>>50749296I've long said that Ash and Alain don't have much of a rivalry. There's no childhood history like with Ash and Gary. There's no clash of ideals or any long-term conflict like he had with Paul. Alain doesn't even mildly get under Ash's skin like Trip. And whenever Ash loses, they just shake hands and move on. Whereas Shota motivated him to get better, because of his rapid growth (in his own words during the Semifinals). It was always a mistake for Alain to have been treated as some ultimate obstacle, because the truth is that Ash doesn't give a shit. It was the fanbase who just DESPERATELY wanted a W.
