345ash-greninja
Auto-Memories Doll
I can actually understand the perspective of the people who don't consider the Alola League to be of comparable standard & quality compared to the other Leagues in terms of competition and thus are upset at "Ash's moment of winning finally came in such an underwhelming League with low standards of competition and so on...", "how much value & prestige does winning a mini-League/baby joke tournament of this level have in the first place...etc. etc."..............
But despite all of that,
It doesn't change the fact that this moment has enormous historical, landmark and narrative significance in the context of the Pokemon anime as a whole. Ash failing to win the Pokemon League has been the longest status quo in the Pokemon anime by far, which has looked nearly unbreakable, which has led to countless disappointments & despair for many Pokemon fans as a whole (who can forget the outburst of sky-high levels of salt after the Kalos League) leading us to believe that Ash never winning a League is very likely the (harsh) reality we've to just accept. We've throughout the 22 years of the Pokemon anime witnessed one disappointing loss after another, giving us fans disappointment in that very one aspect for all these years who wanted to see him finally win achieve what has been since depicted as the primary big step towards his goal....leading to Ash earning the tag of loser in the eyes of several people. This time, he at the most crucial time and the crunch battle, stepped up and made it big, winning the whole thing and finally added that long-awaited title/accomplishment as a League winner which he has been lacking for all these years & breaking the status quo which has made the Pokemon anime go on in an repetitive formula/rigid structure year after year., region after region.
Yes, SM isn't the best series, neither is the Alola League the best of Leagues, and Ash & Gladion isn't the best final League Ash battle to happen. Yes, SM as a series has its own problems, moreso for the Alola League which has several obvious problems too (I'm personally not the biggest fan of SM series or the Alola League, or Ash's SM version in general either). But he still won this after all these years, after years of failed attempts, valiant efforts resulting in at best respectable losses. This time, he has finally gone past that barrier he was failing to overcome all these years and won the whole regional tournament, which means he can finally strive and aim for somethimg beyond this, he finally can take that secondary step towards his goal after fulfilling the seemingly insurmountable primaly step after all these failures. Matter of fact is that this win has actually ended the status quo and repetitive tiring formula after a long wait, which just simply can't be denied. If Ash lost, then guess what. The very same and rigid/tiresome formula of Ash losing a League and going off to the next region would've just continued on. This win is that point where all of that has had finally a change after all, after 6 losses/failed attempts in Leagues, which is why the narrative importance of this battle, this very moment, is huge regardless of the standards/prestige of the League as a whole.
And consider the nostalgia factor here: many/several fans amongst us who have been watching Pokemon since our very childhood have very likely wholeheartedly rooted for Ash to win during his League battles throughout all these years at least at some point during all these years, likely at least during some of the previous 6 Leagues has participated in, maybe during our childhood, maybe during our pro-teens, etc. etc. During the course of these several years and all of Ash's previous losses, with time I guess most of us have accepted the Pokemon anime for what it is & deal with Ash's losses more realistically/better without involving ourselves too much regarding Ash's performance/predicament in League battles.....heck this time around, around, I wasn't really much super invested in the outcome either, learning from my previous experiences of seeing Ash lose in various ways & I'd have been totally fine with the result going either way. But now that after all these years, this rare & unexpected moment has finally happened, can I (& several other fans like me too) really help but feel emotional during this moment of massive historical and landmark significance? The anwser plausibly becomes no. Because at least at some point, we long term Pokemon anime fans have very likely rooted for the boy, whether in childhood or pro-teens. So even in case where we're not super invested in the outcome & would've been fine either way, it's hard to not show our appreciation and emotion where this unexpected moment has finally happened somehow. Since nostalgia, landmark & narrative value are quite hard to overlook.
That's all I really have to say on this matter.
But despite all of that,
It doesn't change the fact that this moment has enormous historical, landmark and narrative significance in the context of the Pokemon anime as a whole. Ash failing to win the Pokemon League has been the longest status quo in the Pokemon anime by far, which has looked nearly unbreakable, which has led to countless disappointments & despair for many Pokemon fans as a whole (who can forget the outburst of sky-high levels of salt after the Kalos League) leading us to believe that Ash never winning a League is very likely the (harsh) reality we've to just accept. We've throughout the 22 years of the Pokemon anime witnessed one disappointing loss after another, giving us fans disappointment in that very one aspect for all these years who wanted to see him finally win achieve what has been since depicted as the primary big step towards his goal....leading to Ash earning the tag of loser in the eyes of several people. This time, he at the most crucial time and the crunch battle, stepped up and made it big, winning the whole thing and finally added that long-awaited title/accomplishment as a League winner which he has been lacking for all these years & breaking the status quo which has made the Pokemon anime go on in an repetitive formula/rigid structure year after year., region after region.
Yes, SM isn't the best series, neither is the Alola League the best of Leagues, and Ash & Gladion isn't the best final League Ash battle to happen. Yes, SM as a series has its own problems, moreso for the Alola League which has several obvious problems too (I'm personally not the biggest fan of SM series or the Alola League, or Ash's SM version in general either). But he still won this after all these years, after years of failed attempts, valiant efforts resulting in at best respectable losses. This time, he has finally gone past that barrier he was failing to overcome all these years and won the whole regional tournament, which means he can finally strive and aim for somethimg beyond this, he finally can take that secondary step towards his goal after fulfilling the seemingly insurmountable primaly step after all these failures. Matter of fact is that this win has actually ended the status quo and repetitive tiring formula after a long wait, which just simply can't be denied. If Ash lost, then guess what. The very same and rigid/tiresome formula of Ash losing a League and going off to the next region would've just continued on. This win is that point where all of that has had finally a change after all, after 6 losses/failed attempts in Leagues, which is why the narrative importance of this battle, this very moment, is huge regardless of the standards/prestige of the League as a whole.
And consider the nostalgia factor here: many/several fans amongst us who have been watching Pokemon since our very childhood have very likely wholeheartedly rooted for Ash to win during his League battles throughout all these years at least at some point during all these years, likely at least during some of the previous 6 Leagues has participated in, maybe during our childhood, maybe during our pro-teens, etc. etc. During the course of these several years and all of Ash's previous losses, with time I guess most of us have accepted the Pokemon anime for what it is & deal with Ash's losses more realistically/better without involving ourselves too much regarding Ash's performance/predicament in League battles.....heck this time around, around, I wasn't really much super invested in the outcome either, learning from my previous experiences of seeing Ash lose in various ways & I'd have been totally fine with the result going either way. But now that after all these years, this rare & unexpected moment has finally happened, can I (& several other fans like me too) really help but feel emotional during this moment of massive historical and landmark significance? The anwser plausibly becomes no. Because at least at some point, we long term Pokemon anime fans have very likely rooted for the boy, whether in childhood or pro-teens. So even in case where we're not super invested in the outcome & would've been fine either way, it's hard to not show our appreciation and emotion where this unexpected moment has finally happened somehow. Since nostalgia, landmark & narrative value are quite hard to overlook.
That's all I really have to say on this matter.
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