The Internet is currently abuzz about Ash Ketchum's recent victory in the latest episode of the Pokémon anime. Ash Ketchum has become the first Champion of the Alola region, which many fans are claiming is the end of his Pokémon journey, as he has completed the goal that he started twenty-two-years ago.
The climactic tone of Ash's victory is undercut by the fact that Ash has already won at least one Pokémon League, as he journeyed to the Orange Islands and won the Orange League back in 1999. Ash defeated the Orange Crew, including Supreme Gym Leader Drake in what was one of the best battles of the entire series and took home the Winner's Trophy.
There is more to the Orange Islands and Ash's adventures in the area than meets the eye. The fans generally discount Ash's victory in the Orange League and feel that it has no bearing on his Pokémon journey or his quest to become a Pokémon Master.
The Orange Islands Had An Unconventional Pokémon League
The Orange Islands has its own Pokémon League that does not follow the conventional rules used by the other Pokémon Leagues in the series. The majority of the Pokémon Leagues expect Pokémon Trainers to travel the region and defeat eight Gym Leaders, in order to win a Badge from each of them. Once all of the Badges are collected, the Pokémon Trainer can enter a Pokémon League Conference, which is a huge tournament involving all of the participants. The winner of the Pokémon League Conference is then given the chance to challenge the Elite Four, followed by the Champion of the region. The Alola region and the Manalo Conference have followed different rules, but that's because it has only just been established.
The Orange League is different in comparison to the other Pokémon Leagues. There are only five Gym battles in the Orange League, which lacks an Elite Four, a Champion, or a Conference. The Gym Battles were also more similar to contests than straight-up fights. The unconventional nature of the Orange League and the fact that the Pokémon Trainer has to fight fewer battles means that it might not be considered on equal footing with other Pokémon Leagues.
The Orange Islands Season Only Exists Due To The Delay Of Pokémon Gold & Silver
The Pokémon anime was originally intended to end with Ash's journey in the Kanto region and the events of the first movie. The popularity of the Pokémon video games and the upcoming sequels led to the series being extended to include the Johto region. The problem with this extension was that Pokémon Gold & Silver were delayed before they could be adapted for the anime. Pokémon Gold & Silver were supposed to be released in 1997, but they were totally revamped and released at the end of 1999.
The delay in the release of Pokémon Gold & Silver meant that a new story arc had to be created in order to fill the time, which led to the creation of the Orange Islands arc. The writers were given more leeway in regards to the Orange Islands storyline, which is why it featured a more adventurous tone and unique Gym battles.
The Orange Islands were intended to be filler and have no major bearing on Ash's journey, with the exception of ditching Brock, which was quickly undone when Ash reached Johto.
There Is Uncertain Canon Regarding The Orange Islands
The Pokémon anime as a whole has an uncertain canon, as Ash hasn't aged at all in the past twenty-two years. The series ignored the fact that Pikachu should have been a level 99 god for years until the writers contrived reasons to weaken it within the story. The Pokémon anime has spent two decades dropping storylines when they didn't matter anymore, such as the GS Ball or anything relating to Ash's father, while Trainers that Ash has promised to meet again have never returned.
The events of the Orange Islands season had to have happened, as Tracey has made appearances all the way up to the Unova season. The Snorlax that Ash caught in the Orange Islands remained on his team for a long time and has also had cameo appearances whenever Ash has returned to Professor Oak's Laboratory.
It seems likely that the writers of the Pokémon anime never expected the season to continue past the events of the Johto region, as it wasn't apparent at this time that Ash's adventures would be continuing in each new region for the next couple of decades. The fact that Ash did win a Pokémon League was something that wouldn't have mattered if he had gone on to win the Silver Conference and the story had ended, but no one expected the show to go on for as long as it has. Ash's victory in the Alola region might seem redundant in the face of his previous victory in the Orange League, but the reason people are freaking out is that it feels as if Ash Ketchum's story is coming to an end, whereas the Orange Islands storyline was just a stepping stone to the Johto region.