But I've gotta tell you...[Ash gets confused]...I'll be the one to end Lee's winning streak! So he's not gonna lose one match before that day! [That's what you think, Hop! Many fans think that Hop should have been Ash's main rival just like in the games. However, this loss was to remind fans that Hop's rivalry with Ash would not look very convincing in the anime, since Ash is a Champion and Hop is a rookie.]
I've gotta win! [The other members of the Masters Eight as well as the stadium crew stare at the two. Yeah, save the energy for the tournament, you two.]
We'll start with the 8th ranked trainer. He shown us the Champion of the first Alola League tournament. Hailing from Pallet Town in the Kanto region, Ash Ketchum! [Finally the anime acknowledges Ash as the Alola Champion in the Pokémon world.]
Take your best shot! My Pokémon will defeat everyone standing in their way.
AAnnouncer
And now, we're going to reveal the matchups for the first round! [The screen display two square panels for the members. It spins like the ones on a slot machine.] For the first match, it's Leon vs Alain! [So much for Ash having the chance to refight Alain as to make up for the mess in the Kalos League...]
[The screen spins again revealing the next matchup]
AAnnouncer
And for the second match, it's Lance vs Diantha! [Odd choice of pairing since the two never interacted before and Lance did not appear in the XY series. The screen spins revealing the third pair]
AAnnouncer
In the third match, it's Cynthia vs Iris. [That makes sense since Iris did receive mentorship from Cynthia in the Black and White series]
Go easy on me. [The screen spins again revealing the final pair]
AAnnouncer
For the fourth match, it's Steven Stone vs Ash Ketchum. [This is to make up for the lack of interaction between the two throughout the Ruby and Sapphire and the XY series]
[Leon's Rillaboom Gigantamaxes! Grookey, being excited, bangs his stick on Goh's head. Now do you understand why Ash can't have a member of the Rillaboom line of his own, fans?!]
[Alain's Chesnaught gets defeated by Rillaboom's Acrobatics. Acrobatics is a Flying-type move and Chesnaught is 4x weak to Flying as it is a Grass and Fighting type.]
That's so awesome! We had battle after battle with his Charizard. [Yet you did not defeat it because you overused your Kalos team and did not practice your now former Ash-Greninja form enough which cost you the Kalos League. The Mega Evolution specials confirmed that Alain had more practice with his Mega Charizard X]
Alain's Charizard is unable to battle. It's a win for Leon's Charizard, which means the victory goes to Leon! [Alain lost the match easily like Trevor did in the XY series. It should be noted that Alain is a League Conference winner and not a region Champion, unlike the other members of the Masters Eight.]
