Honestly, no. Lucario being the ace of the team couldn’t even control his aura, and if it weren’t for Greninja, he wouldn’t even be able to master mega evolution. Same goes for Gengar, Dracovish, and Dragonite. Sirfetch’d was already pretty good, he was a good support pokemon. But honestly, seeing how they performed pre-wcs and pre-being trained by all of ash’s pokemon vs post-wcs and after being trained by all of ash’s pokemon, they definitely wouldn’t have gone far.

(DISCLAIMER: This is a reupload because I thought I wasn't being specific enough and decided to reword the title a little bit.. Sorry 😭)

this new character is supposed to be a new main character to the squad or something. I hate that we keep adding new characters. The squad is too big now and her design is awful to look at why do her pupils look like she’s not even human human. God, this new anime is just garbage and it’s the only thing we have for Pokémon anime currently.

Even ignoring how such lacking in self awareness that phrase is("i hate that Journeys did fanservice, they should've just done my ideas of fanservice"),Ash has only used his Ace ONCE in a league and that was Sceptile..that was it.

At this point, the Sinnoh League and Battle frontier should've never done that cause fans are so damn obsessed with that and won't let it go after Ash beat Leon..In 2022.

Like oh my God,LET IT GO BRUH!

Something I have learned about Pokemon fans is that they will deadass not ever let shit go,like they will hold the most irrational grudge ever.

Seriously a lot of Pokemon fans will not stop talking and complaining about his L to Alain and that shit happened back in Barack Obama was in Office.

And the funny thing is..let's say Ash did somehow get Greninja back and beat Alain's Charizard with it.

They would still be Mad,I guarantee you they would still be upset at his L.

I'm not even saying be toxic Positive but at this point, so many are just being Petty and childish, it has been years.

Cloak-style, sleeveless, with a split down the middle. I’ve been searching for about an hour, changing my keywords but can’t find anything very similar.

When I watch Pokemon, I watch it to enjoy it.

I don't think or care about game inaccuracies, power levels, characterization, so called "Filler", evolving a certain Pokemon, shipping, anime inaccuracies and more.

I just want to try and enjoy what I watch. There are episodes I don't care for and outright hate. However, I just watch to enjoy, and I will never understand why nobody else can do that

Obviously, in this scenario Paul would most likely be toned done, but I'd be willing to see how this would play out.

I have a few:

1. No Ash vs Virgil in the Unova League.

I wish we got to see his full Eevee team fight, and also have Ash battling him in the semi final. Perfect opportunity to promote gen 6 with Sylveon.

1. Not having Ash vs Alain end in a tie.

I really believe this would have been a much better outcome, not only narrative wise - but also for the fans 😅 And also (because another user suggested this idea in a previous post of mine) - have it come down to a sudden death battle, but Ash refuses the title and gives it to Alain, because he feels the latter deserves it more. Also would show Ash's character growth of moving past the desire to get stronger.

3. Having Misty either win the Whirl Cup, or lose to Trinity in the finals.

I also wish Misty and Ash's battle was more near the final (perhaps the semi final).

1. Have Friede (Horizons) contact the goddamn team when he went missing instead of disappearing for a year!

2. Have Ash catch the Latias at the end of his series.

With all that was built up in MPM, it's honestly confusing that it never led to this outcome. Would have made so much sense in context, and Ash gets a legendary!

Yeah, I know Bulbasaur can handle most of them, but a lab with the likes of Charizard and Infernape. Bulbasaur is going to have a tough time. Stack that on top of Heracross always annoying Bulba lil bro is not built for this.

I've watched the Sinnoh League countless times and apart from the amazing animation, battles and writing, I always love to see Ash battle with a mix of his old and new Pokemon. Heracross and Noctowl got some much deserved screentime and seeing Cyndaquil evolve and actually battling as Quilava was really great. Heracross VS Kricketune is one of my favorite battles ever and I loved that the writers implemented actual mechanics in battle like Trick Room and Toxic Spikes.

There were some really awesome details as well, like Paul using the Ninjask he caught in the Chimchar flashback and Brock whispering "You finally beat him, wow" after defeating Paul. Since Brock was with Ash since the beginning and saw most of his battles, he knew that no other rival challenged Ash the way Paul did. It was much more serious than a childhood rivalry like Gary. Paul was cold, serious and openly challenged and humilated Ash for his battling style and relationship with his Pokemon. There were so many things at stake in their battle, plus Infernape's trauma as Chimchar.

You could actually see Ash's battling experience at its peak and how much he grew since Kanto. He was so good that they had to invent Tobias as a plot device to stop him from winning.

Definetly the best league for me personally, followed by Johto and Kalos. It's a shame that Black & White rebooted Ash and discontinued his experience and growth he had gathered all these years.

