There is too many if's in this
First of all we're going off the assumption that Alder is stronger than Caitlin simply because he's the Champion and she's not. We don't know if Caitlin is stronger than Alder because we've never seen them battle. Secondly it's bad to judge someones strength of a battle that didn't even include them. Case and point Zoey, May and Dawn. May defeated Zoey who was defeated by Dawn so logically Dawn should be able to defeat Zoey but did she? Exactly. Thirdly we don't know how that battle would of ended had it continued because it was called off early due to the time running out. And finally technically Iris' Axew held it's own against Garchomp so are we gonna use that as a clear testament to Alder's strength?
The one who is making multiple "If" arguments is you where you're assuming Alder is weaker than the other regional Champions when there has been no actual indication of any of this or evidence of the same. The closest thing to ranking Regional Champions in terms of Strength is only possible now because of how the PWC is structured.
1) Caitlin being weaker than Alder is based off an objective fact that the Regional Champion is strong than the Elite four Members. This is a simple concept that has already been established. If Caitlin was strong than Alder, then she would be the regional Champion.
This is like saying Siebold or Malva may be stronger than Diantha and there's no way to know cause we haven't seen them battle. Since Alder is confirmed to have been the Regional Champion.
You're the one using some irrelevant arguments that are entirely based on assumptions.
The simple fact is Alder was a Regional Champion and Until the PWC, there was no real Measure or definitive Indication that showed how Elite four Members/ Regional Champions of different regions, stacked up against each other because we never saw them battle.
So concluding Alder must be weaker simply because of the Hype around Cynthia, Ash's weakness in Unova and to downplay Iris's Achievement is just ridiculous. We objectively see Caitlin hold her own in an actual battle with Cynthia. This would be the case for all the Elite four members. And Since Alder is a step above the Unova Elite Four, he should be more than capable to hold his own based off these "Objective facts".
No offense but honestly you seem to be the one making assumptions and giant leaps here to justify her strength in parameters which are as as
@Sham said based on many ifs. Cynthia and Caitilin battled for a while in a timed exhibition match. That isn't an indicator of anyone's strength at all, much less does it make one assume Cynthia was giving it all and coz the battle didn't end when it did it means the other trainer is strong. That's honestly a really weak way to garner strength. Which is why I say Unova has always been shown to not be as that strong, I mean as I mentioned before Alder had nothing going for him, none of the gym leaders were impressive, Caitilin as I said isn't really a proper indicator, Cameron and Virgil were mediocre, not anything that special
"This isn't an indicator of anyone's strength at all"
"Cynthia wasn't giving it her all"
"Unova has always been shown to not be that strong"
If you're willing to assume Cynthia wasn't giving it "Her all", I could just as very well assume Alder is probably as strong as Leon and lost interest in battling and spends most of his time fooling around and holding back.
You aren't being objective. You are simply looking for reasons to establish your belief that Alder is weak, cuz Unova is weak and to downplay Iris's accomplishment.
Do I agree with Iris being Regional Champion tier considering how Ash has progressed? Absolutely not. But objectively, that doesn't matter.
Who's the one making assumptions lol?
The simple fact is, Alder was a Regional Champion and there is absolutely NO objective proof until the PWC that establishes Elite four members of one region being strong/superior to the other. Or regional Champions of one region being stronger than the other.
Ash's incompetence in Unova is simply not enough justification for this.
(This was funny tho XD)
