>>51492568Alain is definitely not the weakest but he has problems with his nerves. The depression and guilt of his past mistakes still weighs on him and he feels out of place and undeserved to be at M8. As Steven pointed out, Alain likely got overwhelmed by this whole M8 experience. The others are all routined champs which means they battle strong trainers on a regular basis. Alain might be incredibly talented and have had some serious battles in the past but he is not a champ and he currently works as a research assistant.
His talent for battling is sabotaged by weak emotions and dumb decisions.
Iris was unlucky enough to face off Cynthia first. That is of course a handicap but nothing excuses her lack of gimmick. She only focuses on 1 type and doesn't use her mons to full capability which makes her the weakest.
She also cried after the battle which shows how devastated she was. One defeat shouldn't result in tears if you're on Champ level. Next to Cynthia Diantha she acted like a fangirling child. She needs to grow more selfesteem and realize she is playing in the same league as Cynthia etc. now, she has to learn from them rather than worshipping them as unreachable ideals.
>Steventhe spoiled heir who gets everything served on a silver platter. Steven had the perfect team to beat Leon. Steel resists grass, rock beats fire. Newly added aerodactyle resists Charizard's fire and has flying attacks for Rillaboom. His goal was to dethrone Leon, but it was too short sighted since he didn't do research on Ash at all. He didn't even know what Z crystals are and the surprise attack was fatal for Steven.
>LanceHe arrives at the tournament, talks to nobody, makes no friends, then just wants to brute force his way through battles without strategy. Then he gets defeated and fucks off without even staying for first round results. He's a hardass with a good team and shitty attitude. Or maybe he went easy on Diantha because she's a lady and Lance thinks she's gorgeous.
