So the Alola League....

[Genaller]

Yeah I think they’ll have a standard tournament style league since (as already pointed out) Kukui is taking inspiration from the Kanto and Kalos leagues. I also think that this will probably have the smallest number of contestants for a standard league in anime history (my guess is 16 or 32). As far as Ash’s matches; I’m sure that he’ll have matches with Illma (my guess would be 3 vs 3) and Gladion (hopefully 6 vs 6 for this one).

I also think that there’s a good chance that either Masked Royale competes in the league or (due to his resume in battle royales) is declared the inaugural Alolan Champion whom the winner of the league can have a title shot against a.k.a I think there’s a non-trivial possibility that we could get an Ash vs Kukui 6 vs 6 battle (where Kukui probably wins if he truly is Champion Tier unless this is Ash’s last series).

Maybe Kiawe also competes (it’s unclear whether he’s finished the Island Tirals) though even if he does my bet would be that he jobs out to another 1 of Ash’s potential opponents like Gladion in order to build them up. I suspect that Acerola and Kahili could also be possible contestants. In particular with Kahili they can have it be similar to the games where she previously completed the Island Challenge and then travelled the world honing her skills (as both a trainer and golfer). With Acerola it’ll probably be more clear after the next several episodes whether there’s a reasonable chance of her competing in the league. So in total I can see Ash having “League” battles with:

1. Gladion
2. Illma
3. Masked Royale
4. Kahili
5. Acerola

with Gladion and Masked Royale most likely being full battles if they happened. In reality though Ash probably won’t face all 5 of them, but a guy can dream . Also I hate to be that guy, but I see practically 0% chance of Ash using reserves in the league (except maybe against Kukui) and given the limited number of battles we’ve gotten thus far, the Alolan Pokémon need all the battle time they can get.

 

[Akkipeddi]

Yeah I think they’ll have a standard tournament style league since (as already pointed out) Kukui is taking inspiration from the Kanto and Kalos leagues. I also think that this will probably have the smallest number of contestants for a standard league in anime history (my guess is 16 or 32). As far as Ash’s matches; I’m sure that he’ll have matches with Illma (my guess would be 3 vs 3) and Gladion (hopefully 6 vs 6 for this one).

I also think that there’s a good chance that either Masked Royale competes in the league or (due to his resume in battle royales) is declared the inaugural Alolan Champion whom the winner of the league can have a title shot against a.k.a I think there’s a non-trivial possibility that we could get an Ash vs Kukui 6 vs 6 battle (where Kukui probably wins if he truly is Champion Tier unless this is Ash’s last series).

Maybe Kiawe also competes (it’s unclear whether he’s finished the Island Tirals) though even if he does my bet would be that he jobs out to another 1 of Ash’s potential opponents like Gladion in order to build them up. I suspect that Acerola and Kahili could also be possible contests. In particular with Kahili they can have it be similar to the games where she previously completed the Island Challenge and then travelled the world honing her skills (as both a trainer and golfer). With Acerola it’ll probably be more clear after the next several episodes whether there’s a reasonable chance of her competing in the league. So in total I can see Ash having “League” battles with:

1. Gladion
2. Illma
3. Masked Royale
4. Kahili
5. Acerola

with Gladion and Masked Royale most likely being full battles if they happened. In reality though Ash probably won’t face all 5 of them, but a guy can dream . Also I hat to be that guy, but I see practically 0 chance of Ash using reserves in the league (except maybe against Kukui) and given the limited number of battles we’ve gotten thus far, the Alolan Pokémon need all the battle time they can get.

No Kiawe isn't an Island Challenger. He only took on Olivia under special circumstances so that he could be deemed worthy to inherit his Grandfather's Z Ring. I don't see any of the classmates participating in this league, including Kiawe, even if he is the most competent battler amongst the classmates.

 

[Genaller]

No Kiawe isn't an Island Challenger. He only took on Olivia under special circumstances so that he could be deemed worthy to inherit his Grandfather's Z Ring. I don't see any of the classmates participating in this league, including Kiawe, even if he is the most competent battler amongst the classmates.

Ah I see. Thanks for clearing that up . If you had to make a list of the 5 people Ash would be most likely to face in a “league” battle, who would they be?

 

[Dragalge]

I’m expecting some last-minute rival to come and beat Ash as much as I don’t want that to happen sorta.

Actually I would still take that over Ash losing to Illima. I can only imagine the salt if such a thing were to happen lol.

