Do you consider the Alola league to be a “ real league? “

[Ignition]

In the grand scheme of things nothing posted anywhere on these forums matters if you look at it like that. It's more to do with a fair discourse for me, and I consider false statements like "the league is fake" unfair discourse because it's simply not true. It is an actual league in this show, it's called a league, the show certainly places at least as much importance on it as on any other league and even spends significantly more episodes on it than on the others. That's not an opinion, that's just a fact, and I don't think facts and opinions should be treated equally or interchangeably.

To bring up a somewhat unrelated but comparable example, if I say that Misty is a male character I'd also trigger people because that's simply not true. She's a female character. I can bring up that she has short hair, rarely ever wears dresses, and frequently behaves with violence and ferocity all I want and then say it's my opinion that she is not a "real woman", but that doesn't make my 'opinion' any more true as it is not a subjective thing.

I mean you’re right nothing on this fourms do matter and I’ll point that out. It’s about enjoying the experience regardless of how others perceive it.

I’m not implying facts and opinions are “equal” nor that you can’t argue your perspective, but some people get way too invested over defending a fictional tournament (the same is true for those who detest the League) which is the point I’m getting at: it’s not about the opinions; it’s how you handle them.

Ignoring the fact that you’re comparing gender stereotypes to a fictional league, I don’t think anyone would get triggered. At the most they’ll correct you and afterwards ignore you because you’re most likely being a troll. And if you truly think that, oh well. As long as you’re not being a jerk, I couldn’t care less about how you feel about her.

Again, it’s about how you respond to such a statement. There have been people who find the League “fake” but have said so in a respectful manner and people would still respond to as if they were insulting them personally. Nothing unfair about it. But I’ll leave that here before the thread gets derailed since this is going to back and forth with semantics which will end up as a “agree to disagree”. Doesn’t change the fact that people don’t see the League as fake nor will it impact the League’s existence in any capacity regardless of its legitimacy.

 

[Power Up]

In the grand scheme of things nothing posted anywhere on these forums matters if you look at it like that. It's more to do with a fair discourse for me, and I consider false statements like "the league is fake" unfair discourse because it's simply not true. It is an actual league in this show, it's called a league, the show certainly places at least as much importance on it as on any other league and even spends significantly more episodes on it than on the others. That's not an opinion, that's just a fact, and I don't think facts and opinions should be treated equally or interchangeably.

To bring up a somewhat unrelated but comparable example, if I say that Misty is a male character I'd also trigger people because that's simply not true. She's a female character. I can bring up that she has short hair, rarely ever wears dresses, and frequently behaves with violence and ferocity all I want and then say it's my opinion that she is not a "real woman", but that doesn't make my 'opinion' any more true as it is not a subjective thing.

I've given you the standards that I believe a league should have, and you've brushed them off as you not caring. I can easily do the same for your arguments, so I would like to see some, you know, actual backing of arguments.

Why does it being called a "league" matter and how does it translate to it being determined as a legitimate league? Why is the name more significant than the prestige or the requirements a league has had to have in previous reasons to be considered a legitimate league?

It's a fact that this league doesn't have requirements and is comparable similarly to the BW tournament that also had no requirements. It's a fact that this league has been built on convenience and not quality of opponents due it having no requirements. It's a fact that this league is has had no 6v6s. It's a fact that this league has no history or background due to it being a new creation

Why does it having more episodes make it a league? So you're saying that a league's legitimacy is based on how many episodes it gets? What?

Calling this league fake is not unfair discourse because I truly believe it be fake and I've backed up my side of the argument with events and context from the actual show.

 

[Genaller]

No. The Alola league doesn’t have the same accreditation as the other regional conferences since anyone can enter the Alola league whilst for other leagues only trainers who have won 8 of that region’s gym badges can participate. The reason why standards like these matter is because they give us assurance of a (fairly high) minimum standard of quality for all trainers which in turn elevates the overall prestige of the event.

 

[J.Agera]

It's a league, but far from a proper one.

Yes and I think that calling it unofficial or not real is just an excuse that people are making because they think the Alola League sucks. And it's fine if they hate it but they shouldn't try using mental gymnastics to advance their agenda.

I mean the Alola League does kinda suck ngl.

