>>36287783To further drive home the humiliation about Sawyer getting 8 badges before Ash, keep in mind that when Ash had 6 badges, Sawyer only had 1. That means in the time it took for Sawyer to get stronger and win 7 badges and qualify for the League, Ash only got 1 new one. In the past, Ash usually kept pace with his regional rivals, either being about 1 badge ahead or behind, depending on the type of rival--friendly or not. Having it appear that your latest "rival" (who worships the ground you walk on and writes down everything you say like it's the fucking Gospel) is actually working 7x harder than you, seemingly eclipses you in no time flat, and proceeds to watch you get humiliated in front of him and all your friends while you're trying to show that, hey, you're strong too, would crush even a guy like Ash who is usually perfectly happy to see that friends are getting stronger.
Compare it to Ash getting depressed after losing to Paul at Lake Acuity. The difference is that Ash already knew that Paul was at least on his level, if a bit ahead. Ash, who originally had a 6:1 badge advantage over Sawyer, clearly knew that he was an objectively better trainer and he choked when trying to show that fact. Then, trying to do the one thing that could lift him out of the pits--a hot battle and the prospect of winning his 8th badge--he chokes again, driving himself even further into depression. Another apt comparison would probably be Dawn's depression arc, caused by not just losing a contest, or even two, but rather by getting knocked out of the appeals round, the gimme round for MCs, twice in a row. One was enough to make her sad, but not crush her spirit; two was enough to break her, making her question whether or not to just quit altogether and give up on her dream. Just like Dawn, Ash choked twice, both times in humiliating fashion, with the first throwing him off his game and the second time crushing him.
You'd be pissed at your gf trying to "cheer you up" too.
