As the cheering erupted around him, Ash looked around, waiting for the feeling of success to burst forth. But it never came. He had won. He had finally fun. He should feel excited. Shouldn't he?

He looked down at his Lycanroc who was panting heavily but standing and then at Gladion who was helping his own Lycanroc up. He deserved this. He kept chanting that to himself but this victory felt… off. He went over this Victory and compared this to his other league losses and immediately, he had discovered what felt off about it. It was too easy.

The Top 16 consisted of his classmates, the Principal, Jessie and James and a few people he's met along the way. There were no prerequisites to get into this tournament. Another glaring fact was that not a single one of these battles was a full six on six battle like the other leagues had done. The Finals was a three on three. Then there was also the fact that he hardly trained for this.

He spent most of his months here attending school and taking trips, just relaxing and having a good time. He took the Grand Trials but that's it. He was the only one to really take them before making it to the League. Suddenly, another thought snaked its way into his head the more he pondered this feeling. Any of his older powerhouses could have taken down this entire tournament by themselves.

Charizard wouldn't have even batted an eye against anyone he faced off against. Sceptile would have been extremely overconfident and still probably would have taken them all down. Infernape would have lacked the usual spirit from the pure ease with which he would have won. Greninja would be so disappointed. He faced off against a Mega Charizard and lost in the finals only for Ash to come here to Alola and win with a counter to a counter of all things; with half the work put in.

"Don't I deserve this?" He muttered to himself.

Didn't he deserve this though? Didn't the world owe him one after all the time he put in to actually finally get to this point? After six defeats, didn't he deserve this win? Even if it was lackluster in appeal? His Pokemon, while not the strongest of his Pokemon, they worked for him and fought for him to finally win.

To deny this victory would be an insult to the work they put in these fights. It didn't matter that he wasn't satisfied with this League victory. He wouldn't let his Pokemon feel the disappointment he's feeling. Yes; he would take what he could get for the sake of allowing his Pokemon to finally taste victory.

So it was with a rather forced joy that Ash congratulated his Lycanroc after returning to Earth. The joy his Pokemon felt at winning was what mattered to him. The fact they were happy was enough. His other thoughts weren't important because they wouldn't have been fair to the others. He wouldn't want to be another Tobias.

Yes, he could have brought his powerhouses from any of his other regions to come compete in this League for him and breeze through. But that wouldn't make him any better than Tobias who had brought a team of Legendaries to breeze through the Sinnoh League. Part of the excitement of these major tournaments is the challenge and the satisfaction of overcoming those challenges. During Kalos, he had never felt as much excitement nor had he been more proud of his own skill and the strength of his Pokemon to get to that point. It had been a highlight in his career along with taking down two Legendaries against Tobias.

And now that he finally won, he also noticed something severely lacking. Misty, Brock, his friends. While Professor Oak and his own mother had watched him succeed in winning, Brock deserved to see him win. Misty, his first ever friend and companion in his journey deserved to see him win. Max, the young kid who looked up to him, deserved to see this to learn that anyone could achieve a milestone they set forth through hard work and effort.

May, Dawn, and Serena should have been there as well. He had taught them three how to be trainers. He built them up and helped them find their path so they could forge it on their own. They should have seen him finally win the thing he's been trying to do for so long. Iris and Cilan should have as well.

If only to have Iris stop calling him a kid and because they were his friends and they saw him lose. Bonnie and Clemont, they both looked up to him. Seeing him lose to Alain was disappointing to them no doubt. He would have liked them to see him win to give them something to look up to. Yes… this was incredibly lackluster.

But he had won. He had won a league that was rather easy to begin with and he supposed he should be satisfied with that. It was a step in the right direction. Or so he liked to think. He had been too lazy this region and no doubt grew worse compared to his time in Kalos.

But he deserved this… didn't he?

A/N: First, congrats to Ash for finally winning after 22 years of being a trainer. But I know I'm not the only one who feels disappointed that this was so… easy. 3v3 for the final? 1v1? I should take what I can get and I do. I'm glad he won. It let me write this. But, I would have preferred to see a full six on six for the final like it should have been. If this is the send off for Ash, that's a slap to the face, giving him such an easy League to win.