 

[PokemonBattleFanatic-]

Can't be legit if the series itself is utter poop and worse than BW,the Sinnoh League is the highest standard for league conferences and there's no doubt in my mind that the Alola League won't ever come close to it.But I'm sure it will at least be better than the Indigo Plaetau and maybe the Vertress Conference but that's about it.

 

[Frozocrone]

Is it a real league? Yes.

Is it a good league? Not really.

EDIT: Why I think it's a real league:

It's a real league to me as not only is it a 'league' of which the overall winner will be declared Champion of Alola. I'm not entirely fussed that 'anyone can enter' because that just means it's accepting of all people regardless of ability. Sure, the prestige of previous leagues (8 gym badges) isn't here and there is no substitute in place (such as completing all four Grand Trials) but this is a brand new conception in the anime, where they will have time to tweak the rules, much like modern sports are always doing*.

Spoiler

Besides, even with the lack of a barrier of entry, it's not like the quality of competition has come up, the four Semi-finalists are Ash, Gladion, Kiawe and Guzma, only one of those could be considered below the other three but these four candidates are the most developed in terms of battle prowess/strength and as such it makes sense in a narrative sense for these four to occupy the top four.

*we won't see this though

Why it's not a good league:

For all the reasons why I'm convinced it's a real league, the reason it's not a good league is partly due to the fact it's a new creation. With the lack of a barrier to entry, it's much harder to establish a sense of prestige. I also suppose with how the opening rounds went, it leaves it open to luck over who goes through and what not but then again luck does play a factor in sporting events so Idk.

 

[Shayminslicker]

If they consider it a 'league' in the anime, then it's a real league to me. It doesn't matter how different it is compared to the other conferences to me.

 

[345ash-greninja]

Is it a real league? Yes.

Is it a good league? Not really.

Calling this a "real League" is kind of a stretch considering this League has no criteria for entering whatsoever, literally anyone can enter it without any criteria to fulfill ---> unlike all the previous Leagues where the participants had to fulfill a certain criteria of having to defeat 8 different Gym Leaders in a region and earn 8 badges in the process, meaning that the quality of the competition of the previous Leagues had a certain standard unlike this one. When there is no criteria whatsoever for entering a League, then you have freaking jokes like DJ Leo, Samson Oak, Master Fisherman, Jessie and James, Hiker David, the baseball guy Olu Olu, Mallow's Brother and Faba participating in the League. And TBH, if this League had a criteria of entering similar to the previous Leagues (like say clearing 4 Island Trials which I guess is comparable to earning 8 Gym badges), then alongside the aforementioned participants, none of Ash's classmates (apart from Kiawe I guess) would've even qualified for the League.....and to think now that Lana & Sophocles made it upto the freaking quarterfinals LMAO.

So why should this League be even called a "real League" like the other Leagues, where there are absolutely no standards for qualifying whatsoever? Sound's like a real stretch.

Not to mention alongside all this, there are no full battles whatsoever, and upto the quarterfinals, all the battles are freaking 1 vs 1.

A primary reason why for the first time, I don't really care whether Ash wins this League or not TBH. I mean, how much value does winning a League which clearly doesn't match up to the standards of the previous Leagues, have in the first place?

 

[maartjeverhoef]

Of course it is a real league. It is implied the winner of Alola League will be declared the Champion of Alola. It's not comparable to the BW tournaments, because winning them didn't make trainer Champion of Unova, neither did it give him a chance to face E4 and a current Champion. Sure, it's not as prestigious as the Leagues in other region, and it couldn't be because it's the first ever League tournament in Alola. If they had the same requirements as the other leagues, barely anyone would be able to participate because Alola is not big on battling.

Calling it a fake league is like calling Ash's Totodile a fake capture just because it's significantly weaker than Ash's other Pokémon.

 

[ash&charizardfan]

Of course it is a real league. It is implied the winner of Alola League will be declared the Champion of Alola. It's not comparable to the BW tournaments, because winning them didn't make trainer Champion of Unova, neither did it give him a chance to face E4 and a current Champion. Sure, it's not as prestigious as the Leagues in other region, and it couldn't be because it's the first ever League tournament in Alola. If they had the same requirements as the other leagues, barely anyone would be able to participate because Alola is not big on battling.

Calling it a fake league is like calling Ash's Totodile a fake capture just because it's significantly weaker than Ash's other Pokémon.

