When Pokemon Journeys came out a few years back, many wondered what the goal would be for Ash Ketchum. In the seven mainline animes so far, Ash went to a region, caught new Pokemon, made new friends, then challenged the Pokemon League. That led to him becoming the first champion of the Alola region back in Pokemon Sun and Moon. However, even though Ash had a new region to explore in Galar, he didn’t partake in the typical path. Instead, the anime sent him to the World Coronation Series, a global event that featured trainers from all over doing Pokemon battles to see who was the best of the best.

With every victory you got, the higher up your ranking would go. There were “classes” of trainers that would indicate your skill level via your wins. Ash eventually battled his way into the Master Class. That put him alongside 7 of the best Pokemon Trainers in the world. In addition, seven of those participants, including Ash, were champions of a region, further indicating that these were true masters.

Even though the goal of Pokemon Journeys was to reach the Master Class from the beginning, the true purpose was to beat the man at the top of the leaderboard. The undefeated champion of the Pokemon world: Leon. Ash had some battles with Leon in the past, but he was defeated. However, that didn’t stop him from training harder and getting to the level he needed for the Master Class.

In Japan, the Master Class battles have been going on for a while now. In the first round, Ash had to battle the Hoenn Champion in Steven and fought long-time friend/Sinnoh Champion Cynthia in the second round. Both times he was able to get the victory. Leon went up against Alain in the first round and then faced Kalos Champion Diantha in the second. Not surprisingly, he kept his winning streak alive. So now, as the preview below shows, the finals of the Master Class will be Ash vs. Leon!

Here is where things get interesting because the outcome of this fight is not as predictable as fans might hope. After all, the anime has never been shy about Ash having to work his way up the ranks. Remember, it took him seven different attempts at the Pokemon League to become a champion. Leon is easily one of the toughest trainers he’s ever fought, especially with his Gigantamax Charizard at his side.

In the Pokemon Sword and Shield video games, the player character would beat Leon to become the champion, but that was due to the game needing to let that happen. Instead, the anime might pull a swerve and have Leon keep his streak to keep Ash hungry for greater challenges. Only time, and a Pokemon Battle, will determine the new champ.

Source: YouTube