Let’s see how you back this up.
^I don't see the lack of barrier of entry as a problem because, in the end, the best trainers ended up in the final rounds.
Alright let’s consider the following thought experiment. Suppose we have 2 sets of n trainers where n is some positive integer (let’s say 100). Suppose we know nothing about either set except that 1 set necessarily had to go through a rigorous screening process (e.g. collecting 8 of a region’s gym badges) and the other didn’t. With this in mind we can say with high confidence that the first set would have a far higher aggregate standard than the second, and therefore it is a greater achievement to emerge as the best trainer amongst the former rather than the latter. Note that probability and plausibility are different; it’s plausible that the 2nd set is just as good as, if not better than, the first, but based on the information we know in this hypothetical, it would be extremely silly to claim that it’s probable or even just as likely that the second set is even in the same ballpark of the first with respect to aggregate trainer quality.
Winning the tournament still means something because they'll have overcome other strong trainers.
Sure, but it won’t mean nearly as much as Ash winning any of the other league conferences, and that’s the heart of the matter as was pointed out above.
If the Sinnoh or Kalos leagues didn't have any noteworthy competitions - no Alain, Sawyer, Barry, Paul, etc. - and just had random scrubs, would Ash's victory count for as much? I wouldn't say so. The eight badge requirement is a narrative device to imply competency but trainer strength has to be demonstrated on screen for the viewer to be convinced they're a legitimate threat.
Let me make something clear; the burden of proof is on you to justify why the the aggregate trainer quality of the Alola league is on par with that of other conferences and not on me to show that said aggregate trainer quality is superior in other conferences (that’s the base expectation given by the hypothetical I illustrated earlier). Being a prominent character who was built up onscreen beforehand should make viewers more invested in battles involving them, but don’t conflate investment with merit. Ash beating ‘scrubs’ who are confirmed to have gone through a rigorous screening process is objectively a more meritocratic achievement than Ash beating most of the people who signed up for the Alola league even if there would be more investment in some of those battles (for example say if Ash battled Lillie, Mallow or a TRio member).
Based on statements and depiction, there are only 4 trainers barring Ash who I’d say would meet league qualification standards in other regions. Ilima since he’s confirmed to have qualified for an iteration of the Kalos League, Guzma since he beat Ilima convincingly, Gladion since he (presumably) completed the Island challenge and has been built up for so long, and finally Kiawe (in particular his Turtonator) for giving Gladion somewhat of a fight.
Ash's route to the final this time has seen him face Hau, Guzma and Gladion - all trainers he's lost to before. From the show's perspective, he's overcoming the people he's struggled against before, which gives his victories weight.
Not really with Hau since he got his win back in the very same episode lol. Regarding Guzma the battle was unfinished but sure Ash was struggling ( thank’s to Pikachu’s usual inconsistency). For argument’s sake, let’s say that Guzma and Gladion are comparable to Sawyer and Alain in terms of trainer strength (they’re really not based on feats, but whatever). It would still follow that beating Sawyer and Alain would be the considerably superior achievement because they had to be beaten in 6 vs 6 battles whereas Guzma and Gladion only needed to be beaten in 2 vs 2 and 3 vs 3 battles respectively (I hope I don’t have to explain why winning in a full battle is a greater achievement over a 2 vs 2 or 3 vs 3).
It's not spitting in the face of anything.
Speak for yourself, but it absolutely spits in the face of any long term fan who’s been invested in Ash’s league quest since the beginning.
Most competitions in reality have open entry and offer the chance to compete to anyone
Yeah and doing well in competitions at the highest lvl that actually require some form of merit for entry objectively has more merit to it than doing so in any of those open tournaments.
, but, as I've said before, they have stringent qualification periods to ensure a high level of competition later in the tournament... which is exactly what the Alola League has done.
Yeah so ‘stringent’ that flipping Jessie and James got through them xD. In principle this could have worked, but as I said before, only 5 of the 16 trainers who made it through could be conceived of as legitimate league contenders in any other region, and it’s a fairly large problem if we can’t do that for over 2/3rds of the Alola league’s top 16.
This serves the exact same purpose as collecting x amount of badges or ribbons.
It definitely doesn’t in the case of badges since we know for a fact that gym leaders undergo quality control and hence we can be assured that every gym leader meets a certain minimum standard of quality whereas the same can’t be said about any of the scrubs who got beaten in that battle royal (and those scrubs don’t even have any known qualifications to fall back on, so beating them amounts to practically nothing in terms of meritocracy).
Anyone with a Pokemon and ID can take the gym challenge, but only the best make it to the league. Anyone can compete in the Alola League, but only the best will contest the finals.
As I’ve stated before, the screening process to determine the league winner being far more extensive in other regions generally makes winning those leagues a far greater achievement than winning the Alola league, and even if the quality of the final few opponents in both cases were comparable, the respective formats (full battles vs 2 on 2 and 3 on 3) make winning the former a superior achievemnt to winning the latter.
The league starts off with hundreds of entrants but finishes with just 16. That's a steep barrier. Bug Catcher Joe doesn't make it through that, and neither does the Furfrou guy, either. Ultimately, the trainers who have trained the hardest progress. The ones there for a bit of a laugh get dumped out.
Yeah and this show hasn’t done nearly enough to convince the audience that Jessie, James, Lillie, Mallow, Sophocles, Lana, Hau, Acerola, Samson, Faba and Mina should be considered legitimate league contenders which is a problem for a large section of the audience, and part of the reason why they can’t take this league even remotely as seriously as they did the others. It also doesn’t help that the execution of certain battles made the league feel like even more of a joke than it already was due to certain participants placing where they did.
So the Alola League isn't rewarding anyone. People still have to earn their way to the part that matters. It's not like Furfrou guy is turning up and getting a round of 16 match for free.
Lmao the Furfrou guy could probably beat at least half the people in that top 16.