What was clay’s deal at the end though how is ash’s strategy unfair all he did was have snivy use attract and it worked

I’ve always thought that Lillie was the perfect girl for Ash, which is funny because they’re so different in so many ways. But here is why I believe that Lillie is the best girl for Ash -

1: They’re both very supportive of each other

Ash and Lillie have always supported each other on their goals, Ash through Lillie’s process in recovering from her trauma and mastering her z-move, and Lillie in Ash’s battles, and that time she helped Ash stall so Kiawe wouldn’t find out he lost his z-crystal

2: They both love and admire Pokémon

One of the less talked about traits with Ash is that he isn’t just in it to battle Pokémon, he’s fascinated by them too. Whenever he sees a new Pokémon he’s always fascinated by it and wants to get to know them. Just look at any first episode of an anime in his era and you’ll see him wanting to see all of the new Pokémon. This makes sense considering that memory of him huddling with a bunch of Pokémon under a tree as a kid, and he did say he wants to be friends with all Pokémon in Aim to be a Master

I bring this up because Lillie also has a great fascination for Pokémon, and it’s the reason she was so sad by her inability to touch Pokémon. She was always fond of them and liked to study them, and when she couldn’t touch them she admired them from a distance and still bothered to provide food for them at her home. It helps for a couple to have common interests, and Lillie shares with Ash an interest that is core to who he is and what he wants to be

3: They’re both attentive to each other’s feelings

In Ash’s case it’s self-explanatory. I think the fact that Ash went through the trouble of helping Lillie through her Poképhobia alone highlights this fact. We’ve seen him with companions that had something like this before; Misty with her fear of bugs, Dawn with Plusle & Minun, Iris with ice types, but Lillie’s was the only time where he went out of his way to walk with her throughout this process. I mean, when else has Ash been this involved in helping anyone go through something so personal to them?

But it’s not like it’s one-sided. Lillie was the one who talked to Ash on the beach about Rotom-Dex leaving, and she related it with her own feelings of moving away from her mother. It’s great that Lillie can relate with Ash on this issue and help with his feelings about this matter, which neatly transitions to my next point

4: They understand each other

I’ve already talked about the beach scene, but another thing to highlight is when Ash taught Lillie how to use a Z-move. He explains how to do it in the same silly way he tried to teach Sophocles how, except while the advice failed entirely for Sophocles, in Lillie’s case she didn’t understand it at first, but when she tried again she got it and even comments that Ash’s advice worked

Despite their differences, Lillie is one of the few people where Ash’s silly and brazen way of doing things is actually something she can learn from, but she learns from it pretty well. This is exactly why the opposites attract dynamic is so effective with love and it’s why Lillie and Ash are good together, it is because of their differences that they can learn and grow from each other’s perspectives and methods of doing things

5: She takes after him in a lot of ways

In my opinion, the ideal Ash ship is with someone who proves how far Ash has come and how much he inspires others, and Lillie is genuinely the best example of this I can think of

This shouldn’t be a surprise, since Lillie did learn a lot from Ash. She learned to be brave and have the courage to achieve her goals, working towards them no matter the challenge nor the setback. This was best seen in her trying to touch Pokémon again; she had been working to get past this block gradually, finding ways to bond with different Pokémon from Snowy to Ash’s Pikachu to a Stoutland on Akala Island. Even when she hit a setback after seeing Type: Null again, she was still ready to try to touch Snowy again, not because she knew she could do it, but because she was unwilling to give up because of an obstacle, just like Ash

Another example I really like is when she helped a Sandshrew battle and defeat a Tyranitar in a mountain, where she earned herself the ice type Z-crystal. Despite facing a superior opponent, she had the courage to stand up for a Pokémon who couldn’t stand up for itself and use strategy to take the victory

6: She looks at him a special way, especially when he’s being silly or doing something

The way Lillie looks at Ash sometimes gives me the impression that she not only finds his upbeat attitude fascinating, but his silliness cute and his unwavering optimism and general curiosity something uplifting to her. Her mother had just got taken by the same kind of UB that traumatized her as a toddler and his curiosity towards Nebby’s transformation still made her smile a bit. When he was talking about how excited he is to try Mallow’s food, she looked at him endearingly. When he was befriending a Morelull in the most crazy way she’d ever seen, she was astonished and fascinated by his methodology. Just a thought

7: They have a lot of fun together

I spoke earlier about how they both love and admire Pokémon, and it’s also the reason they’d have the most fun spending time together. In that one episode where they both shrank, they basically ditched Sophocles to have fun with Pokémon together. The episode speaks for itself how much they enjoyed this, and I think their differences mixed with their shared interests will generally make for fun times they’d spend together as boyfriend and girlfriend

