the beach and Phantump on an urban groove really felt off.

There's also Ash's "I decided what we are gonna do today off screen!" comments, which contradict the history of the show as much as SM's passive Ash, you'd think that at least he'd talk with Cerise about it. These tournaments and special events should definitely be commented at least a couple times on prior episodes so there's more expectation when they actually happen.

 

[dman_dustin]

I wanna be honest with you: I was so looking forward to this episode because Lucario is one of my all-time favorite Pokemon. But after watching it I was ... disappointed!

No, Ash didn't deserve that victory! First, Drogonite is a recently catched Pokemon and we've hardly seen Ash doing any training with him so far. Second, look at those massive attacks by Mega Lucario that literally blew away Dragonite. I mean, this is not an "ordinary" Lucario, but freaking MEGA(!) Lucario we're talking about. After the first Aura Sphere followed by the consecutive Grow Punches Dragonite should definitely have been down. Yes, I know Dragonite got that Dragon Dance boost but still, he effectively landed only one hit (I'm not counting that Hurricane move that hardly did any damage to Lucario)

So, either Korrina hasn't trained her Lucario since her first battle with Ash anymore (something I can hardly believe to be honest) or Ash got an unfair power boost just for the sake of him moving up the ranks into the Super Class.
The battle itself was very intense, but the result was very disappointing as well. Mega Lucario definitely should have won this!

I mean it is just Korrina's Lucario though. Which I suppose if you like her and her character that might contribute to your opinion of why you were disappointed.

But if not, then look at this way, Phantump is my favorite Pokemon and I'm absolutely pissed Go ended up catching one. It's not because Phantump isn't somehow my favorite Pokemon, I just don't want Go with one. so I'm going to pretend it doesn't exist, as the salt continues to amass itself

So in other words, and this depends on how you feel about Ash as a character, but maybe focusing on the eventual more important Lucario (Ash's) will be more important than Korrina's Mega Lucario losing to Dragonite. But that's just my take.

After all you can like Korrina more than Ash and therefore it would be more understandable why you'd care about this Lucario over Ash's hypothetical Lucario, in the same vein as Go catching Phantump.

 

[Panky..]

Had to get this out early since Steam Summer sales start soon and I wouldn't be available then.

Pros:

