Do you think Kotetsu should have appeared earlier?

[Locormus]

I would've liked him to be in the World Tournament, at least.

... he's nothing like Ritchie.

Ritchie was Ash with a brain.
Kotetsu is Ash with half his brain.

Then that would make Kotetsu: Ritchie with half of the brain Ash didn't have? If you take away the dumb factor, then he is a Ritchie..

And even then, people are complaining about Ash being stupid for sending in basic stage starters into battle.. So did Ritchie: Sparky and Zippo... Spearow and Tentacool were used in his full battle as well.. So that's at least three basic stage pokemon for Ritchie as well..

[CyberCubed]

Isn't this something that could have been said for every league rival?

Heck Morrisson and Tyson could have been Ash's rivals for all of Hoenn instead of just the league for example.

[matt0044]

If I remember correctly, Tobias was introduced as a mysterious character. Coming out of nowhere is part of the mystery.

You know what else is part of the mystery? SOLVING IT! As in learning more about him bit by bit but since he's not a main character or even a recurring character, that'll never happen and we'll never figure him out. At all. The Doctor he is NOT.

Kotetsu logic- "I'm going to sleep underwater with a duvet of cement to keep me warm! Yay!"

I swear to god, this line made my day so much better. Thanks for the laugh.

As for league rivals, I felt that they all seem too... convenient to the story. They show up for the league (or very near it), beat Ash and are barely if at all seen again. It just gives off major vibes of a plot device. Yeah, it happens in real life but come on, this is the Pokemon Anime. Things happen when the plot demands it. End of story.