Pokémon Sword and Shield anime speculation thread

[marshiyanmisuta]

So, if, let's say, Ash managed to win the Alola League, then he would become the regional Pokémon Champion of Alola, who is the same kind of champion as Lance and Cynthia and Steven Stone.

1. To became a champion like Lance, Cynthia and Steven Stone, someone needs to win the Champion League.
2. There is no Champion League in Alola. Yet.
3. Conclusion: No, he won't be a champion like them.

as well as the information presented to us by Bulbapedia

Bulbapedia doesn't know anything more than us, at least in this case.

which is disputed by the fact that the villains participating in this league are doing it in order to obtain power that they could then abuse, power that a normal Conference Champion wouldn't normally have

Team Rocket's fantasies are not facts. And you're giving too little credit to championships.

 

[Grass Type Gardenia]

1. To became a champion like Lance, Cynthia and Steven Stone, someone needs to win the Champion League.
2. There is no Champion League in Alola. Yet.
3. Conclusion: No, he won't be a champion like them.

Bulbapedia doesn't know anything more than us, at least in this case.

Team Rocket's fantasies are not facts. And you're giving too little credit to championships.

His next challenge then would be to challenge the Galar League to get to Leon.

 

[DynamicFusion]

They never indicated that the Champion of Alola would have to stay. We've seen other trainers go off on their journeys after winning a Pokemon League before, so I don't see what the problem is for Ash traveling if he does win the Alola League. Plus, I don't think that winning the Alola League would be that impressive. It would still count as a winning a League of course, but considering how anyone could enter it and most of the main cast didn't deserve to get pass the preliminary round, I don't think Ash would be too strong to go back to square one in Galar. He doesn't even have a full team and only two of his Alola Pokemon are impressive battlers.

How was Cynthia looked upon by others in the DP Anime? How was Diantha looked upon by others in the XY Anime? The same way Ash will be looked upon if he wins the Alola League in Alola. Heck him winning the First Ever League in a Region is more prestigious than him winning any of the Leagues that come after. I understand your thinking of the Alola League not being as "real" as previous leagues but even if you look at the past two leagues, Ash should have defeated all of his opponents easily, only Virgill in Unova and Alain in Kalos would have been a test. But here, he has to stop Guzma from wrecking the league and he is clearly the underdog Vs Him. He struggled so badly in his two battles with Hau before the League. And he is clearly the underdog Vs Gladion. I still think that Ash's Alola Team shouldn't be compared with his previous Teams ( like I mentioned on Serebii ) because of the less and rare battles. But what little we have seen has been amazing, Lycanroc destroying 3 of a Kahunas Pokémon, Rowlet winning the 4 Trials he participated in, Pikachu being complained of being "overused" by people still went unbeaten for 100+ Episodes. If Poipole would have been more of a battler and Meltan receiving a little development and obviously Evolving, this would have clearly been one of his best teams. Torracat in my opinion, is the one and only outlier in this team because of receiving less development. Getting back to point, because of Ash winning the Alola League, something has to struck him in the mind to continue his journey. In case you haven't realized yet, this Director of the SM Anime said in an interview that he wants Ash to realize what really is a Pokémon Master this time. You really think he would win the Alola League, and pack up and the next episode suddenly be in Galar for no reason?

All I expect is that regardless of what happens after Ash v Gladion, the internet will be furious. Even if the fight is a six on six battle that is an outright ensemble battle with Greninja, Charizard, Sceptile and the works and given Gurren Laggan level final episode budgets.....the internet will be angry.

Ash will win, Ash will lose, but the internet will still be gnawing something in fury.

But does the internet really matter in this case? Would it suddenly change the way the writers think. Heck I'm pretty sure they are having coffee and just don't care about complaints.

