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

[Arceus the Dragon]

Okay first I am going to say this: Though I wanted Ash to win (He's my favorite Character in the whole Anime) and would have been as excited and more so if he had, I am okay with the outcome of this match. Top two/runner-up is a major step up from all his previous standings in past leagues and we all should be proud of Ash for making it that far.

Spoiler: Note

Please Note that the writers write for Ash and the animators draw his motions and movements. Ash is not real, he's just a character so I would really like people to stop calling him a loser or whatever, when the creators are the ones that make his decisions come alive and rather he wins or loses.

Now this is just my opinion but ever since I joined the Bulbagarden forums all I have ever heard was how this is the best Ash has ever been and truthfully it really has; his game has been on point in this whole series as a great trainer. So have you ever stopped and thought that maybe that is why he did not win the Kalos League?

You all go on and on about how the writers of the XY(Z) anime has shaken things up, how they did away with the status quo on some things etc etc...well losing a league is nothing new which is very true, but having the underdog win is completely new and as many of you have stated because of how good Ash has been this series according to all of your guys logic, Ash is not the underdog.
I am not saying I believe Alain is the underdog because he does have a strong Charizard that can pack quite a punch, but in most ways Alain is the underdog because hardly no one in the Pokemon anime Fandom wanted him to win. everyone including team rocket were rooting for Ash to win, only Mairin was cheering for him because Sycamore was cheering for both finalists so Alain had to share the Professor.

In my honest opinion Ash's motivation is his dream and that is perfectly fine but Ash's dream is to be a Pokemon Master, it's not to win a Regional League (though it's probably a step in the right direction) and he's young so he still has plenty of adventures to go on and even if he won the Kalos League he would still have went to Alola but him losing was the easiest way to transition to Alola. and here it is, had he won I would have after cheering my heart out would have crashed back to earth when I realized that there was no mention of his mother or Oak or his older Pokemon watching him win and that would have felt like a hollow win to me and I would have been angry like how everyone is angry at him losing. I am sorry to say but his most important people are not just the one's in Kalos. I think it really was a tip off in how the league was going to end when we didn't even see his mother watching; you all were caught off guard because he lost when in reality you shouldn't have been.

I honestly feel bad for Alain, because when everything is done and over with he is going to have so much guilt, and the weight of how he was so easily manipulated by that crazy nut job, is going to follow him for the rest of his life. Alain is a good guy and he will be redeemed and if he betrays Ash at first it was because of a reason but in the end Ash will forgive him because that is who Ash is. I am okay with Alain winning because it makes sense why he did when you consider this; from the start of this series Ash has been on a roll and everyone has been hoping or predicting a win from him and because of that status, no one expected Alain to enter the league, I know I didn't but then he did and everyone was so sure that the anime would follow the same status quo of Ash defeating a rival he has lost to a few times before but look what they did, they threw that one out the window too.

Yes Alain's Charizard is strong but so is Greninja and though the battle wasn't heart racing like Ash's battle with Sawyer it was still a awesome battle non-the-less. the writers really did throw a curve ball out there by having Alain win because no one really expected him to do so, because they all thought it would be Ash. maybe the writers will have Ash and Alain battle again but I really don't think they will but who knows they could still surprise us.

I do respect the fans who are upset and no one has a right to stop you or tell you to get over it but really in the end it's just a show that is fun to watch and I believe it's more about the journey then the destination and I am looking forward to the Team Flare Arc.

Agree with you there. Yeah, Ash losing the league was disappointing but top 2 is far from being worst. Ash basically jumped several ranks to get there. Alain shouldn't be painted as a bad guy for winning. I am happy with the results of the league and it is time to move on to Team Flare arc.

 

[Pokefan19]

I know the hardcore guys probably think I'm nuts and people who thought Part 2 wasn't nearly as good as Ash vs Sawyer or Ash vs Alain Pt.1, but I've found myself rewatching that battle a capable of times now. The music transitions were nice and the animation had good flow. I guess the one thing everyone really does agree on though is how anti-climatic the final exchange of moves was. That being said, this league was ultimately still boring as snot as I could careless to rewatch the first 3 episodes of the league since they don't involve Ash in anyway.

PS. Shado I'll write a response when I'm in the mood, I'm a little tuckered out at the moment

 

[Gligarman]

Okay, so I didn't hear about any of this until recently as I'm currently doing my bi-annual two-month-long marathon to catch up before the new show starts (I'm currently 70+ episodes behind). While I wasn't surprised to hear that he lost I was quite shocked at the back-lash despite the fact that throughout the show's near two decade run he had never won a game-based league tournament. It just goes to show you how strong this community really is. With that said however that does sound like a rather misleading title. It does make me wonder how strong this reaction would have been had they simply not implied that he was going to win, even if that wasn't their intention when they wrote said title.

 

[Woyaojinkela]

I honestly wasn't too surprised about ash losing cuz i don't think the writer would just spoil the ending XDXD. Wouldn't the writer get fired or something if they do? XD. I still raged a bit tho XD

 

[Jdcomix]

Sorry for doing this so late but.... http://67.media.tumblr.com/8151b25bfd2445e9099c1b96764bb5c1/tumblr_inline_mnp0v2Atun1qz4rgp.jpg

 

[King Robert]

Just don't make it a massive tearjerker like one I've seen in which Pikachu dies right afterwards...

...why would I kill off Pikachu? The only thing I plan to kill off is Ash's losing streak.

 

[marshiyanmisuta]

...why would I kill off Pikachu? The only thing I plan to kill off is Ash's losing streak.

"You plan to"? It's been more than a year since you promised that fic. It's better be a good fic.

 

[cricketlaxwolvesbandy]

Ash won't win a league inspired from the main games until the series ends.

Aged like milk

 

[SonansuMan]

Aged like milk

Or wine, depending on how the next 3 weeks go

 

[cricketlaxwolvesbandy]

Or wine, depending on how the next 3 weeks go

Wdym

 

[SonansuMan]

Wdym

It seems very up in the air as to if we'll get anything past Journeys given the current state of production..