Taken from the Kalos League discussion thread, I'm actually not upset at Ash's loss, and indeed, I'm a little happy for a few reasons. I feel that way because the entire Kalos saga has been too self-contained with little to no continuity with the other past sagas. So far, there has been no appearance by the previous female traveling companion. Worse, though, was the fact that we didn't see Delia, Misty, May, Dawn, Iris, Brock, Cilan, Tracey, or Professor Oak watching this battle. And that is before the fact that when Ash brought Goodra in, he told Goodra that he had other Pokémon, but he wanted him instead. While many will see that as the strength of Ash's bond with Goodra, it can also be seen as a slap in the face to the rest of his Pokémon back at Oak's ranch or who are in training but ready to come when the phone rings. In essence, Ash left all of his friends behind, in a way abandoning them, when he came to Kalos. For as many faults as Alain had, and still has, he did, and has done, everything for his friend, Mairin. That was his driving motivation when all was said and done. That's why I'm actually glad that Ash lost. He did not bring his strongest Pokémon to the battle, many of who he had a really strong bond with (especially Charizard and Infernape), and he paid for it. And also, in a show that has friendship as being important, maybe Ash's loss has a deeper meaning about not forgetting one's friends, even those that are far away at the moment or he hasn't seen in quite a while, though I doubt the writers are thinking along those lines. Hopefully, though, I will be pleasantly surprised at the end of Kalos and the beginning of Sun/Moon and I hope that something like that is brought up.