 

[Hidden Mew]

How was Cynthia looked upon by others in the DP Anime? How was Diantha looked upon by others in the XY Anime? The same way Ash will be looked upon if he wins the Alola League in Alola. Heck him winning the First Ever League in a Region is more prestigious than him winning any of the Leagues that come after. I understand your thinking of the Alola League not being as "real" as previous leagues but even if you look at the past two leagues, Ash should have defeated all of his opponents easily, only Virgill in Unova and Alain in Kalos would have been a test. But here, he has to stop Guzma from wrecking the league and he is clearly the underdog Vs Him. He struggled so badly in his two battles with Hau before the League. And he is clearly the underdog Vs Gladion. I still think that Ash's Alola Team shouldn't be compared with his previous Teams ( like I mentioned on Serebii ) because of the less and rare battles. But what little we have seen has been amazing, Lycanroc destroying 3 of a Kahunas Pokémon, Rowlet winning the 4 Trials he participated in, Pikachu being complained of being "overused" by people still went unbeaten for 100+ Episodes. If Poipole would have been more of a battler and Meltan receiving a little development and obviously Evolving, this would have clearly been one of his best teams. Torracat in my opinion, is the one and only outlier in this team because of receiving less development. Getting back to point, because of Ash winning the Alola League, something has to struck him in the mind to continue his journey. In case you haven't realized yet, this Director of the SM Anime said in an interview that he wants Ash to realize what really is a Pokémon Master this time. You really think he would win the Alola League, and pack up and the next episode suddenly be in Galar for no reason?

I don't think that comparing Cynthia and Diantha quite works when they aren't just winners of their respective region's Leagues. They are the Champions of the Elite 4. That is different than being the Pokemon League Champion, so I don't think that Ash would be be put on that high of a pedestal. People of Alola would respect him as the first Alola Champion of course, but I don't think it would be really on the same level as Cynthia or Diantha.

And to be clear, I'm not saying that the Alola League is not as "real" as previous leagues. I did not want to give off that implication, especially when I hate how people still say that the Orange Island victory doesn't count. However, I am saying that winning a Pokemon League where there are no requirements to win and we may not get anything larger than a three-on-three match because no one has a full team in this series is not as impressive as winning a Pokemon League where trainers can only enter after reaching a requirement and three-on-three is usually the default minimal amount of Pokemon battling each round. Ash winning the Alola League would still count, but it would not be nearly as impressive compared to if he had won the Sinnoh or Kalos Leagues. As for his Alola team, I agree that Lycanroc has been proven to be pretty strong and has gotten a good amount of focus. I would not give much credit for his Rowlet considering how virtually useless it is. Torracat still comes off as the better battler out of the two for me. I'm not sure if this would have been one of Ash's best teams with better focus and development, but it would have been an improvements. I don't think it's one of Ash's worst teams, but aside from Lycanroc and Torracat, I don't think any of them are strong battlers. To be fair, I haven't seen Meltan in battle, so that part could change a bit.

I don't recall seeing the director of the SM series make that comment. I'm not sure if you're referring to those series of tweets earlier or if that was from someone else. If Ash does win the Alola League, he wouldn't be in the Galar region the following episode. The League should end next month and they'd still have plenty of time to wrap things up in Alola before moving to Galar. If Ash actually wins the Alola League, I would hope that they'd spend a bit of time setting up for his journey in Galar. I still wouldn't put money on Ash winning the Alola League for multiple reasons, but I don't think it would make it any difficult for Ash to go to Galar afterwards.

 

[Panky..]

How was Cynthia looked upon by others in the DP Anime? How was Diantha looked upon by others in the XY Anime? The same way Ash will be looked upon if he wins the Alola League in Alola. Heck him winning the First Ever League in a Region is more prestigious than him winning any of the Leagues that come after.

Your words might have held true except for the fact that this league had an open to join system and not so complex structure with lack of lengthier and intense battles. There's also the lack of stakes other than Guzma and his bid to ruin the League. Think about it:

• Everyone could join the League and the preliminaries was a literal Battle Royale instead of the traditional Alola BR format, then they skip straight to the round of 16.
• Every match in the round of 16 and the quarter-finals is a 1v1. In the past, the round of 16 was at least 3v3 with them going to 6v6 from the QF or SF onwards.
• The Manalo Conference doesn't seem like it'll wrap up in a full battle, how exactly is that 'Champion' defining?

Trivia: I'll depict the battle formats for each previous league, starting at round of 16.

