>>51181116You also gotta recognize the position the fandom was in. Sinnoh was the 4th league in a pattern everyone had come to accept at that point, Ash had already been cucked 3 times, so we all understood we had no reason to expect him to win, especially when Ash vs Paul was the quarter finals, AND when Tobias was introduced (the pattern of a random new character who cucks Ash). So when he lost, we just got the pleasant surprise of how well he did against 2 legendaries.
Kalos was a completely different story, the energy throughout the entire run of the show, especially up to the league, was that this time things were different. The animation was great, Ash was incredibly competent, fighting on the level of a champion. People thought he was going to win it all, and the show fed into this super hard.
1. Alain was not a last minute rival, he'd been introduced to audiences from the first year of the show's run.
2. Ash had already faced Alain multiple times and lost, setting Alain up as the Rival, a character Ash ALWAYS beats in the end
3. Their match was the finals of the Kalos league, setting the up 1-2 punch of Ash beating his rival AND winning the League.
4. Greninja, the seasonal Ace had never beaten the Rival, obviously setting up him to win the final fight
5. That final encounter before the opening of the Kalos League, setting up emotional stakes for Ash winning that none of the previous series did. Ash wasn't just fighting for himself, but carrying the promises of everyone who couldn't make it.
6. The Finale of the league was literally called "Kalos League Victory!"
The circumstances leading up to Ash losing the Kalos League was such a balloon of expectations and hype that the eventual popping of the balloon sent shockwaves through the fandom. It's without a doubt the most controversial decision the show had ever made and nothing will ever live up it. If Ash loses the Masters 8, people will laugh a bit, but no one will send death threats over it.