• To start off, I’m pretty sure we all thought that the Battle Festival was going to be a generic tournament. Thankfully it wasn’t, it turned out to be an interesting concept in the form of a free to join competition for every PWC participant so that they can win and increase their rank freely. I assume that it's only for Normal Class competitors as allowing it for other Classes would be a bit unfair and better skilled trainers would grind and curb stomp their way to the top easily. Ash himself might have not been stopped after entering the Super Class. Moving on, another episode that embraces continuity, something this series needs more of to help fully flesh its potential, as the character interactions in this episode proved after all (to everyone who was making excuses for not having/wanting it). Gosh, I’m starting to hate the fact that the meaning of the said word isn’t given the full respect it needs from a narrative perspective... anything that happened in the series’ past is supposed to be part of its established story/lore rather than being treated like some consolation Easter eggs. Tell me how many news reports anyone finds about new fans "being confused" by this episode.
• Korrina returning is a welcome change that hopefully opens the gateway for more past characters to return, especially past traveling companions and reserves, not to mention those heavy hints that she’s going to return herself. Of course Ash and her do recognize each other because if they didn’t, there would’ve been riots (I liked the little attention to detail where Ash mentioned that he sensed Lucario’s aura). I absolutely loved the instant friendship she strikes up with Riolu to the point that she ironically wants it to cheer for her. Riolu’s behavior was interesting and a stark contrast to the tough front it put up after its birth, it looking up to Lucario and being shown to be awed by its evolved form as well as the Mega Evolution, hopefully this tells us that something is down the line for it (especially when you pair that potential Korrina return). That Mega Evolution reintroduction by Gurkinn to Goh (aka new fans PoV) needs to mean something after all, otherwise there was no reason for Gurkinn or Korrina to even have been in this episode.
• Before the main battle, there was a nice throwback to Sawyer’s Clawitzer. I would have preferred if Mimey was here instead of at the “Battle Frontier” cup even if it’s just to make Ash’s party look neat and decked out, it would have fit in here rather than at that tournament. The main battle itself was rushed and the points regarding that will be elaborated in the next section, but for all its faults, it was quite intense. The episode’s main plot points were to foreshadow something for Riolu down the line and show how powerful Ash’s Dragonite is, which I feel was done quite well in itself. Dragonite was an absolute beast and shown to be a serious tank, not to mention how powerful the double Dragon Dances made it (one Dragon Dance itself is very viable in the games themselves, two is overkill to me), let’s not forget that little Counter-Shield as well. At one point in the battle, I thought it would go berserk or use Outrage given how angry it looked which is a stark contrast to how friendly, docile and cheerful it usually is. I know people have concerns about Ash’s Dragonite being shown as overpowered out of the blue, but we’ve seen that he does train his Pokemon every time when he can (unlike a certain purple bush-haired girl) and we’d get more insight into this if they didn’t sacrifice screen time for pointless captures and meaningless fillers LIKE THEY DID in this very episode as well as the next one respectively.
• The battle choreography was perfect, and I’m not just talking about the way the Pokemon moved but also their trainers to the point it looked like the trainers morphed to their Pokemon doing the moves. Animation was actually really cool and fluid despite my earlier doubts, but we know it could have been better if Iwane at the helm. Why does he prefer to do TRio episodes instead of important ones like this though? And that little Miyazaki soundtrack… oh man, what a joy. I hope to hear more of those from the past series (even if remixed), getting sick of hearing the same tracks in a series supposed to be about the World of Pokemon (and not just Gen 8).

Cons:

• The battle was very very VERY rushed with barely 10 minutes or so being dedicated to the actual battle. And again, I blame the stupid “self-contained” structure that they’ve adopted for this series since it makes no sense at all. This episode could have worked as a 2-parter but instead, we get an obligatory meme filler by Mr. Fujisaku next (that’s reaaaallllyyyy important, amirite?). Who makes these nonsensical decisions? Compare this episode to JN018 and you can see how the battle was a majority focus in that one and each match-up got a healthy amount of depth (even the weaker Pikachu vs. Electrode), no Pokemon felt like they jobbed or performed in a poor fashion and the Goh screen time was minimum and his actions were mostly off-screen. That battle got to shine in all its entirety that way. Speaking of Goh, too much screen time wasted on him (and the equally obnoxious “GO GO GO” as well as Marina’s screaming bonuses), did we really need to see him chase after Flabebes? What purpose did it even serve after all that? Didn't they learn about habitation issues in episode 23 or was it just some 'spectacle' for that episode to abandon later? Why does he even need so much screen time in what is supposed to be an Ash focused episode when the reverse doesn’t hold true for the most part?
• Back to the battle, Gengar’s jobbing felt completely forced to make Dragonite shine. They could have had Gengar deal some amount of damage to either opponent Pokemon or have Lucario take some hits instead of the way it happened, because then it would have felt more realistic. What happened to Psychic, that it went from toying with Raichu as if it were Play-Doh clay, to suddenly lifting defensive rocks against Mienshao? Now if they’re smart, they’ll not abandon these plot points about Gengar being a fragile glass cannon and Dragonite being really tanky, because if they do, then it’ll make this battle’s rushing feel intentionally insulting. Moving on, I hate it when they overplay lame tropes like the “helpless being making a strong comeback” and the “ninja clashes”. There were a multitude of ways for that battle to be handled. Ah well...

