>>36210911Yeah, but unlike Brock, he's still technically still one of the Striaton gym leaders--and canonically the strongest of the brothers--whereas Brock is explicitly "former" Pewter gym leader. The other issue is that Cilan can't really improve much more without accomplishing his goal completely, as he's already an A-class connoisseur, just one step below S-class. Although, the same goes for Dawn (Grand Festival runner-up on her first try), who can only win or get worse.
Misty, and Iris have it easier, because their goals, like Ash's, don't have definite end points. Like, what does it take to become "the world's greatest Water Pokémon trainer" or a "Dragon Master"? The criteria is vague enough that both could develop substantially as characters and still be "in training."
