Preview XY131: Kalos League Victory! Satoshi's Ultimate Match!!

[Shadao]

Paul was pretty invincible also to Ash when he battled him, but then again, we were shown him getting CRUSHED by Cynthia and Brandon(NOOO!) to show he wasn't invincible, unlike Alain.

All the more reason why this will be Ash's greatest opponent yet. Plus, I recall that Alain got crushed by Siebold in the first Mega Evolution special. He can be beaten.

 

[LuxrayOfTheWild]

All the more reason why this will be Ash's greatest opponent yet. Plus, I recall that Alain got crushed by Siebold in the first Mega Evolution special. He can be beaten.

You are right, but after that he went on to beat Mega Evolution after Mega Evolution, Malva, ZYGARDE 50%, and Ash like two to three times. I still count the second Ash-Greninja battle, yes along with Noivern and Metang.

 

[badwolf1234]

If ash wins its a telltale sign that he should never capture a grass type ever again since he make it to the top without one lol

 

[Shadao]

You are right, but after that he went on to beat Mega Evolution after Mega Evolution, Malva, ZYGARDE 50%, and Ash like two to three times. I still count the second Ash-Greninja battle, yes along with Noivern and Metang.

Knowing how this story usually goes, a character like Alain is build up to be nearly invincible as a means to give the main protagonist like Ash a more dramatic final battle. Especially if Ash has no personal vendetta or stakes other than finally winning the League. All big rivals of Ash exemplifies that aspect. But while they do suffer humiliating defeats at times, they also have a more personal rivalry that makes them invincible from Ash's perspective (Gary is always one step ahead of him, Paul having a more brutal approach to training). Since Ash doesn't really have that with Alain, it makes sense to emphasize on Alain's near invincibility to raise the stakes.

 

[Arceus the Dragon]

I think that Ash would narrowly lose but would prove to be a worthy opponent in Alain's eyes.

 

[Yuri3221]

Honestly at this point, after seeing that one image from the scans for XY 132, I just can't imagine Alain being on board with Team Flare attacking Lumiose City. He's been led to believe Team Flare was working to create a better future, but this is probably not what he imagined or would be okay with. Now is the time for Ash to beat him cause I can't see Ash facing him in the Team Flare showdown if Alain sees them attacking and has a change of heart. Its Ash's time now.

You know, you might be right. In my head I always wondered if, when he finally realized Team Flare's evil intentions, Alain would refuse to fight but then Lysandre would hold Manon hostage against him and he would fight anyway...

Or we can just skip that drama. I guess that might be a little dark for Pokémon.

 

[Shadao]

I think that Ash would narrowly lose but would prove to be a worthy opponent in Alain's eyes.

He has already done that in their second battle. Ash was the reason why Alain even went to the League in the first place. Why would he want to go there for just one trainer unless the trainer himself is someone that Alain is already impressed by?

And Ash doesn't need anything from Alain in the League. It is Alain that needs Ash, as he is on the wrong path to strength.

 

[Alola]

Plot-armor? How does Alain have plot-armor?

...Because Ash won't win. By the plot, Ash will yet again lose in the Pokemon League. Alain just happens to the be the opponent for that this time around.

 

[Yuri3221]

...Because Ash won't win. By the plot, Ash will yet again lose in the Pokemon League. Alain just happens to the be the opponent for that this time around.

I do think you have a valid point--Ash has never won and it would mean HUGE changes in the anime if he did. But others have valid points for him winning, which is why I'm just like, show me the episode already! I am so ready to watch this! Which is the whole point of course. The writers want us feeling this hype.

 

[LuxrayOfTheWild]

You know, you might be right. In my head I always wondered if, when he finally realized Team Flare's evil intentions, Alain would refuse to fight but then Lysandre would hold Manon hostage against him and he would fight anyway...

Or we can just skip that drama. I guess that might be a little dark for Pokémon.