Spoiler

• Indigo Conference: Top 16 - 3v3, possibly full battles from 8v8 onwards.
• Silver Conference: Top 16 onward - 6v6.
• Ever Grande Conference: Top 16 onward - 6v6.
• Lily of the Valley Conference: Top 16 - 3v3, Top 8 onward - full batlles.
• Vertress Conference: Top 16 - 3v3, Top 8 onward - full batlles.
• Lumiose Conference: Top 16 - 3v3, Top 4 onward - full batlles.
• Manalo Conference: Top 16 and Top 8: 1v1 (???)

 

[JinksChow]

Your words might have held true except for the fact that this league had an open to join system and not so complex structure with lack of lengthier and intense battles. There's also the lack of stakes other than Guzma and his bid to ruin the League. Think about it:

• Everyone could join the League and the preliminaries was a literal Battle Royale instead of the traditional Alola BR format, then they skip straight to the round of 16.
• Every match in the round of 16 and the quarter-finals is a 1v1. In the past, the round of 16 was at least 3v3 with them going to 6v6 from the QF or SF onwards.
• The Manalo Conference doesn't seem like it'll wrap up in a full battle, how exactly is that 'Champion' defining?

Trivia: I'll depict the battle formats for each previous league, starting at round of 16.

Spoiler

• Indigo Conference: Top 16 - 3v3, possibly full battles from 8v8 onwards.
• Silver Conference: Top 16 onward - 6v6.
• Ever Grande Conference: Top 16 onward - 6v6.
• Lily of the Valley Conference: Top 16 - 3v3, Top 8 onward - full batlles.
• Vertress Conference: Top 16 - 3v3, Top 8 onward - full batlles.
• Lumiose Conference: Top 16 - 3v3, Top 8 onward - full batlles.
• Manalo Conference: Top 16 and Top 8: 1v1 (???)

Small Correction: For the Lumiose Conference, they only had full battles from Top 4 (semifinals) onwards

 

[Panky..]

Small Correction: For the Lumiose Conference, they only had full battles from Top 4 (semifinals) onwards

My bad, was copy pasting so it was an oversight.

 

[DynamicFusion]

I don't think that comparing Cynthia and Diantha quite works when they aren't just winners of their respective region's Leagues. They are the Champions of the Elite 4. That is different than being the Pokemon League Champion, so I don't think that Ash would be be put on that high of a pedestal. People of Alola would respect him as the first Alola Champion of course, but I don't think it would be really on the same level as Cynthia or Diantha.

And to be clear, I'm not saying that the Alola League is not as "real" as previous leagues. I did not want to give off that implication, especially when I hate how people still say that the Orange Island victory doesn't count. However, I am saying that winning a Pokemon League where there are no requirements to win and we may not get anything larger than a three-on-three match because no one has a full team in this series is not as impressive as winning a Pokemon League where trainers can only enter after reaching a requirement and three-on-three is usually the default minimal amount of Pokemon battling each round. Ash winning the Alola League would still count, but it would not be nearly as impressive compared to if he had won the Sinnoh or Kalos Leagues. As for his Alola team, I agree that Lycanroc has been proven to be pretty strong and has gotten a good amount of focus. I would not give much credit for his Rowlet considering how virtually useless it is. Torracat still comes off as the better battler out of the two for me. I'm not sure if this would have been one of Ash's best teams with better focus and development, but it would have been an improvements. I don't think it's one of Ash's worst teams, but aside from Lycanroc and Torracat, I don't think any of them are strong battlers. To be fair, I haven't seen Meltan in battle, so that part could change a bit.

I don't recall seeing the director of the SM series make that comment. I'm not sure if you're referring to those series of tweets earlier or if that was from someone else. If Ash does win the Alola League, he wouldn't be in the Galar region the following episode. The League should end next month and they'd still have plenty of time to wrap things up in Alola before moving to Galar. If Ash actually wins the Alola League, I would hope that they'd spend a bit of time setting up for his journey in Galar. I still wouldn't put money on Ash winning the Alola League for multiple reasons, but I don't think it would make it any difficult for Ash to go to Galar afterwards.