It wouldn't be fair to call alola league a real or fake league on terms of quality of matches, because it that was the criteria then unnova league and indigo league which had even rubbish battles than alola league should be considered a real league as well, and it is also true that quality of matches here are no where near the level of johto, hoenn, sinnoh and kalos leagues were. I hope there would be some benchmarks like a trainer should have a certain number of z crystals to qualify in future leagues.

 

[Doppelgänger]

None of the prior leagues share formats, so this is a non argument really. It's recognized as a Pokemon League by all of the authority figures in Alola. If you argue that Alola is illegitimate, then Unova and Kalos are too because there wasn't an external credentialing body to oversee the league tournament and ensure quality control for the Gyms.

Sinnoh is what people recognize as the de facto league format, with prelims, proper rounds, finals and the "Champion League" incorporating the game's league structure. But Sinnoh was also the first league to retreat from the "globalist" Olympic styling of Hoenn and earlier leagues to become an exclusively regional event. I certainly felt like the Johto was a much more international competition, with trainers from Kanto, Johto and Hoenn competing.

The irony of Kanto introducing the Pokemon League Conference concept is that people dismiss its format as "OS nonsense", which is bollocks.

 

[VoltTacklingPika]

Within the context of the show, it's a "real" league. Everyone in Alola treats it as a significant event, it's recognised by all the key figures in the region, they built a stadium specifically to host it, and the intent is to crown a Champion of the region. I've no reason to doubt its legitimacy in this setting.

I don't believe the lack of barrier to entry is really an issue, either. Several real life sporting events have open entry, but they mitigate this with lengthy qualifying rounds to thin out the participants so that by the end, the top competitors remain. This is exactly what the Alola League has done, with a Battle Royale to determine only the strongest (or luckiest, I guess) trainers for the final tournament. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the Alola League has been the only tournament so far to have as many as sixteen named characters participating in it. Of course, we can question the strength of characters like Samson Oak, Sophocles, Mallow and Lillie, but by the latter rounds, the characters we have seen are strong and good battlers remained.

As I see it, the issue here isn't if the league is "real" or not, but the standard of competition. Gladion, Kiawe and Guzma are strong, but they're not Paul, Sawyer or Alain, insofar as not having full teams of six strong Pokemon. 6v6 is the de facto ultimate test for trainers. I could argue about different match formats, but the show has clearly established that when it comes to the big time, 6v6 is the traditional format. As I see it, things like the non-existent barrier to entry, or the league being brand new, are insignificant, because the real problem here is that the final rounds are 1v1 and 3v3.

To put another way, the league lacks gravitas. 6v6 battles are rare and having them during the big tournament feels like a huge event, whereas in this case it simply lacks that feeling. I think 3v3 is a great format to show off a trainer's strength and breadth of strategies, but I do accept it's not quite the same. I would be disappointed if the final battle in the games were only 3v3, and I think that says a lot.

 

[Sham]

The show called it a league so it’s a league, I don’t understand why people are getting headaches over trying to figure this out.

 

[TheWanderingMist]

1. This is a League.
2. Prestige has to be built. It does not automatically exist when something begins.
3. This League having the ability to have bad referee calls overturned makes it more fair than any other League.
4. It made no sense to have requirements to enter due to multiple factors such as the short time between the League's announcement and its beginning and the fact that very few people in Alola even do the Island Challenge (even Kiawe, the 2nd-most battle-happy student after Ash, only has 1 Grand Trial under his belt, despite the fact he could have easily completed the others) which will certainly be a requirement in future Leagues (which would have left about 8 people participating between people who did the Challenge and people who heard about the League, which defeats the entire purpose of an inaugural League, i.e., to get as many people as possible interested in the next one).
5. There is absolutely zero proof that other Leagues did not start out doing weird things until they settled into a comfortable pattern.

 

[MockingJ]

Hell yeah, why wouldn't it be a real League? Unlike the Orange League, the Alola League actually exists in the games so it has a basis in the show.

 

[ash&charizardfan]

Its a proper league, the winner will be the declared inaugural champion of alola, so it is a proper league, even if it does not have the strongest traienrs from other region competing.

 

[Satoshi & Touko]

I think in essence, the real question we're getting at here is:

If Ash wins the Alola League, will we feel the same as we would if he had won, say, the Hoenn/Sinnoh/Kalos/etc League?

For me, I would say no. Not really.