A hostage situation would actually be pretty interesting. Throw in Sycamore while we're at it. I think that Alain fighting Lysandre is only inevitable to defend the ones he cares about, yet treats like garbage.

 

[Arceus the Dragon]

He has already done that in their second battle. Ash was the reason why Alain even went to the League in the first place. Why would he want to go there for just one trainer unless the trainer himself is someone that Alain is already impressed by?

And Ash doesn't need anything from Alain in the League. It is Alain that needs Ash, as he is on the wrong path to strength.

I don't think so. Alain can win if the writers want him to and I think it is more likely that he wins than Ash in my opinion.

 

[Life]

I think it's realistic for Ash to win, honestly. Not saying I'm putting all my chips into that pile, but I am tossing a few.

While Alain is a strong trainer, he's not invincible and really isn't close to it. As others have said, his motivation for the battle is to prove he's the strongest, whereas Ash's is to win the league to better himself and his Pokémon. Alain winning would be a terrible message to send to kids tbh.

Then there's the fact that Ash is probably a lot more motivated than Alain, considering winning is right at his finger tips. His party is arguably the strongest he's ever had on hand, and most of them are frankly pretty stubborn.

The summaries also sound fairly convincing in my opinion, but I get that they tend to give a lot of disappointing hope in the end. I think that if Alain does win, the battle will end in an Electivire vs. Infernape fashion, with one just barely winning over the other. There are a lot of ways the battle could go, really, but all of them will be interesting to watch I'm sure, and to me that's hopefully going to be the most excited part.

 

[Shadao]

...Because Ash won't win. By the plot, Ash will yet again lose in the Pokemon League. Alain just happens to the be the opponent for that this time around.

And Ash won't get a fully evolved Water Starter. Ash will always get a Grass Starter. Ash will always reset as a complete noob. And Ash's Pikachu will either shock the main girl's bike or the girl herself on their first encounter.

What do those have in common?

All broken by XY and XY&Z. The status quo is dead, my friend.

Forget everything that has happened in the past sagas and focus on what the XY&Z anime is building up to. Do the signs point to Alain winning? Or do they point to Ash winning something that was almost considered impossible?

 

[Alola]

And Ash won't get a fully evolved Water Starter. Ash will always get a Grass Starter. Ash will always reset as a complete noob. And Ash's Pikachu will either shock the main girl's bike or the girl herself on their first encounter.

What do those have in common?

All broken by XY and XY&Z. The status quo is dead, my friend.

Forget everything that has happened in the past sagas and focus on what the XY&Z anime is building up to. Do the signs point to Alain winning? Or do they point to Ash winning something that was almost considered impossible?

True, XY(Z) has broke certain trends regarding Ash's party. And yet there are many trends and elements within the saga that remain unchanged. Ash catches and adds the regional bird to party? Check. Ash obtains at least one starter that evolves at least once? Check. Regional female player character joins party and loses in her explicitly competitive goal? Check. Ash loses to at least one Gym Leader and subsequently defeats them in a rematch? Check. Team Rocket fails to permanently steal Pikachu? Check. The list goes on. The status quo is very much alive, if not slightly altered with this saga. You can't simply selectively disregard plot elements in favor of ones that prove your point.

Thus forgive me if I'm cynical, rightfully so, of Ash defeating Alain and subsequently becoming a fully realized Pokemon Master. Aside from very vague episode titles, there's nothing that explicitly indicates that that's going to become a reality. At this point, only time will tell.

 

[Shadao]

True, XY(Z) has broke certain trends regarding Ash's party. And yet there are many trends and elements within the saga that remain unchanged. Ash catches and adds the regional bird to party? Check. Ash obtains at least one starter that evolves at least once? Check. Regional female player character joins party and loses in her explicitly competitive goal? Check. Ash loses to at least one Gym Leader and subsequently defeats them in a rematch? Check. Team Rocket fails to permanently steal Pikachu? Check. The list goes on. The status quo is very much alive, if not slightly altered with this saga. You can't simply selectively disregard plot elements in favor of ones that prove your point.