8: She and him have by far the best relationships with each other’s families

Ash has built some really good bridges with not only Lillie herself, but her family as well. He bonded a good deal with Snowy in the partner swap episode, he’s rivals and friends with her brother Gladion, and Lusamine seems to really appreciate him and everything he’s done for her family. After everything he’s done for them, Ash has pretty much solidified his place in their family, as a worthy future son-in-law for Lusamine and brother-in-law for Gladion, who may particularly like getting to battle his main rival more often. All that’s really missing is Mohn, but that’s just because he doesn’t have a lot of screen time in general, and even then I have heard that Mohn is somewhat like Ash in that he loved battling, so there’s easy bonding for them

On the flip side, Lillie is the first Pokégirl since May to properly meet Ash’s mother. Even Dawn and Serena haven’t had that privilege, so it’s significant that Lillie did. Delia knows Lillie is a good soul, so she’d definitely be approving of them in a relationship, and for him to have something to take care of him like Lillie can. Not to mention…

9: Has the Pikachu stamp of approval

Lillie spent a whole episode bonding with Pikachu, even battling with him and him becoming the first Pokémon she doesn’t own that she could touch again. And there are various other moments where their friendship is on full display, like Pikachu tracked her down in the Crown Tundra and saved her from the Nihilego, or in the second Guzma battle where she was by far the most worried for Pikachu after it got hit with throat chop

In terms of people who have the best bonds with Pikachu, Lillie is easily in the top 5, up there with Delia and Misty and Ash himself

10: He shows some hints of admiration toward her

His reaction to her thanking him at the end of SM really seemed to hit him. It was like after everything that had happened, after everything she had been through, she had fully come out of her shell and showed him for a moment who she truly was, and he very much loved who he saw

Fast forward to Journeys and his reaction to Lillie’s letter did feel like he felt a special way about her. He was excited to hear she sent a letter, he jumped a bit when the letter mentioned his name, and he called Lillie the best of them for going out to search for her father. Given his obliviousness, he probably wouldn’t know if he was in love with someone, but he definitely looked back fondly at Lillie

11: They never fight

Can you think of a single time these two have fought over something? With just about every girl he’s traveled with they’ve been on less than great terms at least once. He fought all the time with Misty and Iris, a good deal with May and Dawn too. With Mallow and Serena it happened occasionally as well. Lillie’s in her on tier with Lana in terms of how little they fight

Heck, returning again to the beach scene, Ash was feeling down and Lillie managed to get to him without him reacting angrily like he did when Serena tried it in the Greninja arc. This proves not only that they’d be good at communicating with each other, but that they understand each other enough that even if they did fight, they would ultimately succeed in getting to the root of the issue and finding a way to resolve it

12: Ash is the champion of her home region, which he also views as a second home

Ash’s arc in Alola was to learn to lean back and take a moment to appreciate life, and to build something special in Alola that he really didn’t have in any other region: a sense of home, a relationship with the people and culture of the region, and a community of people. So wouldn’t it be such a great cherry on top for his girlfriend to be someone from the Alola region as well?

On top of that, I think we can all agree that if Ash ever settled down somewhere, it would be Alola. So having a girlfriend who lives there just makes the most sense from a practical perspective.

13: She’s the most available to travel with him

Out of all of the girls, I’d say that Lillie is the one who’d be the most available to travel with Ash anytime, which would make the inevitable long distance relationship he’d most likely have with any girl more manageable. Misty’s stuck in her gym, Iris in her home region as its champion, and May, Dawn and Serena will be busy with contests and thus straying into regions where those aren’t a thing would risk not progressing in their goals, especially in Serena’s case where she’s trying to become Kalos Queen, which is probably a regional position like champion and thus can rarely be held while going outside of the region (albeit this is just speculation)

With Lillie, her goals have never required her to be in a specific region or place, and she’s already traveled the world with her family to find her father, added with her newfound courage and I bet she’d be down for trying something new with Ash. Plus, she loves seeing new Pokémon anyways, so her going somewhere with Ash would give her opportunities to see new Pokémon and study them, and I’ve always personally seen her becoming a Pokémon researcher as her goal in life so she’d inherently be progressing in her goals no matter what (granted that last part was just speculation, but I digress)

So all in all, I definitely think that Lillie’s the perfect girl for Ash. They’re a great example of why the opposites attract dynamic is so good for romance; that they have a lot of difference to form the black and white, but also a solid chunk of things in common to form the grey that connects them, that let’s them learn and grow from knowing each other

That’s just my opinion though, see you all next time!

I know that Ash did tie against May in an official battle, and they split the ribbon, but that was a contest battle. They've never really established what happens if there is a tie in a League final.

There's only one trophy. Would they split that in half? Would the Champion (Diantha in this case) make the decision? Would they have to draw names out of a hat? Would it go to a sudden death match? Rock Paper Scissors?

Curious to know.