>>54312069>and should thusly be a sort of mirror of/foil for himWouldn't blitzing through the league in a manner completely opposite of Ash fit that criteria?
>He didn't go on his own journey through the league or form any bonds predicated on his experiences thereinBut he still formed bonds with his pokemon, it just didn't happen as a result of the league so much. I mean, he was capable of mega evolution, so there had to be something there.
>It feels like a fanfic thing because the kind of amateur writingNo disagreements there, but amateur writing is a universal fact with the Ashime. Even Gary, bless his fictional soul, blitzkrieg'd the Kanto league with his hotrod and harem of babes while Ash was footing it with a babysitter and a girl who constantly gets in arguments with him.
>a journey that's supposed to be challenging/taxingI agree with the "journey, not the destination" sentiment. But Alain just wanted to cockblock Ash from wining the league. The league itself wasn't really his goal, it was Ash and his deviantart teenaged mutant ninja turtles OC.
>getting them to the desired position/power levelDo you mean, like, we didn't get to see Alain's rise to where he's at, so it felt rushed/cheap/unearned? I agree with that as well, I would have preferred if XY was seen through Alain's perspective with HIM as the main character, with only the occasional episode dedicated to seeing whatever nonsense Ash is up to at the time.
