It's quite implied before Misty and Brock, Gary was his first & only human friend (Serena is not his friend they didn't spend much time)
Condition 1: The Pokemons he used throughout the league
Condition 2: Can rotate his Pokémon with his Kalos ones
A thing I always liked about this archetype is how these characters' existence and abilities shift the world, how they affect others or completely change their life. Gojo's birth altered the balance of his world, Arima's existence alone terrorizes the Ghouls, Saitama's powers while a gag can easily destroy anyone, All Might's presence reduced the crime rates of his country
But deep inside these characters are lonely, isolated or detached from being normal, thrilled or excitement. Arima despised his identity and role as he never wanted to kill Ghouls rather enjoy his life reading books which forces him to shape Kaneki as his successor as the “One Eyed King”, Gojo's isolation and loneliness forces him to realize that strength alone cannot fix everything as he has to create a world where no one is trapped with the identity of being atop alone, Saitama's tension for Grocery Sales, Food shops or his mundane experiences with human shows that strength isn't the only thing that could make you happy it's about enjoying life with these small moments, All Might in contrast unlike Gojo tried to be the system itself so that he could protect his country and stay as thw pillar of hope.
Another irony about their strength is that these characters often fail to reach what they want to do. Which makes them tragic and sad. Unlike Sung Jin Woo or average isekai mc's who are strong, admired by everyone. These characters are either looked down, hated or feared or even if they're loved they don't enjoy everything as internally they're struggling with their identity
He is still doing wonders for me. But I feel like he is a bit nerfed after more free Cf's were given. He still scores whenever I need him but I feel like his consistency is gone
Somehow however in Ai Divisions he becomes better than Rummi, Sheva, Eto'o, Suarez and terrorizes the field.
Okay before powerscalers come and larp “No Mega Charizard X is stronger” yes I agree he is. But being stronger isn't the best justification for this battle.
The whole Kalos journey of Ash was about learning growth through failure, realising the fact that winning isn't everything and then we have the whole Snowbelle Arc where Ash finally gets into his senses and masters Battle Bond. This is peak shonen journey where the protagonist finally learns the power and becomes strong enough to defeat the boss.
Even before the league we have the famous scene of a punk coming to disrupt Ash and request him to win the league for all the failed trainers who couldn't. And Ash's body language and promise already gives you the vibe that he'd win.
The anime itself hyped it like Ash can finally win. There was no soft reboot, no new region Pokémon, no Charizard disobedience and lastly no Tobias. It was an established rival of Ash which is Alain. Alain is the only main rival Ash failed to defeat and in all other series' Ash defeated his major rivals. This time we had him in the finals. Obviously if the trend of Ash winning against his rival during the climax trend was followed Ash would've won. But no Kunihiko Yuyama (oh fk this guy) thought Ash winning means he'd unrelatable and boring. So let's have him lose. They built up the whole league arc, had Ash's rival set in the final and even gave Ash a frog which had a transformation that follows the themes of many shonen animes. Who wouldn't have believed Ash would win? Team Rocket themselves believed Ash is gonna win this time and it didn't happen.
Alain is stronger? Yes 100% but I'd tell you something Leon was stronger than Ash too. But the writers still had Ash winning it because it was set on stone. Kalos League was just a bait and switch (the Japanese title uhm).
I'd never forget the writers to give the fans fake hope that Ash would win.
Yes, he is not even close to be as good as the Uruguay or Liverpool one but man this card can definitely give you the feel of those cards. His play style might not suit everyone but I have seen that he plays better than many f2p fox in the box cf's. He makes good runs in the final third and can finish well from various angles. Adding the blitz curl skill with 94 curl and 95 k.power makes him a good package. If you guys want to experience one of the best cf's in efootball under a cheap prize. Go for HIM
Although I hate the fact he doesn't have phenomenal finishing. Could've made the card more lethal than he already is.
