>>57554689I did and still do.
Ash got most of his badges without battling as he was meant to. He hadn't earnt this way into the League as all the others presumably had.
When Charmander evolved and became disobediant, Ash was warned that he needed to learn to control him, but instead just benched him, calling on him only for tough battles, making no effort to actually train him.
During the Indigo League, Ash largely got as far as he did through luck - he'd never used Krabby or Muk before, never bothering to train them either, but their obedience and natural strength carried him. Despite this, Ash was overly confident and cocky.
When Team Rocket kidnapped him during the League, Ash could've had Charizard blow the doors off of their truck and fly him back to the stadium if he had actually bothered to train Charizard, but instead, he was forced to exhaust the Pokemon he had on hand and arrive too late to switch them out.
Charizard refusing to obey Ash in the most important battle of his life (at that point) is the culmination of his unearned confidence and his refusal to properly train his Pokemon. Although the writing for Ash has been all over the place over the years, Charizard costing Ash the League was a clear and inevitable turning point for the character.
>>57555416This was stupid tho
