Was it the writers intention to make Dawn go out being better than Ash?

[Enzap]

I don't see a problem with Dawn getting farther than Ash. I think Ash proved himself by defeating Darkrai, and Dawn proved herself by almost winning the GF. Besides, Dawn might not get another chance in the anime, but Ash is getting at least one more season.

 

[The Puppetmaster]

I think Ash is a stronger trainer than Dawn since he's been at it for much longer than she has. And like someone else said, Ash was facing Takuto while Dawn was facing Jessalina. And I hope Takuto =/= Jessalina. But Dawn is a better coordinator than Ash for sure.

But I think Dawn did better in her GF than May did in her GFs because Dawn wasn't exactly a complete beginner. She had her mom who was a Top Coordinator, and I'm sure she gave her some tips. And Dawn also started out sucking way more than May, but ended up doing better in the GF. I'd say they are about equal.

Oh and just because Dawn got farther than May did in one GF, doesn't mean she'll always do better than her. It depends on all the other coordinators, too. May's rivals might just be better than Dawn's, who knows? (I'd like to see Dawn vs. Harley, what a battle that would be.)

 

[Cybersai]

Why does this matter? The GF and league were set-up totally differently.

Plus Dawn didn't have any overpowered coordinator like Solidad to face.

They purposely made it easy for Dawn to advance.