I think Dawn should have won the Sinnoh Grand Festival

[matt0044]

You read the thread title right. I think a main character on the Pokemon Anime should've won a regional tournament.

When I learned that Dawn lost to Zoey, I was devastated that, once again, the main character has lost and actually watching DP 177 didn't help much either. I really wish that she won.

Before any of you reply to say how Dawn shouldn't have won, read the following to see my responses to what you might say. These reasons come from the users on Serebii Forums.

1. If Dawn won, she wouldn't want to continue her journey.

Response: In Pokemon Special, Red won the Indigo League against Blue (Green) becoming the champion. Afterwords, he continued to hone his skills. He didn't travel to other regions until three years later as Gold And Silver hadn't been made until after volume 5 (if I'm correct). He didn't think that his training was over, especially after his run-in with the Elite Four. The point is that even if Dawn won the Sinnoh GF, she'd know that she'd have to travel to other regions to compete in their contests if she wanted to truly become the top co-oridinator. Also if she didn't want to continue her journey, then that would've been fine as she won't be the main character for Best Wishes. Sorry, Dawn lovers, but it's the truth. Also Zoey's continuing her quest too.

2. Dawn could not have won her first Grand Festival.

Response: This is an odd reason as it was Zoey's first Grand Festival too. Going by that logic, Zoey shouldn't have won either. And just because Ash hasn't won a league since the Orange Islands doesn't mean other main characters shouldn't win a different regional tournament, especially if they're temporary for only one series.

3. Winning the GF would've made Dawn a Mary Sue.

Response: A Mary Sue is a character that represents what the author always wished to be and is perfect in every way. Google "Mary Sue Tropes" for more information. Dawn is far from perfection and winning the Grand Festival would not have made her perfect or a Mary Sue. She lost some contests, then won some, then lost some and won again. So Dawn being a Mary Sue is out of the question.

4. Zoey was better than Dawn.

Response: While it's your opinion on who's the better character, Zoey didn't overpower Dawn as Piplup and Togekiss had NOT fainted nor did Gallade and Glameow. In fact, Dawn and Zoey were equal in strength and Zoey won due to a 1% point difference when time ran out. So Dawn's loss seems like the writers wanted her to win but changed everything at the last minute. Also while Zoey does seem more experienced, in Red and Blue your rival's always one step ahead of you and you defeat him in the end at the league. Why can't this apply to the Anime (well, it does for Ash and Paul)?

5. May didn't win so why should Dawn?

Response: Because Dawn is NOT May. That is all.

I would go on but I think you all get the picture.

I can understand if you didn't like Dawn that much and/or liked Zoey better as a character but the reasons I stated up above don't really make much sense.

Finally, I'd like to ask: is it wrong to root for your main heroes in the Pokemon Anime and actually expect them to win? We watched Dawn make so much progression in the series alongside Ash that it'd be only natural to cheer her on. It's like the one thing that's holding them back is their status as a main character. The writers may as well have said that Ash was going to lose the Sinnoh league to us.

Feel free to reply however you want. Just take what you just read into consideration please.

Thank you
-matt0044 (Call me Matt)

 

[Santi Saldivar]

Matt your right she should have won, why is the anime going through the trouble of showing a character from beiginning to end and watching their struggles if their just going to lose in the end what message are they sending to their audience that if you believe in yourself and try your hardest your going to fail in the end and realize that you still have alot to learn?
( note that the target audience are children )
Ash is a prime example of this and thats why i hate him

 

[Kurama]

You expect too much from an anime that has lost any sense of direction or character development, left with only stagnant and old jokes recycled from previous seasons

 

[matt0044]

You expect too much from an anime that has lost any sense of direction or character development, left with only stagnant and old jokes recycled from previous seasons

And yet, fans love DP.

 

[Kurama]

oh sir im not denying that. Just the main reason or your complaint lol

 

[Regis_Neo]

Umm...this IS the anime...I would have thought you would have gotten used to main characters never winning well, ANYTHING over the last how many years...Orange Islands doesn't count btw, that was a horrible offshoot that never should have been made anyways.

Also, Pokemon Special is so much better than the anime, please don't compare the 2, as anime will always lose.

 

[Santi Saldivar]

im gonna be very upset if ash actually wins the sinnoh league sure it contradicts my last statement but of all the championships he could've won it just had to be this one. a good twist would be if he ends up losing to gary.

 

[matt0044]

One other thing that people complain about is how Dawn's contest victories are due to luck.

I can semi-agree with this as seeing our heroes strategically get themselves out of a tight spot shows that they're smarter than we think.

However, contest battles are different from a trainer battle or a Gym Battle as there's a time limit and you start out with a full set of points that will go down depending on how much damage your Pokemon take or how good your opponent's moves are. You could either win due to your Pokemon defeat your opponent's before time runs out (resulting in all your points dropping at once) or time runs out and you just so happen to have a few or more points than your opponent. Either way, you win. And a victory's a victory, no matter how cheap it seems.

The second way of victory is how Zoey won against Dawn in the finals. So why aren't people complaining about Zoey's victory if they hate cheap victories. Oh right! Dawn's a main character and doesn't deserve to win.

And if Dawn did win due to a cheap victory, the writers would've had her acknowledge her lucky win and would've had her say that she wants to get more stronger so that she doesn't rely on luck alone.