Thus forgive me if I'm cynical, rightfully so, of Ash defeating Alain and subsequently becoming a fully realized Pokemon Master. Aside from very vague episode titles, there's nothing that explicitly indicates that that's going to become a reality. At this point, only time will tell.

Unlearn what you have learned about the Pokémon anime series. Don't focus on past patterns from other sagas or what remains in this saga. Focus on what the XY&Z story is building up to. I've seen people use past events before to judge the future of this anime. I've seen people saying Goodra will not return because of its status as being released (despite the fact that it makes story-sense for Goodra to return for the League). I've seen people saying that Chespin will go to Ash despite evidence point to Clemont and Bonnie. All primary due to status quo and past events, not anything within the XY&Z anime itself.

I used to believe that Ash and Ash Greninja will get totally crushed by Diantha and her Mega Gardevoir in their second trial as the Champion is usually untouchable and undefeatable. Then, to my surprise, Ash Greninja was actually having the upper hand. To the point that not even Mega Gardevoir was really changing the tides like most champion's Pokémon do. That's when I realized just how far XY&Z has pushed the boundaries of the status quo. That's when I realized status quo means nothing now. They have gone to the point of no return. Ash's competence at the beginning was no fluke, it was consistent just like Alain's storyline that happened around that same time.

And if there is that kind of consistency up to this point, then it is very likely it will have a natural conclusion to all of this. And that natural conclusion is Ash winning the Kalos League decisively. And it's too late to introduce another Tobias.

Evidences of XY&Z right now points to Ash most likely winning the Pokémon League for the first time ever. The only major arguments against that are fan speculation and the notion of status quo. A notion that has been slowly deteriorating in this saga itself. Before these magazine leaks, few would dare say that Ash will reach any place higher than Top 4, let alone winning the League. Many took Ash losing for granted, some saying that Sawyer be the one to do it. Now look at where we are now.

 

[Playerking]

Exactly, status quo or traditions were only created by fans observations of things that kept consistently happening, but as new series's came, more traditions have disappeared. It's almost like this set of rules that people think the writers always live by, as if they are written on some stone tablet thats existence cannot ever be question. This isn't the case. Yes, some things happen more than once and that does make them look like a consistency that would seem strange to think that they could change, but that doesn't mean they can't.

Any of these traditions that the fans have observed that are left can cease to exist in the future and it shouldn't be the end of the world. Obviously, there are some things that should remain, like Team Rocket failing to capture Pikachu successfully, for obvious reasons, but Ash winning a League Conference is not a part of those and I don't think Ash would be happy with just winning one League Conference, especially when there are several out there that he hasn't won.

 

[KrisiChiki]

Honestly, I just want Ash to win the Kalos League because I want to see the world's reaction to that happening.

 

[Necrozma]

Honestly, I just want Ash to win the Kalos League because I want to see the world's reaction to that happening.

Let me help you with that.

"Finally!"
"Took him only 20 years!"
"lolz red beat the leaguez before ash"

 

[Uhane]

I agree if you look at past precedent then Ash is unlikely to win (although he did win the smaller orange league and battle frontier) but as others have said there does seem to be a lot of build up and it would feel very anti climatic if Ash never beat Alain.

The thing that stands out to me is the title, either they've given the game away and spoilt the ending, or they have been deliberately dishonest. How could it be called Kalos League Victory if he loses?

 

[Playerking]

I agree if you look at past precedent then Ash is unlikely to win (although he did win the smaller orange league and battle frontier) but as others have said there does seem to be a lot of build up and it would feel very anti climatic if Ash never beat Alain.

The thing that stands out to me is the title, either they've given the game away and spoilt the ending, or they have been deliberately dishonest. How could it be called Kalos League Victory if he loses?

As others have said, it doesn't say that it's Ash's Kalos League victory, just that there will be a victory in the Kalos League.