If you played efootball back in 2025, there was a legends assemble pack with multiple epics including Cannavaro 106 and this Forlan. That pack is still imo the best f2p pack we ever got. Forlan and Cannavaro were everyone's top picks and there were comparisons between him and Batistuta on who was the better free cf. Forlan was picked by lot of users including me (on my second acc)
I really enjoyed playing with him. His run making was smooth, his dribbling was better than his stats and his finishing was slick! The high kicking power with 96 finishing made him a very formidable cf for free to play users. However over time I see people are not using him or talking about him? Why his hype went down?
People still talk about El Hadji Diouf or Batistuta and I even see many p2w users using them. But Forlan is barely seen in division matches. Why people stopped using him?
I am more than impressed about this card. Seriously if you're good at double touches, dribblings or feints he is an absolute menace. The magnetic feet and momentum dribbling combination makes him completely untouchable. Even against the likes of Thuram, Maldini or Van Dijk this Messi will always find a way to get past the ball. Another fact is this Messi can play anywhere. Amf, Ss, Cf or even at wings. He is a good crosser, passer, dribbler, controller and a finisher. What you could say is an all-rounder. However I personally prefer him to play as a cf linking up with a goal poacher cf.
I have played against it and played with it. And I can say when you play against him he becomes more deadly. However if you guys are not good at dribbling then some of you might struggle to use it as this Messi isn't as smooth as the Ankara version or the MSN 2015 one. Nevertheless a W card from Konami. But since I am an f2p as well I have to say the balance of the game will be dead if cards like these come often. I can't imagine a hole player 2018/19 season Messi with Phenomenal Finishing, Magnetic Field and Momentum Dribbling. That'll break the meta and it would be hard to compete against them.
Lastly my review of him
Cf: 9.5/10
Ss: 9/10
Amf: 8.5/10
Wing: 8.4/10 (I am not used to playing wings that's why)
Both of these characters are known for arguing a lot with Ash. Misty has many infamous moments too like hitting Ash with a log or slapping him twice. While Iris has never hit Ash but constantly looks down on him and uses a gag where she calls him a kid. On paper Iris is less meanier than Misty then why Misty isn't as hated as Iris? This is coming from a guy who's not a big fan of either of them
When Misty met Ash, he was a total idiot. He didn't know how to catch a Pidgey properly, he tried to fight a Spearow swarm with a broom, and he won most of his early badges through pity or technicalities. Misty’s frustration with him was grounded in reality. She was calling out a guy who actually was an inexperienced rookie who needed to be put in his place.
BW hit the reset button on Ash, but the audience didn't forget what came before. Ash had just finished Diamond and Pearl, where he placed Top 4 in Sinnoh and took down two Legendaries (Darkrai and Latios). Then BW starts, and suddenly he forgets how to catch a Venipede and loses to a starter Snivy of a rookie trainer.
When Iris calls him "such a kid," the audience isn't thinking, "Yeah, Ash is dumb." They’re thinking, "This guy is a veteran who competed in four regional leagues, why is a novice treating him like a beginner?"
OS Ash was a menace. He was arrogant, snarky, and had zero filter. If Misty insulted him, Ash immediately fired back twice as hard.
Misty: "You're looking at a beautiful girl right here!" Ash: "Misty, please. Only one of us can hallucinate at a time."
They had genuine back-and-forth energy. Misty gave out heat, but she took heat too. It felt balanced because Ash wasn't just taking it lying down.
BW Ash was rewritten to be much more passive, naive, and overly optimistic. When Iris threw her signature line, "You're such a kid," Ash rarely had a clever comeback. He usually just stood there groaning or looking confused. Because Ash lost his edge, the dynamic stopped feeling like mutual bickering and started feeling like one-sided nagging. Iris' gag feels mean-spirited and annoying rather than funny which is what Ash-Misty dynamic is
Misty was an actual Gym Leader from Cerulean City. Sure, she was young and had her own issues, but she possessed baseline knowledge of battling, typing, and strategy that exceeded Ash's at the start. Her critiques usually made sense within the context of the early journey.
