Wow... just wow. That is the closest pokemon will ever get to a Deux Ex Machina, which is where supernatural elements are introduced to move along the plot.
From a certain standpoint, though, I do have to commend the animators. They killed two birds with one stone; One, they stopped Ash from winning the League (We all knew it would happen- we just didn't know how) and two, they proved that Ash can still become stronger; he apparently doesn't yet have the team to beat a team of ubers.
Wait one second... He did beat a couple ubers once, didn't he? I can't remember exactly when, but I'm pretty sure he did. Which introduces only one solution; that guy is both a Deux Ex Machina, AND his pokemon are EV trained. Okay, I'm most likely looking too far into this. But it is a good example of when a N0ob goes up against a competitive player or a hardcore non-competitive player, nonetheless.