Oh, I'm not saying that Ash is as strong as Diantha or Cynthia if he wins the Alola League, I'm saying he will be looked upon by people in Alola like the same way other champions are looked upon in their own respective regions. Not just "respected" but absolute fanboying crazy, you remember when Serena saw Diantha in that poster before they saw her in an Exhibition Match? Yeah like that, I meant exactly like that. If winning the Alola League is a big achievement or not, he will still be treated as a big thing in Alola and even more since this is the First Ever Alola League, my main point was that they will definitely find a way to strip him as the Champion or he himself as the oblivious trainer he is finds a way to give the title to someone else. As for the interview, I'm talking about the recent one that came out and made headlines online in Japan: TVアニメ『ポケモン』監督・冨安大貴が語るポケモンリーグへの意気込み「キャラクターのバックボーンや日常を背負ったリーグを描こう」【インタビュー前編】（超！アニメディア） - Yahoo!ニュース

Your words might have held true except for the fact that this league had an open to join system and not so complex structure with lack of lengthier and intense battles. There's also the lack of stakes other than Guzma and his bid to ruin the League. Think about it:

• Everyone could join the League and the preliminaries was a literal Battle Royale instead of the traditional Alola BR format, then they skip straight to the round of 16.
• Every match in the round of 16 and the quarter-finals is a 1v1. In the past, the round of 16 was at least 3v3 with them going to 6v6 from the QF or SF onwards.
• The Manalo Conference doesn't seem like it'll wrap up in a full battle, how exactly is that 'Champion' defining?

Trivia: I'll depict the battle formats for each previous league, starting at round of 16.

Spoiler

• Indigo Conference: Top 16 - 3v3, possibly full battles from 8v8 onwards.
• Silver Conference: Top 16 onward - 6v6.
• Ever Grande Conference: Top 16 onward - 6v6.
• Lily of the Valley Conference: Top 16 - 3v3, Top 8 onward - full batlles.
• Vertress Conference: Top 16 - 3v3, Top 8 onward - full batlles.
• Lumiose Conference: Top 16 - 3v3, Top 8 onward - full batlles.
• Manalo Conference: Top 16 and Top 8: 1v1 (???)

Sorry for the late reply

Point 1: What's wrong with it being a literal Battle Royale? Sure it was messy and I agree that was the 2nd Worst Episode of the League. But the Main Point of the League is deciding who is the strongest trainer in Alola and it decided the Top 16. Sure you could make an argument that the Classmates didn't "deserve" to get into the Top 16, but look at Sophocles at the start of the series to almost going head on to tackle Kiawe's Z-Move. Faba himself while being worthless thwarted Gladion in the Aether Arc. Heck, James and Jessie are the most Competent they have ever been in the Whole Entire Pokemon Anime ( except for Early-BW ) and managed to Defeat Ash. And they may possess the strongest Pokemon they have ever owned ( Mimikyu ), sure their tactics may have been questionable but it was totally in character for Team Rocket. As for everyone joining, it is the First-Ever Alolan Pokemon League, so it makes sense. I'm pretty sure the First Ever Indigo or Kalos League would have been open with no restrictions. And I'm sure the next time there is an Alola Pokemon League there will be restrictions. Also on a side note, one of the main complaints of Sun & Moon at the start was that there was no Pokemon League and people felt the characters weren't getting enough character development so a Pokemon League would fix that. "Lack of Stake", I mean really what has been at stake after Ash defeats the Main Rival in the League? Sure his goal is always to win but 3/4 of the tension is gone after he beats the main rival. Here the Whole Plot with Guzma is actually more bigger than any of that since it just doesn't revolve around Ash but also Kukui and the Whole League itself. Also having multiple storylines like with Gladion and Hau other than Guzma also helps the league since there is constantly another storyline after one immediately finishes. Were they all properly developed? No, but in my opinion they are still very enjoyable." No more Lengthier and Intense Battles" is subjective so let's leave it at that.
Point 2: As for there being no Full Battles, would it be nice to see them? Yes. But I really don't understand the continually under the impression that there’s a rule to how things work, whether it be the Pokemon anime or writing in general, and when something doesn’t follow those rules, it’s immediately bad or worthless.
Point 3: I don't get what you mean by "defining", do you mean if the Champion is actually the one who deserves the Victory? Well, if the final was Ash Vs Gladion then if the battle is a 3 VS 3 that would be fine. Gladion has trained with 3 Pokemon since the start of the series ( He just caught Zoroark ) and while Ash has 5 ( 6 actually with Poipole but it is less likely to return ). So a even 3 VS 3 Battle would decide the worthy winner. But to be fair, I wouldn't mind if it is 1 VS 1 really, they've been building up Lycanroc Vs Lycanroc and more importantly all the other battles would just feel like extras ( Ash Vs Sawyer & Alain were good examples where Greninja just stole spotlight ).