 

[Power Up]

Finally, some arguments. I just want to state exactly why the lack of a barrier entry is of utmost importance and why I think many of you are really ignoring why it matters and how the league in Alola not having it really delegitimizes it in comparison.

All previous leagues have true meaning and significance. It's shown in the Froufrou episode in XY. There, the Froufrou trainer couldn't participate in the league because he didn't have the 8 gym battles that all previous leagues have required. He and many others, couldn't join in what is considered the ultimate honor because they simply weren't good enough. He lost to XY Ash because he wasn't on his level.

There, the league meant something. It's something only the best of the best should be able to participate in. Those gym badges had value that the Grand Trials don't. Previous leagues have had value because of those gym badges.

The league isn’t something Bug Catcher Joe should be able to participate in. It’s an honor that a lot of trainers put blood, sweat, and tears in trying to obtain. Everyone saw how much it mattered to that Furfrou trainer and by extension, that’s everyone whose failed at obtaining all those gym badges. So Alola is basically spitting in the face of the trainers who did put in that effort, those hours of continuously working and improving their skills in favor of convenience and is rewarding people like the Froufrou trainer who simply aren't on the level of trainers like Ash.

Yes, it's a new conception and yes it had to be done, but these are simple excuses that don't change the actual substance of what the Alola league lacks.

Is it a real league? Yes.

Is it a good league? Not really.

EDIT: Why I think it's a real league:

It's a real league to me as not only is it a 'league' of which the overall winner will be declared Champion of Alola. I'm not entirely fussed that 'anyone can enter' because that just means it's accepting of all people regardless of ability. Sure, the prestige of previous leagues (8 gym badges) isn't here and there is no substitute in place (such as completing all four Grand Trials) but this is a brand new conception in the anime, where they will have time to tweak the rules, much like modern sports are always doing*.

Spoiler

Besides, even with the lack of a barrier of entry, it's not like the quality of competition has come up, the four Semi-finalists are Ash, Gladion, Kiawe and Guzma, only one of those could be considered below the other three but these four candidates are the most developed in terms of battle prowess/strength and as such it makes sense in a narrative sense for these four to occupy the top four.

*we won't see this though

Why it's not a good league:

For all the reasons why I'm convinced it's a real league, the reason it's not a good league is partly due to the fact it's a new creation. With the lack of a barrier to entry, it's much harder to establish a sense of prestige. I also suppose with how the opening rounds went, it leaves it open to luck over who goes through and what not but then again luck does play a factor in sporting events so Idk.

Anyone can be declared a champion of anything. Iris was the champion of the BW tournament as well. The only thing really separating the BW tournament from Alola's league is that the latter is supposed to be the de facto tournament of Alola. And I personally don't accept the idea that just because a tournament in its concept is supposed to represent the entirety of region, it can be called an actual " league. " It sets up a slippery slope and it still doesn't hold the quality of opponents in care as anyone can join.

You concede that it doesn't have the prestige and it's a new conception. Which entails it is entirely different from its predecessors. Why is that not enough to deep it incomparable in comparison of the previous leagues? Why can the Alola " league " simply be placed in its own category of tournament?

Of course it is a real league. It is implied the winner of Alola League will be declared the Champion of Alola. It's not comparable to the BW tournaments, because winning them didn't make trainer Champion of Unova, neither did it give him a chance to face E4 and a current Champion. Sure, it's not as prestigious as the Leagues in other region, and it couldn't be because it's the first ever League tournament in Alola. If they had the same requirements as the other leagues, barely anyone would be able to participate because Alola is not big on battling.

Calling it a fake league is like calling Ash's Totodile a fake capture just because it's significantly weaker than Ash's other Pokémon.

Winning the Alola League doesn't give you the opportunity to face the E4 and a current champion either. Kukui in his concept doesn't fit the bill of a " current champion " either. The " league " in Alola would have easily become more prestigious if they had the requirements of the Grand Trials for example, then, while it would still be a new conception, it would have actual legitimacy as a league in which only strong trainers can gather, which this league does not.

None of the prior leagues share formats, so this is a non argument really. It's recognized as a Pokemon League by all of the authority figures in Alola. If you argue that Alola is illegitimate, then Unova and Kalos are too because there wasn't an external credentialing body to oversee the league tournament and ensure quality control for the Gyms.

