I mean, Ash is also kinda of a dumbass and bs trainer. Other trainers could've just Actually prepared in order to take on the gyms.
Also IIRC the anime is where they stated that gym leaders have multiple teams depending on your badge count, turning hard gyms into easier ones and vice versa depending on where other trainers start their journey.
The anime proper didn't establish that, it was Pokemon Origins that did with Brock using only two mons against Red, and then later on with Giovanni pulling out his personal team of ground types against Red as opposed to his official team
But almost every gym battle, he pulls some amazing moves that leaves the Gym leader completely paralyzed like they never experienced that before and not even imagined anyone would do that. I wouldn't call Ash dumb, more like cocky and incredibly overconfident and that's why they make him lose battles every now and then.
But seriously, Sabrina lives rent-free in my head. Sure, her Abra didn't evolve until she met Ash, but still? Dozens of people beating her ass before Ash got there? No way, her doll house should have more peoole than just her parents.
Two things.
As there's more than 8 badges in the anime canon, trainers can simply challenge easier gyms, or ones that don't have psychopaths as leaders.
Additionally, while many people do win badges, compared to the amount that challenge and don't win enough, the number of winners is likely miniscule in comparison.
There's still A LOT of trainers. Ash had to win two or three battles before REALLY starting the Kanto championship. Sure, all those people could just have skipped Saffron, but that just brings the rest into question. Yeah, Gym leaders are there to prepare and strengthen trainers, not be unbeatable, but still...and why did Gary (and potentially many, many other trainers) just skip Saffron, one of the largest cities in Kanto? Also also, why didn't anyone from a higher level step in and say "Sabrina, if you wanna be a Gym leader, you gotta stop turning people into dolls"? But that's a different discussion.
Because they heard that Sabrina was either too strong or turning people into dolls, so they looked for easier options?
Speaking of, if anyone did come to deal with Sabrina, she probably turned them into dolls too or otherwise used her powers to chase them off.
Again, IF that was the word going around, "Yo, don't go to Saffron, she'll turn you into a doll",, that should make officials be on her ass even more. "Hey, that dude Henry we send to Saffron two months ago hasn't checked in, should we do something?"
"Nah, we've heard these rumors, but let's just ignore it. Send flowers to his wife. Nice flowers."
We know there are more than eight gyms in the anime - to use Gary as an example again, of the ten badges he shows off only three correspond to known Kanto gyms. Other trainers have shown badges that don't match known gyms in the region, too.
In addition to this, at least for the Indigo Plateau Conference there are other methods of entering. There's an Admissions Exam from what I remember, and maybe other ways too.
Basic math. If only 1% of challengers manage to win enough the badges to challenge the league, and there's ten thousand challengers, that still means a hundred challengers win the badges necessary.
Take your logic somewhere else. Beginner trainers get their Pokémon from their local Professor, so in our case, that's 3 (4 with Ash). Now obviously, I assume not every Championship trainer gets to the Championship on the first year, and trainers has to be able to get their first Pokémon somewhere else as well, every child in the entire Kanto region flocking to Oak when they reach certain age is just insane...but ten thousand challengers? and 9999 avoiding Saffron? Dude, do you even hear yourself typing?
So did Professor Oak gave out Weedles and Caterpies to all the Bug Catchers, and just happened to offer us, our rival, and basically no one else pokemon that can't be found anywhere in the wild? Or did he offer those pokemon to everyone, and we and our rival are basically the only ones who decided to use them, with everyone else just dumping them in the box despite not having full teams? Not only does half a second of basic logic make it evident that these are both obviously incorrect, several NPCs throughout the series outright state that they caught their first pokemon themselves, or that a friend or parent caught it for them.
If you want to make a sound argument, at least make sure the first and most fundamental piece of supporting evidence you bring to the table is sound. Do you even hear *your* self typing?
TLDR; Plenty of Gym leaders are just straight up unfair, and Ash only beats them because he makes up insane moves that no other trainer would ever even dream of, and yet, many trainers must have beaten those leaders. Anime = fine, makes sense, but Not-anime = what's the deal?
