>>53511144>Ash vs Alain had more attention given to it.A few things
XY overlapped with the games 20th Anniversary
Ash was also in the finals for the very first time (and for what it's worth, the fights were fun to watch thanks to the production quality)
AND since the SM/Alola games were said to have no official Pokemon League, everyone thought "OK, this is it! He has to win this time!!"
When that didn't happen, the community snapped
By now the hype is gone, and people are just happy to see Ash finally leave. The Masters 8 was boring save a few small moments.
