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This was my first time watching the Hoenn League. I know the ending got shit on a lot in the 2000s for Pikachu losing to a Meowth, but it felt good and deserved. I think this is the first time Ash loses to the eventual winner, rather than his rival getting knocked out in the very next round. May and Tyson's bonding over food is adorable and hashtag relatable.
Morrison was hard carried by the fact that he's voiced by Sean Schemmel, who goes fucking ham to the point where he's hilarious. I'm glad he showed up late in the series, because too much of him early on would've killed the vibe. Still don't like the character type, but they handled him well.
I enjoyed the pacing of this League over the Kalos League, where the first qualifier skipped directly to the quarter and semifinals. I guess doing that gave the impression that Ash could win against Alain, but I honestly think it just cheapened the whole thing. All in all, my big takeaway is that ADV starts with an episode where everyone's amazed that a Pelipper can do Vine Whip and Flamethrower, but by the end you have a Meowth using Thunderbolt and no one blinks an eye at it.
Both the Grand Festival and the League were satisfying to watch. Gonna be unreasonably emotional when the dub switch happens in a few episodes.