 

[Akkipeddi]

I'm very sure that Ilima is going to be one of the early round jobbers if he participates. Either he'll get beaten by Ash in the early rounds, or he'll get beaten by one of the major league competitors, like Barry and Trevor.

Personally I find it hard to envision a last minute random rival like Tobias being the one to beat Ash, since the Island Challenge is quite self contained, hence the league is highly unlikely to have many challengers pouring in.

Also, funny thing is, Lusamine is the only character who has a confirmed team of 6 (barring Ash and Gladion's eventual full teams), so they could also throw her into the league without feeling too out of place.

 

[Pokegirl Fan~]

I wouldn't mind if queen Lusamine won the league, if it's a tournament styled league like the others; I still prefer something like the Orange League/Battle Frontier though since it's been years since Ash actually won something like that.

 

[AznKei]

I wouldn't mind if queen Lusamine won the league.

She would make the distinction of being the 1st girl/woman to win the Pokemon league on screen and perhaps encouraging other female characters to participate or even battle more.

 

[Akkipeddi]

Well I only mentioned Lusamine since she has a confirmed team of 6 and in theory can participate, but it's pretty obvious she won't since she has absolutely no reason to challenge Ash or to participate in a league in general.

@Genaller, barring Ilima and Gladion, It's tough to predict who all might compete in this league. I'm still quite certain it's not going to be a typical league like past seasons in terms of number of challengers. Even if Kukui was inspired to make a league based on Kanto and Kalos, he could be referring to the knockout style format. Because logically speaking, this is going to be Alola's first ever league, and it's tough to see 64 to 128 competitors from all over for its first ever league. That's why, I only see a small number of people we already know within Alola who might be participating. The only potential surprise candidates I could see are Kahili, Ryuki and maybe Hau.

Also, there's the school and it's graduation as well which has been emphasized since day 1, so I predict they'll combine the league with the school in someway since the school needs to be concluded as well.

 

[Mew2]

I could see the inaugural Alola League competition consisting of 16 participants: Ash, the 8 Trial Captains (including the classmates, they can use ride Pokémon plus their Ultra Guardians Pokémon to round out their teams), the four Kahunas, Gladion, Molayne or Lillie, and have Ryuki as the final League opponent assuming the Masked Royale would be a battle between champions.

 

[Akkipeddi]

I could see the inaugural Alola League competition consisting of 16 participants: Ash, the 8 Trial Captains (including the classmates, they can use ride Pokémon plus their Ultra Guardians Pokémon to round out their teams), the four Kahunas, Gladion, Molayne or Lillie, and have Ryuki as the final League opponent assuming the Masked Royale would be a battle between champions.

Assuming the girls get 1 more capture each (since I just can't see them catching more than 1 each at this stage now), along with ride Pokémon and Ultra Guardian Pokémon, everyone ends up having a maximum of 4 Pokémon only. And since they are part of the cast, they can't randomly pull anything out of their *** either, and not to mention, barring Kiawe, no one even battles. So yeah, imo, the classmates can be ruled out for the league.

I was thinking, depending on how Guzma and Plumeria are portrayed, I could see them straightened after a potential Skull arc, and we could see them as league challengers as well.

So a league with Ash, Gladion, Ilima, Acerola (maybe), Kahili (maybe), Guzma, Plumeria and Ryuki/Hau (maybe) sounds good enough. If Ash were to win this league, he'll be facing 3 challengers which is typically the same amount as in previous leagues, before facing and losing to Kukui for the title of innagrual champion.

 

[AshxSatoshi]

Assuming the girls get 1 more capture each (since I just can't see them catching more than 1 each at this stage now), along with ride Pokémon and Ultra Guardian Pokémon, everyone ends up having a maximum of 4 Pokémon only. And since they are part of the cast, they can't randomly pull anything out of their *** either, and not to mention, barring Kiawe, no one even battles. So yeah, imo, the classmates can be ruled out for the league.

I was thinking, depending on how Guzma and Plumeria are portrayed, I could see them straightened after a potential Skull arc, and we could see them as league challengers as well.

So a league with Ash, Gladion, Ilima, Acerola (maybe), Kahili (maybe), Guzma, Plumeria and Ryuki/Hau (maybe) sounds good enough. If Ash were to win this league, he'll be facing 3 challengers which is typically the same amount as in previous leagues, before facing and losing to Kukui for the title of innagrual champion.

