We've known for good while that if Ash won a league his journey won't end per say, but it's just the next step for him overall so what does come next that's the next path that the anime needs to focus on. In the past it has always been go to the next region to try to win that league and Ash has done really well throughout the series top 16, top 8 3 times, top 4, top 2, and seems to be winning the Alola league(still waiting to see the episode itself). So is the next step the champions league? the one thing that got brought up in Sinnoh and Unova in both the dubbed/subbed even now this adds more questions to the next chapter in the series since the only thing we know so far is that all the regions are going to be in this series. Once again they're taking the anime in a new direction.
I give the anime props for moving forward with the character in an honest manner. SWSH offers the perfect skeleton for another potential growth arc. in his trainer career with the league and all seemingly taking on an Olympic-style level of presentation and the offers of endorsement as well potential corruption running amuck with the likes of Chairman Rose’s speculated shadiness. Alola’s lesser sense of grandeur still provides room for growth without walling off the character’s progression. What will happen? Only time will tell but inspiring, establishing and winning the first league in a region is one helluva resume achievement. I once again have to praise S&M for breaking away from stagnate formula and innovating the characters and world in an eccentric yet genuine manner.
I feel like SM kinda tested Ash's agency more than previous series often did. SM was probably the quintessential series to demonstrate that battling is just one of many agendas a Pokemon trainer can have, and there can be many occupations and accomplishments that aren't even remotely connected to it. Some series dabbled in this but a lot of the time they still kept battling in SOME recurrent form with each character's goals or at least made them superficially develop through it, while SM makes it share focus way more. We establish companions that are in their element with other things, and many of Ash's quests or roles involve equipping himself to new non-battling tasks, or sometimes even just standing still and delving into things more intimately than before, with formula less liable to dominate and do the job for him. Ash no longer hits a brick wall if he can't do the same thing over and over.
Exactly, you could list off a number of non-battle related assets related to Satoshi because his character wasn’t established and run by battles. He could be a good “father” to Hoshigumo-chan and Bebenom without them being “fighters,” he could innovate in ways to solve the Ultra Beast issues outside of just battling like putting on a performance. He was able to teach and help with Zeroroa and Dia with regaining more drive to help save their world, he could understand though it was hard that Bebenom only came to his world for a mission and that he had to understand he was a protector first and foremost and not “his” Pokemon. Point being Satoshi was allowed roles and developments that simply weren’t laced to battles/fights. They focused on the agency and integrity of the character outside of battling.
XY shown Ash as incredibly complacent and in control in his element of battling and virtues, so it fits to make him a fish out of water in all these new situations but keep battling as the thing he is succinctly graceful in, compared to the companions who excel in the non-battling niches he flunks at but are shown struggling at battling even at this late a point. Thus when it comes to other power related accomplishments like winning the league within such an inexperienced roster or catching a mythical, they keep a similar succinctness about it. They've expanded plot ideas enough that Ash is no longer stuck unable to top his stance if he does those things. As the time travel episode questioned, what comes next? He still needs to explore that.
It’s S&M, they opened the door with young!Kukui’s questioning what comes after a league win and actually followed there and
gave him the league victory, and had Professor Kukui envision a fight between Satoshi/himself. As I said before there’s quite the potential for a narrative spillover into SWSH. Still the next series remains a mystery but with this series actually breaking away from the usual formula I feel like the writers are trying to innovate and making SWSH a more “sporty” saga and slowly amp up the intensity in terms of Satoshi’s goals and progesssion. Perhaps even craft him new goals outside of Pokemon Master and league victories. There was enough narrative work and character delving done with the character where a victory in a character-based league feels earned.
We saw everyone learn from their losses this league and become a better person, with Satoshi we don’t have to because we already know. He has the experience and personhood to win a league of this caliber so just let him have it. No strings attached. They laid the groundwork for this so I’m glad they had the balls to follow through.