 

[PkmnTrainerV]

Oh, I'm not saying that Ash is as strong as Diantha or Cynthia if he wins the Alola League, I'm saying he will be looked upon by people in Alola like the same way other champions are looked upon in their own respective regions. Not just "respected" but absolute fanboying crazy, you remember when Serena saw Diantha in that poster before they saw her in an Exhibition Match? Yeah like that, I meant exactly like that. If winning the Alola League is a big achievement or not, he will still be treated as a big thing in Alola and even more since this is the First Ever Alola League,

First of all, battling isn’t really big in Alola, the reason it didn’t have a league in the first place. Most people are participating in it for fun, literally turning up with a single Pokemon. I think the Champion will still be seen as lesser to someone like, Royal Mask, specially if he beats Ash.

Point 1: What's wrong with it being a literal Battle Royale? Sure it was messy and I agree that was the 2nd Worst Episode of the League. But the Main Point of the League is deciding who is the strongest trainer in Alola and it decided the Top 16.

Because sitting around doing nothing was a literal viable strategy that got people into the so called “Top 16 trainers of Alola”.

Ganging up on a single candidate was a viable strategy. This happened with Kiawe and its implied that Lana and Mallow used it.

Collateral KOs: If someone battled and their Snorlax lost and fell on your Pokemon, congrats, you were ousted out of the league without your fault.

Also having multiple storylines like with Gladion and Hau other than Guzma also helps the league since there is constantly another storyline after one immediately finishes.

Hau was barely even a storyline. Rowlet and Dartrix’s rivalry lost all point when they both knocked out each other once. Hau didn’t even appear after that till the league! Rowlet, even though it requested to battle Decidueye, was not serious about winning since it literally fell asleep during training. And it beat Decidueye up again. People said that Alain winning against Ash three times in a row didn’t offer closure, in the same vein, Rowlet beating up Decidueye after it already won once immediately before doesn’t make sense.
And it happens in such a convoluted manner that Hau’s actually the poor underdog of the episode. The viewer actually feels sorry for Hau (if they have enough empathy). Even Ash apologises.

Guzma is the only one with actual stakes.

Ash isn’t an underdog vs Hau: winning against him prior using his base stage, he isn’t an underdog against Guzma: he forced Golispod to flee, he’s just on equal footing with Gladion. Ash should be embarrassed if he can’t wipe the floor with this league, since he’s capable of doing that with his Alola team.

 

[Pulsaro23]

You know what, here's a question that could potentially solve this whole debate (or not, depending on the answer): Has anyone in the anime ever referred to the winner of a league conference as a champion before?

Team Rocket's fantasies are not facts. And you're giving too little credit to championships.

I was actually referring to Guzma when I made that statement (TR aren't the villains in this league, you know). The whole reason he's trying to win this league is so that he could stop the Alola League from happening ever again and no one has contested his claims. And I'm pretty sure that a mere conference winner wouldn't have the ability to cancel an entire region's league, but a Pokémon Champion could have that kind of power.

 

[Panky..]

You know what, here's a question that could potentially solve this whole debate (or not, depending on the answer): Has anyone in the anime ever referred to the winner of a league conference as a champion before?

That's the difference between League Conferences and Champion League.

I was actually referring to Guzma when I made that statement (TR aren't the villains in this league, you know). The whole reason he's trying to win this league is so that he could stop the Alola League from happening ever again and no one has contested his claims. And I'm pretty sure that a mere conference winner wouldn't have the ability to cancel an entire region's league, but a Pokémon Champion could have that kind of power.

