I stopped following the series after the orange islands. I played each generation of games, but the show was no longer engaging to me. In truth, it never had been. I simply had much lower standards back then. I'd listen to other people's experiences wondering maybe this generation will be the one that finally does it right. Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, and Unova came and went keeping the shows status quo well in tact.
Ash was always that Dr. Frankenstein's monster of childish, mature, perceptive, dense, competent, naive, passionate, and lazy. He was simply whatever the writers needed him to be for that region or episode. We grew to expect nothing. We grew to accept an inconsistent series that never comes off as a satisfying experience all on its own. The wheels would spin but it felt was if the series was moving in empty circles.
This sixth generation series is the first time the series has been able to stand on its own merits. To not simply be the low effort assembly line production tie in to promote the newest region and its newest batch of Pokémon. Ash is finally a consistently well characterized protagonist. He is passionate, caring, driven, and confident not only in himself but his friends and Pokémon was well. He is finally a protagonist one can happily invest themselves in and root for.
It's amazing just how much better this generation is than all the other that came before it. Everything from a stronger, better utilized supporting cast. Improved character design, art, and modern animation techniques. We saw improved writing in the form of strong multi-episode as well as single episode stories. For the first time we had a series that was actually trying to be engaging. This time character dynamics and personal agency play a key role.
This is the first time It actually feels appropriate for Ash to win the league. No other iteration of the character was written in such a way as to be the kind of person that not only had what it took to go all the way, but was someone the viewer could be relate and want to be like at the same time. This is the best the character has ever been written. This is far and away the best the Pokémon anime has ever been by a long shot.
I don't think Ash will win or not win merely due to his failure past series. Those are irrelevant. In this region, in this series, on this journey, this iteration of Ash and his character arc throughout his bid to be champion, is the first and so far only time him winning the cup actually makes sense. In the Kalos region he's finally become a character that deserves it.