At the start of BW, Iris was trying to train an Axew that barely knew Dragon Rage and an Excadrill that refused to listen to a word she said. Yet, despite her own massive struggles as a trainer, she constantly talked down to Ash as if she were a seasoned master. That hypocritical contrast annoyed viewers. When someone struggling with basic control over their own party tells a regional finalist that he acts like a child, it feels unearned.
In the original series, slapstick and fiery outbursts were the norm for 90s anime. Misty’s hothead temper was part of a larger ensemble of chaotic writing (featuring wild Team Rocket antics and Brock’s instant heartbreak). Plus, her behavior visibly softened over time, especially after Togepi arrived.
With Iris, the writers gave her a singular catchphrase ("You're such a kid") and repeated it ad nauseam in almost every episode. Instead of dynamic bickering that changed based on the scenario, it felt like a copy-pasted line that the writers used whenever they needed a quick character interaction.
The Verdict Iris isn't inherently a bad character. In fact, her arc with Dragon types, her growth with Excadrill, and her eventual journey to becoming Champion in Journeys prove she had incredible potential.
The core issue was never that Iris was mean it was that she was introduced right after Ash’s peak era, criticized a reset version of Ash, faced no real verbal pushback from him, and relied on a repetitive catchphrase. Misty got a pass because OS Ash was an arrogant beginner who gave back just as much as he took. Another thing that Iris suffers from is she came right after Dawn, who is probably the biggest fangirl of Ash had genuine respect and admiration for him. Iris was meant to be hated because of the writers introducing her at a time where Ash shouldn't be dumb, shouldn't be a punching bag or shouldn't have made rookie mistakes. Dawn's respect for Ash shows how much Ash came after his journey from OS to AG, BW erased everything that came before. XY then introduced Serena a girl who has the most explicit crush on Ash and just like Dawn she is a fangirl. Iris coming in between of these 2 was always meant to be doomed.
Dawn is arguably the best written pokegirl who had equal attention as Ash and had a well structured character arc where we see her struggling, losing, going into depression to being an independent mature co ordinator. She is basically the perfected version of May. However after DP ended, Dawn's later returns in the anime were poor or uninteresting.
- we don't know what she did as a co ordinator aside the fact she traveled across 4 regions
- she has no new Pokémon or evolutions
- she is not much famous even in her home region
Dawn had the least impressive returns amongst all of Ash's companions. There was 0 progress in her career and the reason she left Ash for which was Buneary's modeling wasn't explored either. Given how unpopular she is in her own home region it's safe to say “she didn't do anything noteworthy”
Yes I know Serena didn't become a Kalos Queen or May didn't become a Top Co Ordinator either. But look. We saw their progression. Serena matured as a person and was shown to be incredibly famous in Hoenn. May has the nickname “Princess of Hoenn” these highlights their growth. We never see this for Dawn. Lastly, I saw someone saying “Everyone in Pokemon are working towards their dreams” okay this doesn't justify her stagnation either because she wasn't doing anything noteworthy in her returns to suggest she is “working towards her goals” also the same show had Lillie and Brock reach their goals so it's not impossible to do something for Dawn as well
Dawn's stagnation has no justification. Her returns make it look she is reliant on Ash and this is very stupid since Dawn wasn't even reliant on Ash, she learned from him, respected him as a veteran and Ash did the same. The anime just couldn't do anything noteworthy in future doesn't make her look good. Lastly this is coming from a guy who is a Dawn fan so don't hate me on this. Dawn's returns are just average or straight up poor.
Honestly I am a Dawn fan and I find it funny. Also this meme was made by a Dawn fan too. I can't mention him here 😭
Jokes apart, Dawn was done dirty in Journeys
The sole purpose for him to leave Ash to be strong enough to stand by Ash again. The indigo loss to earning his trust then sending him to train at the valley was a fine set up for him. And it would've been great if he eventually returned to be with Ash again. But after his redemption in Johto where he defeated Gary or his Battle Frontier win over Articuno he never had a significant return. Yes destroying Iris' Dragonite was cool but that's it?