Additional thoughts:

• After watching the episode again, I kind of understand the lack of references to the Kalos group, or the photo not being revealed, given there was already so much crammed into it to the point that the actual battle suffered. Hopefully, since Korrina may return, we get the references at that time. Or better yet, just bring the actual members of the group back multiple times... maybe for some sort of Geosenge reunion for one scenario (that is where Ash may have to go for a Lucarionite, no?). Side note, that ending freeze frame with the heavy shading and coloring is very reminiscent of the ones from XY.
• Bad world building again. We get an arrival shot in Lumiose City and instantly skip over to Shalour City. Great, that’s fine… but how do we even know we’re in Shalour outside of the title card that was displayed? They could have done something as simple as shown the Tower of Mastery in the distant backdrop behind the stadium, what harm could it have done and how much effort would it have taken? The festival felt like it could have taken place at any generic location near the coast, anywhere in the world.
• Rest in peace to that kid who got sent flying away from the intense wind of the battle. Guess they forgot to invest in audience safety, like the staff of Wyndon Stadium. Also, should I feel disturbed at realizing those are Gurkinn’s eyebrows and not his hair, or dumb for realizing it 6 years late?

Verdict: While the episode was awesome, the pacing of it is unexpected for a Tomioka battle episode especially when you consider the comparisons I made to his previous one, dunno if this is executive meddling or what (if it is then they need to have a re-evaluation about their career). This episode gets a 8/10 from me.

 

[LazySpy]

All right, so I put all of my past reviews through a wordcount check, and I think I've found a perfect balance between shoehorning in enough of my bitching and meeting Bulbagarden's standards at roughly 800-1,5k words.

Anyway...

Spoiler

I'll probably need to find something that twists on this, hecause I guess playing the same video at the start of my reviews might get tiresome after a while...
But, hey, it's just so fitting! ^-^


View: https://youtu.be/pL6Oc07xSzw

------
THE SPREE
As you might have expected, my first complaint has to do with yet another capture spree, third we saw thus far.
While smaller in size compared to the previous two, it continues to be as boring and unexciting as ever, and after 23, it honestly feels like a slap to the face with a wet paper towel.

And after seeing the episode with subs, there's a few more things that bother me about it.

Namely, Gurrkin claims that, orange and white-colored Flabebe are difficult to find and rare, and yet, by the end, Gou has found both and captured one of them, and they were... Hanging out in largelly human populated areas, and Gou captured the orange one with a single throw...?
Even worse, Gurrkin claimed he's not sure that any white Flabebe would hang out in their approximate area, that is around the stadium, and, uhhh... Guess where Gou found it. -_-

He also had this hillariously stupid comment on Gou's capture sprees. He says, and I qoute: 'I don't think your greed is a bad thing'. That comes right after Gou mistook his Lucario for a wild one and tried to capture it. Yeah.

CHARACTERS
RIOLU
Please give this cutie a hug. :3
I think enough was said about him looking up to Lucario, so I'll just leave it there.

I think it's high time that Ash expands his moveset beyond Vacuum Wave, by the way. Or are we going to pretend episodes 23 and 24 don't exist... Again?

Riolu needs an episode dedicated to himself and his growth, I'd watch the heck out of that. Althrough there is always the worry that they might episode 22 such development, if it were to ever take place... But that'd mean a dancing partner for Raboot, wouldn't it?

Where is Raboot's interest in dancing, anyway, for how long are we gonna put that guy's interests and desires on the sidelines, whatever the f*ck he even cares about nowadays?

OTHERS
Dragonite got his moment of glory, finally. Althrough, not sure why a Pokemon that evolved only 15 episodes ago would match the strength of a Lucario who's had whole of XY and SM to get here, not to mention, that Lucario was Mega Evolved, and he recieved less damage from Dragonite's moves. Is the Dragon Dance really such a great power booster, that when used twice, it'll put you at equall footing with a Mega Evo, even when you've taken huge damage? Then who the f*ck needs them, Mega Evo's are for newbs as long as we have stat-boosting moves.