I wouldn’t bar Lillie just yet (or at the very least all the classmates). The series still has to wrap up the Ultra Gurdian arc, Necrzoma arc, Ula Ula and Poni trials. That’s more than enough time for captures. And since Lillie is the main Pokégirl of this series it’s certain she will have more than one Pokémon than Snowball. Also Cameron proved you don’t need a FULL team to compete in these leagues so it’s not like the classmates need a ton of Pokémon. I don’t see why Guzma would compete since in the games he clearly loathes trials and I dont see him being so hot about competing in the Alola league. Sure he battles you post game after you become champion but so do a lot of main characters in that game including Lusamine. Nobody knows the rules and regulations of this league since it’s new, for all we know Kuki isn’t making this league a free for all where anyone can just join.

 

[Akkipeddi]

Sure as I said, I can see 1 more capture for each girl, but it's ridiculous to think Lillie, or for that matter any of the classmates are rapidly going to get 4 to 5 more Pokémon in their team in time for a league. And it's not even catching them, but there needs to be enough time to see them train them and probably even evolve some of them. Assuming the league will be sometime in December or early January, which is around 25 to 30 episodes later, it's still a huge stretch to expect the classmates to have teams of atleast 5 battle ready Pokémon capable of competing in a league.

As for being the main Pokegirl, it's tricky to really classify her as such now. Sure, till episode 55, she was undoubtedly the deuteragonist, and probably more important than Ash as well, with her fear of touching Pokémon, and the Aether arc focusing on her. But after the conclusion of that arc, what really sets Lillie apart from Lana and even Mallow in terms of importance?

 

[AshxSatoshi]

Sure as I said, I can see 1 more capture for each girl, but it's ridiculous to think Lillie, or for that matter any of the classmates are rapidly going to get 4 to 5 more Pokémon in their team in time for a league. And it's not even catching them, but there needs to be enough time to see them train them and probably even evolve some of them. Assuming the league will be sometime in December or early January, which is around 25 to 30 episodes later, it's still a huge stretch to expect the classmates to have teams of atleast 5 battle ready Pokémon capable of competing in a league.

As for being the main Pokegirl, it's tricky to really classify her as such now. Sure, till episode 55, she was undoubtedly the deuteragonist, and probably more important than Ash as well, with her fear of touching Pokémon, and the Aether arc focusing on her. But after the conclusion of that arc, what really sets Lillie apart from Lana and even Mallow in terms of importance?

She’s still just as important. The series doesn’t always have to have complete focus on a PokeGirl for her to qualify as one. There have been plenty of times Serena took a backseat for Clemont and Ash especially early XY. Same goes for Misty with Brock. Being a PokeGirl just means you’re second in importance after Ash. And it’s only been about 10 episodes since we’ve had a Lillie focused episode (the snow sledding one). The episode literally ended with the narrator saying “What type of Pokémon trainer with Lillie become?” So the writers still have plan for her and she’s really popular at that. Also there lies the problem, we don’t know when the Switch games are coming out. Yeah “early 2019” can be anywhere from January to as late as April. Buying SM plenty of time since the chances of Switch games coming out in late 2018 is getting less and less. Not to say all the classmates will have full teams but I believe one will have one or at least close to a full party. I’m betting Lillie Lana or Kiawe at this point. It’s not like the writers haven’t pulled last minute captures in the wake of a competition (Iris catching Dragonite right before her Drayden battle, Dawn obtaining Togekiss before the GF and Ash catching Gible before the Sinnoh League)

 

[Satomine Night]

Simple, just send out invitations to everyone who completed the island challenge in the past. Tell them that there will be a tournament to decide who will be the first champion of Alola. There should be enough to make a league from.

This is what I envision, as well. No doubt there are enough Trainers in Alola who have completed the Island Challenge to hold a league with at least 100 competitors. I don't see anyone who has not completed the Island Challenge competing, however—which means we can probably rule out Kiawe and the other classmates. (I had once hoped Lillie would become a decent enough Trainer to at least give the Island Challenge a shot, but at this point, I no longer think that is going to happen, sadly. ) I think Gladion will to finish the Island Challenge and qualify for the Alola League. I also think Ilima will compete.

As for being the main Pokegirl, it's tricky to really classify her as such now. Sure, till episode 55, she was undoubtedly the deuteragonist, and probably more important than Ash as well, with her fear of touching Pokémon, and the Aether arc focusing on her. But after the conclusion of that arc, what really sets Lillie apart from Lana and even Mallow in terms of importance?

