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The kayfabe of the Alola League so far makes sense. Having the first round be one-on-one works in the context of a new League in a region where having up to six Pokemon probably didn't make much sense for anyone, considering there was no Gym pathway to go for. The most egregious bullshit is that Ash wins by having Meltan eat Hypno's pendant, making it unable to use Hypnosis. It's bullshit, but consistent with the anime's logic for the most part. Guzma used heel tactics to beat Ilma, but still played within the rules of the League. Hau vs. Oak was barely shown and who cares. Mallow vs. Lana was good and a needed capstone for Mallow's character arc with Tsareena. It was well suited to be a quick first-round match.
The only part that irritated me was that Ash was announced as having completed four Grand Trials, whereas they mentioned that Ilma competed in the Kalos League. Ash's entire participation is kind of the elephant in the room that no one wants to seem to address. He's competed in six Leagues, reaching the number two spot in Kalos. Not to mention, he won the Orange Cup and the Battle Frontier championship. Someone somewhere should acknowledge that his achievements put him far beyond the power level of the rest of the League participants (at least, theoretically). I'm not sure when the sudden refusal to acknowledge the show's history began (BW? XY?) but it pisses me off all the same.