Sinnoh is what people recognize as the de facto league format, with prelims, proper rounds, finals and the "Champion League" incorporating the game's league structure. But Sinnoh was also the first league to retreat from the "globalist" Olympic styling of Hoenn and earlier leagues to become an exclusively regional event. I certainly felt like the Johto was a much more international competition, with trainers from Kanto, Johto and Hoenn competing.

The irony of Kanto introducing the Pokemon League Conference concept is that people dismiss its format as "OS nonsense", which is bollocks.

However, all previous leagues have had one standard bearer and that's the entry requirement. The entry requirement has value.

Within the context of the show, it's a "real" league. Everyone in Alola treats it as a significant event, it's recognised by all the key figures in the region, they built a stadium specifically to host it, and the intent is to crown a Champion of the region. I've no reason to doubt its legitimacy in this setting.

I don't believe the lack of barrier to entry is really an issue, either. Several real life sporting events have open entry, but they mitigate this with lengthy qualifying rounds to thin out the participants so that by the end, the top competitors remain. This is exactly what the Alola League has done, with a Battle Royale to determine only the strongest (or luckiest, I guess) trainers for the final tournament. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the Alola League has been the only tournament so far to have as many as sixteen named characters participating in it. Of course, we can question the strength of characters like Samson Oak, Sophocles, Mallow and Lillie, but by the latter rounds, the characters we have seen are strong and good battlers remained.

As I see it, the issue here isn't if the league is "real" or not, but the standard of competition. Gladion, Kiawe and Guzma are strong, but they're not Paul, Sawyer or Alain, insofar as not having full teams of six strong Pokemon. 6v6 is the de facto ultimate test for trainers. I could argue about different match formats, but the show has clearly established that when it comes to the big time, 6v6 is the traditional format. As I see it, things like the non-existent barrier to entry, or the league being brand new, are insignificant, because the real problem here is that the final rounds are 1v1 and 3v3.

To put another way, the league lacks gravitas. 6v6 battles are rare and having them during the big tournament feels like a huge event, whereas in this case it simply lacks that feeling. I think 3v3 is a great format to show off a trainer's strength and breadth of strategies, but I do accept it's not quite the same. I would be disappointed if the final battle in the games were only 3v3, and I think that says a lot.

I can agree that JUST in the context of Alola it can be called a " real " league, but can it be called that in context of previous regions, i.e the rest of the show? Would that not make the Alola league seperate from leagues prior and put it in its own category?

A barrier entry has been the standard of leagues before Alola, it not having a barrier entry immediately eliminates it from being compared in context to previous leagues in value and prestige for this very reason. I've already stated the importance of having a barrier entry

1. This is a League.
2. Prestige has to be built. It does not automatically exist when something begins.
3. This League having the ability to have bad referee calls overturned makes it more fair than any other League.
4. It made no sense to have requirements to enter due to multiple factors such as the short time between the League's announcement and its beginning and the fact that very few people in Alola even do the Island Challenge (even Kiawe, the 2nd-most battle-happy student after Ash, only has 1 Grand Trial under his belt, despite the fact he could have easily completed the others) which will certainly be a requirement in future Leagues (which would have left about 8 people participating between people who did the Challenge and people who heard about the League, which defeats the entire purpose of an inaugural League, i.e., to get as many people as possible interested in the next one).
5. There is absolutely zero proof that other Leagues did not start out doing weird things until they settled into a comfortable pattern.

1. No, I believe it be its own thing
2. Prestige can also be built through entry requirements...
3. That's a non-argument
4. That doesn't actually address the problem, just that it provides context. It isn't good writing. It's a fault of THIS league in Alola and Alola itself. If latter leagues fix these problems, I would consider them really leagues as well. This one hasn't.
5. You have no proof that they did and we can only go based on what is actually in the show

---------------------

I'd be willing to call it a " league " insofar it's the biggest tournament in Alola, but I will not be willing to call it a league in the context of previous regions. That's my stance. As @Satoshi & Touko has stated, Ash winning this league would not have the same gravity of him winning previous leagues.

 

[TheWanderingMist]

Finally, some arguments. I just want to state exactly why the lack of a barrier entry is of utmost importance and why I think many of you are really ignoring why it matters and how the league in Alola not having it really delegitimizes it in comparison.

All previous leagues have true meaning and significance. It's shown in the Froufrou episode in XY. There, the Froufrou trainer couldn't participate in the league because he didn't have the 8 gym battles that all previous leagues have required. He and many others, couldn't join in what is considered the ultimate honor because they simply weren't good enough. He lost to XY Ash because he wasn't on his level.