Korrina was also alright, though I did kind of preffer her in XY.

Oh, and Gurrkin... I would be fine with him watching the match if that's all he did, but his comments on Gou's captures and progress gave me depression. Please tell me that it was likewise executive meddling...

THE BATTLES
They are inferior to episode 18, and I continue to credit this to Gou's capture spree, whether it was forced upon Tomioka or not.

As I hinted above, I'm not really a huge fan of Dragonite's victory. It was pretty undeserved, all things considered.

The battle between Dragonite and Mienshao was also pretty... Anticlimatic, as the dude just One Punch Man'd the sh*t out of his opponent, and... That's it. I did appreciate how Ash used Dragon Dance to his advantage, however.

In episode 18, Gengar managed to hit Voltorb at least once before he went down, and that's after he beat up Raichu. By contrast, he was blasted away in this episode pretty quickly - he might've as well not be a part of the battles, frankly.
------
CONCLUSION
I... Quite enjoyed this episode, that is, unless Gou was making any captures. I guess this series is just going to handwave episode 23 (and 24, anyone remember the Lord bursting a hole in the roof at the end of that episode? Imagine what'd be if Lord ever evolves) as if they never happened.
That's just so very Pokemon Journeys, I did not see that coming.

There's less continuity refferences than in episode 18 - more to the point, even Bulbapedia is confused on whether or not Korrina's Mienshao is just her evolved Mienfoo or some new Pokemon altogether, as the episode shows no evidence for either.

Anyway, if I was to give it a finall rating, it'd be, uhhh... 6.5/10.
------
... Yeaaaah, so, episode 24 was better, a lot bettter, except for the part where Gou captured the Lord.
You know how this 'Lord' was supposed to be so elusive some doubted it even exists? But nooo, James just so happened to give Gou the right lure... Aw, hold the phone. That'd make the second episode in a row where the world was bend to better suit Gou's need for captures...

I guess this is the damning confirmation, folks... He is, right now, definitively, A GOU-RY S-
(The following post was banned for the crime of hate speech.)

... Ughh. I have depression...
------
And I also established a record, this might be the first review I pushed out only one day after the subs dropped. Huh.

Anyways, I am as always, open for criticizms.

 

[Queen Cynthia]

Which I suppose if you like her and her character that might contribute to your opinion of why you were disappointed.

Well, I do Like Korrina as a character. She was arguably one of the best characters Ash met during XYZ. Still, I usually find myself rooting for our hero form Pallet Town, but not automatically, only if he deserves it. (Honor to whom honor is due). This time I think he didn't deserve a victory that felt forced just in order for him to be able to get into the Super Class.
I would accept the idea that after two Dragon Dance moves Dragonite is strong enough to knock out even Mega Lucario. But given that he had already taken damage from the battle with Mienshao, followed by three massive blows from Mega Lucario (one of which sent Dragonite crashing into the ground), Ash's Pokemon being so tanky doesn't make sense to me and smells like a deus-ex-machina trick.
So, yes to Dragonite's power boost but no to his stamina that in my eyes came out of nowhere.

What happened to Psychic, that it went from toying with Raichu as if it were Play-Doh clay, to suddenly lifting defensive rocks against Mienshao?

Very well said! I also thought Psychokinesis would finish off Meinshao in no time.

Speaking of Goh, too much screen time wasted on him (and the equally obnoxious “GO GO GO” as well as Marina’s screaming bonuses), did we really need to see him chase after Flabebes? What purpose did it even serve after all that?

I guess the writers won't leave us any other choice than putting up with the fact Go has turned from a skilled and likable guy in the first few episodes into a useless side-character that needs regular screentime so he can throw Pokeballs at randomly appearing Pokemon (I refuse to call it "catching". He's just given them for them if you ask me). Maybe there should be a "Go-screentime-index": the lower, the better!