Just because Lillie has fallen into the background since the end of the Aether Arc does not mean she is still not the main Pokégirl of this series. Not only has she had an entire story arc where she was the central character, but I believe she has still had more focus than the other classmates. She doesn't have to be in the forefront all the time.

 

[mehmeh1]

I'd tier the characters like this (as trainers):
S+:
Kukui
S:
Ash
A:
Gladion, Brock, Misty, Lusamine, Illima?, Nanu?
B:
Kiawe, Olivia, Hala, in 2 weeks we'll see if the TRio belongs here too
C:
Lana, Samson Oak?
D:
Lillie
E:
Mallow, Sophocles

 

[DatsRight]

I'd tier the characters like this (as trainers):
S+:
Kukui
S:
Ash
A:
Gladion, Brock, Misty, Lusamine, Illima?, Nanu?
B:
Kiawe, Olivia, Hala, in 2 weeks we'll see if the TRio belongs here too
C:
Lana, Samson Oak?
D:
Lillie
E:
Mallow, Sophocles

Didn't Samson Oak demolish Ash and Kiawe? He might be a shrewd S+.

TRio are difficult to rate because their strength is based on plot convenience. Even if they give Ash a good fight next week I can still see them being jobbers to the likes of Mallow and Lillie at some point again. It's best to rate them as '&' or '@' tier.

 

[Rock Captain 99]

So league is confirmed and kiawe would be participating too! The possibility of it being an Orange league like tournament can be stopped now!

 

[OshyHikari]

I was quite surprised Kiawe was revealed to be participating in the Alola League, since he doesn't have a full team like the other "classmates" but then again, he was the only classmate to complete his Island Challenge (though that was likely prior to Ash joining the group).

 

[Xenon Blue]

In order for this league to succeed, a lot of things need to go right. With the hands we are dealt so far it's really tough to create a good league, but I do think it can be done. There are still about 60 episodes to develop something, which is a lot, but knowing SM's pacing it really isn't. Here's the list of things that is a must if this league is going anywhere:
- Develop Kiawe and Ash's interaction further and give him more Pokemon to work with. At least one 3v3 battle between the two would help as well.
- Speaking of 3v3, for the love of God bring back battles that involves more than one Pokemon per team. I know we had a double battle, but battles that at least allowed a Pokemon to face off against two different foes is greatly missed. I don't even care about mid-battle switching anymore, just bring back the relay styled battle. If the league resorts to all battles being 1v1 then there's no saving it.
- Gladion needs to appear more often and with his full team revealed over time. He also needs more interaction with Ash that has substance inside them.
- Introduce one or two more rival before the league. At least one of them has an unique interaction with Ash (whether it's tension, aspiration, etc.), and the other one can be canon fodder for Gladion for all I care.
- Last minute rival is fine, but reduce their role (round 1 fodder, Gladion/Kiawe fodder, etc.), or make them feel more mysterious and threatening.
- No matter what the end result is I feel like it's going to be a bad ending so I'll take the slightly better option in making Ash lose in the finals again and make next season the finale with more battles that are good. The beginning to SM already set the pace for how pathetic the battles are, and there's no recovering from that.

Format:
64 trainer elimination bracket, 3v3 until top 8 where it is 6v6
top 64/32: Ash, Kiawe, Gladion, Ilima, Rival#1, Rival#2 all make it past first two rounds via fodders. Show at least one of Ash's matches in full though.
top 16: Gladion smokes Rival#2, establishing his strength. Ash beats Rival#1 in a close match
top 8: Ash barely beats Kiawe, and Gladion, Ilima, and mystery trainer moves on as well.
top 4: Ash barely beats Gladion. I honestly don't know what to do with Ilima, so I made him fodder for mystery trainer and lose horribly, establishing his strength.
Final: Ash barely loses to mystery trainer.

Tbh still sounds like a lame league, especially the ending. Still find it ok that Ash loses to a "random" trainer since dark horses that comes out of nowhere and taking out a trainer you were looking forward to has never really been done before in Pokemon. I just can't justify Ash winning this league, so this is the best loss I could come up with.

 

[Yuugis Black Magician]

Full teams don't need to be revealed until they're actually used in battle. There's no reason to bog down episodes just to show off a trainer's new Pokemon or whatever. Focus on a small number of characters. Shouta and Alan were great examples of this.