I think he meant it in a sense that he'll end the League in a state that puts a bad taste in everyone's mouth to the point any future plans will either be ruined or come under skepticism. He's already been doing well with how brutal he's been.

 

[Hidden Mew]

Oh, I'm not saying that Ash is as strong as Diantha or Cynthia if he wins the Alola League, I'm saying he will be looked upon by people in Alola like the same way other champions are looked upon in their own respective regions. Not just "respected" but absolute fanboying crazy, you remember when Serena saw Diantha in that poster before they saw her in an Exhibition Match? Yeah like that, I meant exactly like that. If winning the Alola League is a big achievement or not, he will still be treated as a big thing in Alola and even more since this is the First Ever Alola League, my main point was that they will definitely find a way to strip him as the Champion or he himself as the oblivious trainer he is finds a way to give the title to someone else. As for the interview, I'm talking about the recent one that came out and made headlines online in Japan: TVアニメ『ポケモン』監督・冨安大貴が語るポケモンリーグへの意気込み「キャラクターのバックボーンや日常を背負ったリーグを描こう」【インタビュー前編】（超！アニメディア） - Yahoo!ニュース

https://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20190726-00010001-choani-ent

I really doubt that they're going to treat Ash like that if he wins the Alola League. Most people took part in the Alola League not because they like to battle or they have been training hard, but because it sounded fun. It would still be seen as a noteworthy achievement for Ash to win the Alola League, but I don't think that he'll be treated like Diantha or Cynthia, especially when there is still a difference between the Pokemon League Champion and Champion of the Elite 4. It was too difficult to understand what the article said with the online translator, so I'll just wait to see if any fan translators translate it instead.

Point 1: What's wrong with it being a literal Battle Royale? Sure it was messy and I agree that was the 2nd Worst Episode of the League. But the Main Point of the League is deciding who is the strongest trainer in Alola and it decided the Top 16. Sure you could make an argument that the Classmates didn't "deserve" to get into the Top 16, but look at Sophocles at the start of the series to almost going head on to tackle Kiawe's Z-Move. Faba himself while being worthless thwarted Gladion in the Aether Arc. Heck, James and Jessie are the most Competent they have ever been in the Whole Entire Pokemon Anime ( except for Early-BW ) and managed to Defeat Ash. And they may possess the strongest Pokemon they have ever owned ( Mimikyu ), sure their tactics may have been questionable but it was totally in character for Team Rocket.

Going with the Battle Royal wasn't really a good option if people could just stand around doing nothing and still advance to the next round. I also don't think that Team Rocket defeated Ash. They were close with poisoning Pikachu and Rowlet, but Bewear took them away before they could actually win.

As for everyone joining, it is the First-Ever Alolan Pokemon League, so it makes sense. I'm pretty sure the First Ever Indigo or Kalos League would have been open with no restrictions. And I'm sure the next time there is an Alola Pokemon League there will be restrictions. Also on a side note, one of the main complaints of Sun & Moon at the start was that there was no Pokemon League and people felt the characters weren't getting enough character development so a Pokemon League would fix that. "Lack of Stake", I mean really what has been at stake after Ash defeats the Main Rival in the League? Sure his goal is always to win but 3/4 of the tension is gone after he beats the main rival. Here the Whole Plot with Guzma is actually more bigger than any of that since it just doesn't revolve around Ash but also Kukui and the Whole League itself. Also having multiple storylines like with Gladion and Hau other than Guzma also helps the league since there is constantly another storyline after one immediately finishes. Were they all properly developed? No, but in my opinion they are still very enjoyable." No more Lengthier and Intense Battles" is subjective so let's leave it at that.
Point 2: As for there being no Full Battles, would it be nice to see them? Yes. But I really don't understand the continually under the impression that there’s a rule to how things work, whether it be the Pokemon anime or writing in general, and when something doesn’t follow those rules, it’s immediately bad or worthless.