 

[Islander Princess]

I enjoyed this episode! I actually don't think it was quite as good as the Visquez episode (which was a little surprising; I kind of thought this one would be a cut above) but it's still one of the best episodes of the series thus far.

First of all, any episode with notable continuity is a big plus in my book. It was really great to see Korrina and Gurrkin again, as well as her Mega Evolved Lucario. She's not even one of my favorite characters, but I just really love seeing older characters make appearances. I also think the writers handled it well. It was nice that Ash had recollection of their prior meeting (and essentially recognized Lucario before even seeing Korrina) and that even Gurrkin remembered him quite clearly. I definitely want to see more appearances like these.

I thought the battle was fine. Wish Gengar had fared a little better, but it was great to see Dragonite shine. I wouldn't have minded a little extra time spent on it, but I think what they did was good enough. I am a little surprised Ash is already in the Super Class after just 25 episodes, however. I'm still concerned about them rushing through or poorly pacing out the World Championship stuff, so this doesn't really help. Hopefully they have some interesting stuff in store for Ash's arc that fleshes it out a bit more.

Riolu is beyond precious. His sparkly eyes every time he looked up at Lucario...my heart! I'm relatively indifferent to Mega Evolution/Lucario and all that stuff, but after watching Riolu idolize Lucario the way he did, I think it'd be pretty cool down the line if Riolu ultimately evolved and was able to Mega Evolve.

I didn't love the Goh catching spree. Whenever these happen, I straight up forget he even caught those Pokemon until they show up later. I'm at least grateful it didn't take up too much time from the episode, although I would've preferred if some of that screen time could've been spent on enlarging Ash and Korrina's battle. I really only have two bigger complaints with it outside of that: I sincerely hope that when Goh thought the Lucario was wild and whipped out a poke ball, it had one of his Pokemon in it to battle and wasn't just meant to capture Lucario (although I'm assuming it's the latter...sigh), and I don't really love that the episode ended on a really lame note with Goh chasing after the white Flabebe...and we don't even know if he caught it or not. The whole thing was super underwhelming after a pretty good episode overall.

 

[Beatsy Ray]

Regarding Ash climbing to Super Rank so quickly, It would be pretty sad for a Champion NOT to plow through Normal (and probably Super) class pretty easily. Hyper Class is where I think he should start to lose some matches.

 

[KrspaceT]

Regarding Ash climbing to Super Rank so quickly, It would be pretty sad for a Champion NOT to plow through Normal (and probably Super) class pretty easily. Hyper Class is where I think he should start to lose some matches.

I don't get the argument about Ash not losing matches is a bad thing. Why do we want that exactly?

 

[Black&White]

I don't get the argument about Ash not losing matches is a bad thing. Why do we want that exactly?

Because it would get stale and boring if he wins all the time. Which is why I'm hoping he loses his next PWC match

 

[Daren]

Ash winning all the time would remove the excitement from his matches but frankly I don't think he has to lose that soon in the PWC considering his prior achievements--plus Leon beat him not that long ago, it's not like he's become Alain or something.
Edit: Oh, yeah. He also lost to rocket agents last episode.

 

[Rocket Messiah]

I think that is not bad that Ash wins every match now.

Because future loses will have more meaning since he will go down some ranks then.

I hope that we see a loosing streak arc like we had in XYZ.

The Pokemon World Tournament is a lot more dramatic and tense than gym battles since in those you can always ask for a rematch.

 

[Queen Cynthia]

The problem with the idea of Ash being a champion and people thus believing that he has to plough his way through the lower classes is that he basically started all over again after returning to Kanto.
Apart from Pikachu he hasn't got any of the Pokemon with him that fought in the Alola League. As for his recent Pokemon, Riolu still need lots of training and both Gengar and Dragonite are relatively new and haven't had much training yet. Therefore, their actual strength is something that remains to be seen.
So, Pokemon-wise Ash doesn't have a major advantage over other competitors. He's only got his experience as the champion of the Alola League.