When Mega Charizard X was revealed thanks to Pokemon Origins many fans anticipated Ash's Charizard to be mega evolved. And it makes sense since Ash is inspired by Red. Also Charizard is undoubtedly the second most famous Pokemon after Pikachu. It makes total sense for the protagonist of the show to have the Mega Charizard X or Y. But they didn't do anything with him at all. It feels like a wasted opportunity to me.
Yes I know he might've been too OP and probably would've taken the spotlight from Ash's other Pokémon (eg: Infernape) but we've seen the Alola team where no one outshined the other everyone had their moments. So it's mostly upto writers to manage the screentime and balance the moments for these Pokémon. Ash's Charizard deserved a mega evolution
Honestly, this criticism completely misreads how narrative archetypes, character growth, and continuity work in storytelling. Here is a breakdown of why that perspective misses the mark and why Ash's treatment in Kalos is actually a great example of character-driven writing.
The argument assumes that for a main character to be well written, they constantly need to be humbled or start from scratch. That ignores a fundamental narrative archetype: The Paragon Protagonist.
A Paragon is a character whose core values are already established. Instead of the world changing them, their role in the story is to act as a catalyst that changes the characters around them (think Captain America or Superman).
Ash in Kalos is not unearned fan service. It is the logical progression of a veteran trainer who has already traveled through five whole regions. Resetting his competency like Black and White did regresses the story. Having him act like a seasoned mentor respects the overarching continuity of the franchise.
The claim that other characters praising Ash ruins character dynamics completely flips how those dynamics function in the show: Clemont: Ash's boldness serves as a benchmark for Clemont. It gives him the courage to stand up, overcome his self doubt, and reclaim his responsibility as a Gym Leader.
Serena: Ash's refusal to give up inspires her to find her own passion (Pokémon Showcases) rather than passively following what her mother planned for her.
Sawyer: He represents the student vs master dynamic. Sawyer taking notes on Ash's battle style is how a novice learns from a veteran, which makes it incredibly satisfying when Sawyer's analytical style eventually starts catching up to Ash.
Ash isn't leeching focus from these characters. His presence active propels their personal growth.
Saying every character just worships him ignores the major conflicts in the XYZ arc: Alain respects Ash's spirit, but he consistently defeats him in battle, including the Kalos League finals.
Wulfric completely shuts down Ash's overconfident strategy at the Snowbelle Gym, handing him a reality check.
Sawyer eventually analyzes Ash's habits so thoroughly that he defeats him, triggering Ash's mid-season crisis.
In fact, the praise Ash receives is precisely what creates the high stakes. When you put a character on a pedestal, the pressure to maintain that standard becomes overwhelming. Ash's emotional breakdown in the Winding Woods happens because he feels the weight of everyone looking up to him and realizes he is letting them down. That level of vulnerability only works because the admiration was built up beforehand. Also the glazing Ash gimmicks existed back in DP. Dawn, Brock, Reggie they all glazed Ash to an extent. Dawn in my opinion is the biggest Ash glazer and I have even seen people hating her for it too. Honestly you guys need to understand glazing or admiring aren't accessories to make Ash look cool. Ash is cool for who he is. Him being praised or admired respects his past which Black and White and to some extent Pokémon Journeys failed to do.
Kalos as a region revolves around Mega Evolution and the Bond Phenomenon, concepts fundamentally rooted in trust, empathy, and deep connections between humans and Pokémon. Ash's defining trait across the entire series has always been his empathy toward Pokémon. In a region where battle power is literally unlocked through emotional bonds, it makes total thematic sense that Kalos native trainers would notice and admire his natural strength in that area.
TL;DR Ash being respected in XY/XYZ isn't bad writing or cheap hype. It is the natural payoff of six generations of experience, serving as the narrative backbone that pushes the rest of the cast to grow while setting up high emotional stakes for Ash's own arc. And yes having preferences is another thing someone can't love XY Ash just because others does everyone have their choices. But the reasons you hate it should be valid too. Mischaracterizing or not understanding the core writing isn't the right choice for hatred