Look interesting arc, but really don't like the fact that writers allowed anime Iris to do something that ash always failed even now (means win a true league, beat elite 4 and rise to regional champion level). I can heard from here the usual Iris mocking "See ash, become pokemon master (whatever its means) is not my goal, but look, as true regional champion i'am far closer to achieve your dream than you will ever be, when your current self are not even on elite 4 level and repeat some noob mistakes, you are always such a little kid". At least, even if she become champion, i really hope the writers won't dare to make ash lose against her, it would be an insult and humiliation to ash dream.
Sadly, when anime writers break the usual pokemon anime code, it is rarely in ash favor (like with alain, the first rival ash never defeated even once). They maybe allow him to catch some powerful evolved pokemon, but what the use, when at same time they give his friends freaking legendaries.
hope if a legendary is caught, it will be by ash (and it will be a real one, like a generation trio (birds, dogs, regi, ...) , and not the fake ones who are more common than feebas like shaymin or wushours.
Damn at the current path, i bet if goh decided to fight seriously using his strong pokemons, he would have probably no real trouble to defeat ash dream-team (after all the flygon episode proved Goh battle skills and strategy are almost on sinnoh/kalos league ash level, and without real hard work, and he is on the way to have better pokemon than ash)