That's a bit of an assumption that other first ever leagues were structured in the same way. That wouldn't be impossible, but I just think it's assuming too much about how other Leagues were formed. Plus, the next Alola Pokemon League having requirements is a really moot point considering we aren't going to see it and Ash isn't going to be a part of it. That's probably a big reason why this doesn't feel like a proper League for a lot of fans and why the initial reaction to the setup was pretty negative. It doesn't make it look like the first Alola Pokemon League. It sounds more like a glorified Club Battle tournament. It just really seems like they made the Alola League open to everyone not because it was a natural progression for the main cast, but because this is possibly the only Pokemon League where everyone could take part in it. Not having to introduce/design new characters for characters to battle again might have also been a selling point for the creative staff.

I'm not too sure about Gladion's storyline, but Hau really barely counts as anything. The rivalry with Rowlet and Decidueye doesn't really have much weight when they've already defeated each other once and it doesn't sound like the battle between them was handled that well to begin with. As for the no full battles, I think people are upset not because it is against the usual format of other Leagues, but because it means we get potentially less noteworthy battles. Plus, defeating a trainer in a full battle is much more impressive than defeating them in a one-on-one match. That was a big problem I had with the Club Battle arcs in BW. Defeating one trainer's Pokemon isn't nearly as impressive as defeating two, three or six of their Pokemon.

 

[Grass Type Gardenia]

I had a dream where Ash was journeying through Galar with Nessa and Milo, and yet the anime wasn’t being handled very well. I do not know why, but I was so angry and frustrated with the changes. I just hope the series would not be something that the animator’s tweet warned us about.

What if Cynthia was the one that invited Ash to travel to Galar?

 

[Sakuraa]

What if Cynthia was the one that invited Ash to travel to Galar?

Personally I'd rather it be someone actually from Galar or at least Oak. Cynthia doing it seems really random...

 

[Grass Type Gardenia]

Personally I'd rather it be someone actually from Galar or at least Oak. Cynthia doing it seems really random...

Seems random to have Cynthia in the Battle Tree though...

 

[PkmnTrainerV]

Seems random to have Cynthia in the Battle Tree though...

Battle tree had a lot more random people like Wally, too.

 

[prog rocker]

Battle tree had a lot more random people like Wally, too.

Just look at Dexio and Sina. They even made them trainers for some reason.

 

[Hidden Mew]

Seems random to have Cynthia in the Battle Tree though...

Not really. One of the gimmicks of the Battle Tree was the possibility of facing off against popular characters from previous games, which would include Cynthia. If she was the only returning character you could battle against, then her inclusion would feel random, but considering their choices for returning characters to battle, Cynthia really doesn't stand out as random.

There's no reason why Cynthia would give Ash the recommendation to travel through Galar either. I'm not sure if someone outside of Galar could do that anyway, but regardless, it wouldn't really make much sense. She has seen Ash through different series, but it would make much more sense for someone from Galar to give him his recommendation. Cynthia has a fairly decent chance at appearing in the anime again for the inevitable D/P remakes. They don't need to force her inclusion in SWSH right off the bat when it would make much more sense for either Leon or Chairman Rose to give Ash his recommendation to travel through Galar.

 

[PkmnTrainerV]

I still don’t see any reason for Rose to give the endorsement over Leon. Leon makes more sense since he’s friendly towards the MC, meets them early, and is Hop’s brother. The friendly rival’s brother will be much more plausible to sponsor Ash early.

And realistically Chairman Rose probably won’t come to Alola and give Ash a sponsorship. I think he’s going to be introduced later in the SwSh series, specially if he ends up being an antagonist.

 

[Pulsaro23]

Plus, Chairman Rose is in charger of the Galar League, not the Pokémon Leagues as a whole. So I don't see why he'd be interested in the league of a faraway region (even if it's the first one in that region), since he's got his own league to worry about. And Galar has it's own Pokémon Trainers, who are far more experienced in Pokémon battles than mostly people in Alola, so why would he be interested in trainers from another region?

Not to mention that, in the games, it's been confirmed that Chairman Rose endorsed one of the PC's rivals (which is more than likely to be carried on in the anime as well), so the idea of Ash being endorsed by him has just become more unlikely.