There, the league meant something. It's something only the best of the best should be able to participate in. Those gym badges had value that the Grand Trials don't. Previous leagues have had value because of those gym badges.

The league isn’t something Bug Catcher Joe should be able to participate in. It’s an honor that a lot of trainers put blood, sweat, and tears in trying to obtain. Everyone saw how much it mattered to that Furfrou trainer and by extension, that’s everyone whose failed at obtaining all those gym badges. So Alola is basically spitting in the face of the trainers who did put in that effort, those hours of continuously working and improving their skills in favor of convenience and is rewarding people like the Froufrou trainer who simply aren't on the level of trainers like Ash.

Yes, it's a new conception and yes it had to be done, but these are simple excuses that don't change the actual substance of what the Alola league lacks.



Anyone can be declared a champion of anything. Iris was the champion of the BW tournament as well. The only thing really separating the BW tournament from Alola's league is that the latter is supposed to be the de facto tournament of Alola. And I personally don't accept the idea that just because a tournament in its concept is supposed to represent the entirety of region, it can be called an actual " league. " It sets up a slippery slope and it still doesn't hold the quality of opponents in care as anyone can join.

You concede that it doesn't have the prestige and it's a new conception. Which entails it is entirely different from its predecessors. Why is that not enough to deep it incomparable in comparison of the previous leagues? Why can the Alola " league " simply be placed in its own category of tournament?



Winning the Alola League doesn't give you the opportunity to face the E4 and a current champion either. Kukui in his concept doesn't fit the bill of a " current champion " either. The " league " in Alola would have easily become more prestigious if they had the requirements of the Grand Trials for example, then, while it would still be a new conception, it would have actual legitimacy as a league in which only strong trainers can gather, which this league does not.



However, all previous leagues have had one standard bearer and that's the entry requirement. The entry requirement has value.



I can agree that JUST in the context of Alola it can be called a " real " league, but can it be called that in context of previous regions, i.e the rest of the show? Would that not make the Alola league seperate from leagues prior and put it in its own category?

A barrier entry has been the standard of leagues before Alola, it not having a barrier entry immediately eliminates it from being compared in context to previous leagues in value and prestige for this very reason. I've already stated the importance of having a barrier entry



1. No, I believe it be its own thing
2. Prestige can also be built through entry requirements...
3. That's a non-argument
4. That doesn't actually address the problem, just that it provides context. It isn't good writing. It's a fault of THIS league in Alola and Alola itself. If latter leagues fix these problems, I would consider them really leagues as well. This one hasn't.
5. You have no proof that they did and we can only go based on what is actually in the show

---------------------

I'd be willing to call it a " league " insofar it's the biggest tournament in Alola, but I will not be willing to call it a league in the context of previous regions. That's my stance. As @Satoshi & Touko has stated, Ash winning this league would not have the same gravity of him winning previous leagues.

Prestige cannot be built through entry requirements. Prestige happens over time as more and more people come to appreciate something. Heck, the definition of prestige is "weight in public opinion" and the Alola League was instantly popular with everyone but Guzma.

Putting it in context is why this League is a League despite its differences to past Leagues.

 

[Power Up]

Prestige cannot be built through entry requirements. Prestige happens over time as more and more people come to appreciate something. Heck, the definition of prestige is "weight in public opinion" and the Alola League was instantly popular with everyone but Guzma.

Putting it in context is why this League is a League despite its differences to past Leagues.

Yeah, prestige relies on perception of quality and achievements of so and so...Can it be gained over time? For sure, and is still a reason why the league is not as prestigious as previous leagues as it's a new addition, but this league simply doesn't have the quality and its participants don't have the achievements that participants had in previous league. It not having that history isn't the biggest reason as to why it isn't a real league based on the context of the actual show and previous regions

People already appreciate the Alola League in the show lol, it's a place where any rando can join and pretend to be someone who actually deserves to be there. The tournaments in BW could have this huge massive positive public perception and they could have been going on for like 100 years and have this interesting history. but that wouldn't mean it would anywhere near as prestigious as the BW league

So you're basically using a very narrow definition of the word to suit your agenda when in reality the term is far more broad and constitutes a lot of things. The Alola League doesn't have prestige when it doesn't have entry requirements, 6v6s, etc...