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Controversial opinions

I didn't like many of the Original Series episodes. Kanto was great and it's my favourite saga, but only because the high points were so good. Sadly the low points were really bad and I tend to skip half of the first 80 episodes whenever I rewatch Kanto because I can't stand most of the fillers.

I feel that way about Johto, especially Master Quest. Most folks treat that season like the holy grail of Johto, but to me it was boring as hell aside from the gym battles and the Johto league, and even in the case of the league I only really cared for Ash versus Gary and Harrison and hated the other battles.
 
I feel that way about Johto, especially Master Quest. Most folks treat that season like the holy grail of Johto, but to me it was boring as hell aside from the gym battles and the Johto league, and even in the case of the league I only really cared for Ash versus Gary and Harrison and hated the other battles.

While Johto was my least favorite, the Silver Conference arc was the only one I cared about. While I enjoyed Unova, I hated the Unova league arc for various reasons (like most fans of the anime).
 
I've already seen several people saying that Ash's winning the Alola League wouldn't count as him winning a "real" League, which honestly ticks me off. The same people who have wanted Ash to win a League for years are now complaining whether he wins or loses.

Heh! I already predicted this would happen a long time ago. And quite frankly, I don't care if it's a "real" or "not real" League. I just want Ash to win just so people can stop this meme of "Ash never winning the League" and maybe see what the whole point of the Kalos League was about rather than just dismissing it because Ash lost in the finals.
 
I've already seen several people saying that Ash's winning the Alola League wouldn't count as him winning a "real" League, which honestly ticks me off. The same people who have wanted Ash to win a League for years are now complaining whether he wins or loses.

I mean, there is definitely a case to be made about whether Ash deserved to win this or not, considering the laidback attitude that he had throughout most of this series (as well as the more relaxed approach of the SM series as a whole) and his battle with Hau and the way he won it, not because of his and his Pokémon's skills, but because the plot demanded that he'd win (as well as whether or not he deserves to win against Gladion, which, at this point, depends on how that battle's handled).

But that doesn't change the fact that this is a "real" league (even if it hasn't been handled as well or in as official of a manner as the past ones), nor would it change the fact that this would be an official Pokémon League win for Ash (which, -spoiler alert-, he already won one in the Orange Islands). People could love it or hate it or not care about it (or anything in-between), but that wouldn't change the fact that it's still a proper league (unless some official in charge of the Pokémon Leagues comes and declares it unofficial), whether we like it or not.
 
Speaking of Leagues, here's how I managed to get through the Lumiose Conference League mostly intact (minus any sleep) and without the whole total meltdown that the internet had.

I judged the most likely League finalists Ash and Alain based on their characters, and how will they handle victory... and defeat. And based my observations, I came to the conclusion that Alain was very determined to win (even if it's for Marin), so determined that losing was simply not an option. I wonder to myself if he could handle a first time defeat. That he can accept being defeated. This is not exactly stable League winner here. Just a time ticking bomb waiting to go off at the moment of Alain's first big screw up (which happens to be the Team Flare arc).

In contrast, Ash seems to be very calm and collective in the League. Oh sure, he wants to win of course and winning would definitely make him happy. But at the same time, Ash is not acting like the Ash from the last Gym, where he was so determined to win that he forgot what's important. He doesn't care if he loses again, just wants to find the best fights to bring out the best out of his Pokémon. Win or lose, he'll bring his best. This means that Ash can handle both victory and defeat with stride. He's not going to meltdown over losing the Pokémon League again. And his handling of defeat in the Kalos League means he's not one defeat away from shutting down. If he loses the next battle after being declared the winner, it would not blow his ego anymore.

Thus, Ash has proven himself to be the true winner with Alain finding himself to learn true strength from this supposed "runner-up." In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Alain winning the League was just giving Alain some false hope of success before cruelly taking them away by Team Flare attack immediately and let Alain know that he was greatly responsible for this crisis (with the added bonus of endangering Marin and letting Ash be captured and brainwashed by Lysandre).

Regardless, the only thing I really wanted to see after the Kalos League finals was Alain admitting that Ash was the better of the two. And he did do that, so any potential rage towards the League has been subdued (all that's left is the disappointed that Ash and Alain never did a rematch).
 
I've already seen several people saying that Ash's winning the Alola League wouldn't count as him winning a "real" League, which honestly ticks me off. The same people who have wanted Ash to win a League for years are now complaining whether he wins or loses.

Never mind them. I feel like some fans are just never satisfied.

Honestly, I really could care less about the Aloha league not “being official.” Ash has been trying to become a Pokémon master for 20 years and I just wanna see him win. Fans need to quit saying that the Alola league “doesn’t count” since the Alola region are in the games and the Pokémon Adventures manga.

The Orange Island, on the other hand, is filler.
 
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I've already seen several people saying that Ash's winning the Alola League wouldn't count as him winning a "real" League, which honestly ticks me off. The same people who have wanted Ash to win a League for years are now complaining whether he wins or loses.

It's because people, to satisfy their sunk cost fallacy, want a pompous and shameless display of bravado to make their investment feel like it is worth it, so then then make up these so-called "standards" that a league must have in order to be legitimate in their eyes. These are the same people who hypocritically say that the Orange League isn't real since it's not in the games and turn around to support the league tournaments which are not in the games either.

I personally believe that these fans want finality, a climax to Ash's story. That, or based on the popularity of the Invincible Ash fanfics, they want to project themselves on Ash for the sake of escapism.

I personally don't care in the outcome of the Alola League since I'm in the camp who wants finality in the league story. If Ash is still pursing leagues in Galar, then a victory is pointless since the story arc hasn't ended and a new one hasn't begun.
 
I never got the hype for Georgia’s character. Granted Iris deserved to get knocked down a peg for being a pompous jerk in the beginning of the series, but fans act so obtuse to the fact that Georgia is a rude jerk too and she’s much more immature than Iris.

I understand the hype for Burgundy simply because she comes off as an Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain. She reminds me of the Team Rocket Trio. No matter how immature Burgundy comes off as, I see her as a pathetic rival who could never win battles. She was also a butt monkey who kept getting attacked by Ash’s Pokémon so it’s hard to not feel bad for her.
 
On the topic of the Orange League, it really triggers me when people try to claim that Ash 'already won a League' despite the fact that the Orange League was a 'League' in name only and wasn't actually a tournament like the rest of them. That one difference is the deal breaker for me and I disliked that the Orange League was just a case of 'beat Drake, win a trophy', which I barely consider to be a competition since Ash had only one hurdle to climb (I'm obviously not counting the 4 Orange Crew/Gym Leaders since they weren't part of the final championship at Pummelo Island).
 
I personally believe that these fans want finality, a climax to Ash's story. That, or based on the popularity of the Invincible Ash fanfics, they want to project themselves on Ash for the sake of escapism.
I personally hate those kinds of fanfics. There's nothing endearing in a perfect character to me.
I personally don't care in the outcome of the Alola League since I'm in the camp who wants finality in the league story. If Ash is still pursing leagues in Galar, then a victory is pointless since the story arc hasn't ended and a new one hasn't begun.
It's not pointless. Ash wants to be a Pokémon Master, winning a single League is only a stepping stone towards that goal.
 
Black and White's story was terrible.
I personally think that the stories are the best in the series thus far along with USUM. Team Plasma is the most thought out Evil Team. They're motives aren't stupid like Team Rocket, Magma, Aqua, or Flare. N is awesome. But I respect you're opinion
 
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