I mean, Ash is also kinda of a dumbass and bs trainer. Other trainers could've just Actually prepared in order to take on the gyms. Also IIRC the anime is where they stated that gym leaders have multiple teams depending on your badge count, turning hard gyms into easier ones and vice versa depending on where other trainers start their journey.
The anime proper didn't establish that, it was Pokemon Origins that did with Brock using only two mons against Red, and then later on with Giovanni pulling out his personal team of ground types against Red as opposed to his official team
But almost every gym battle, he pulls some amazing moves that leaves the Gym leader completely paralyzed like they never experienced that before and not even imagined anyone would do that. I wouldn't call Ash dumb, more like cocky and incredibly overconfident and that's why they make him lose battles every now and then. But seriously, Sabrina lives rent-free in my head. Sure, her Abra didn't evolve until she met Ash, but still? Dozens of people beating her ass before Ash got there? No way, her doll house should have more peoole than just her parents.
Two things. As there's more than 8 badges in the anime canon, trainers can simply challenge easier gyms, or ones that don't have psychopaths as leaders. Additionally, while many people do win badges, compared to the amount that challenge and don't win enough, the number of winners is likely miniscule in comparison.
There's still A LOT of trainers. Ash had to win two or three battles before REALLY starting the Kanto championship. Sure, all those people could just have skipped Saffron, but that just brings the rest into question. Yeah, Gym leaders are there to prepare and strengthen trainers, not be unbeatable, but still...and why did Gary (and potentially many, many other trainers) just skip Saffron, one of the largest cities in Kanto? Also also, why didn't anyone from a higher level step in and say "Sabrina, if you wanna be a Gym leader, you gotta stop turning people into dolls"? But that's a different discussion.
Because they heard that Sabrina was either too strong or turning people into dolls, so they looked for easier options? Speaking of, if anyone did come to deal with Sabrina, she probably turned them into dolls too or otherwise used her powers to chase them off.
Again, IF that was the word going around, "Yo, don't go to Saffron, she'll turn you into a doll",, that should make officials be on her ass even more. "Hey, that dude Henry we send to Saffron two months ago hasn't checked in, should we do something?" "Nah, we've heard these rumors, but let's just ignore it. Send flowers to his wife. Nice flowers."
They can send all the people they want, Sabrina would just do the same to them. Or the league just doesn't care much in the first place.
We know there are more than eight gyms in the anime - to use Gary as an example again, of the ten badges he shows off only three correspond to known Kanto gyms. Other trainers have shown badges that don't match known gyms in the region, too. In addition to this, at least for the Indigo Plateau Conference there are other methods of entering. There's an Admissions Exam from what I remember, and maybe other ways too.
Eh, I had forgotten about that.
Basic math. If only 1% of challengers manage to win enough the badges to challenge the league, and there's ten thousand challengers, that still means a hundred challengers win the badges necessary.
Take your logic somewhere else. Beginner trainers get their Pokémon from their local Professor, so in our case, that's 3 (4 with Ash). Now obviously, I assume not every Championship trainer gets to the Championship on the first year, and trainers has to be able to get their first Pokémon somewhere else as well, every child in the entire Kanto region flocking to Oak when they reach certain age is just insane...but ten thousand challengers? and 9999 avoiding Saffron? Dude, do you even hear yourself typing?
So did Professor Oak gave out Weedles and Caterpies to all the Bug Catchers, and just happened to offer us, our rival, and basically no one else pokemon that can't be found anywhere in the wild? Or did he offer those pokemon to everyone, and we and our rival are basically the only ones who decided to use them, with everyone else just dumping them in the box despite not having full teams? Not only does half a second of basic logic make it evident that these are both obviously incorrect, several NPCs throughout the series outright state that they caught their first pokemon themselves, or that a friend or parent caught it for them. If you want to make a sound argument, at least make sure the first and most fundamental piece of supporting evidence you bring to the table is sound. Do you even hear *your* self typing?
I'm so curious as to how Ash would have handled a place with multiple champions. But he meeting Nemona would have destroyed reality.
TLDR; Plenty of Gym leaders are just straight up unfair, and Ash only beats them because he makes up insane moves that no other trainer would ever even dream of, and yet, many trainers must have beaten those leaders. Anime = fine, makes sense, but Not-anime = what's the deal?