The Pokemon Company has brilliantly tied the Pokemon anime and games together since the franchise's inception, and that's no different with Pokemon Journeys and Nintendo Switch's Pokemon Sword and Shield. With the latest season of the Pokemon anime ramping up, an action-packed trailer hypes the upcoming Ash vs. Cynthia battle.
The Ash vs. Cynthia battle trailer is hyping up many fans of the Pokemon anime regardless of the fact that it hasn't been translated into English from Japanese. Because Pokemon Journeys is based in the Galar region of Pokemon Sword and Shield, Ash and Cynthia are competing before Leon who is the region's champion in one of the massive battle stadiums. Cynthia is the Sinnoh region champion, and she has yet to compete with Ash despite having appeared in the anime sooner which makes it one of the most anticipated Pokemon battles of Pokemon Journeys.
The Pokemon anime trailer hyping Ash vs. Cynthia begins with the latter walking through one of the tunnels of a Galar region Pokemon Stadium as Ash walks through the opposing one. Cynthia's Spiritomb is the first to compete against Ash's party of Pokemon as the protagonist challenges it with his powerful Dragonite which is quickly defeated with what looks like a combination of Hypnosis and Dream Eater. This causes Ash to summon his own Ghost-type Pokemon as Gengar hops onto the battlefield but seems to be knocked out just as easily as it collapses in a heap while Ash looks on in stunned disbelief.
Cynthia teases retiring from Pokemon competition whether she wins the one with Ash or not and her history of watching Ash battle others may be reflected in her strategy as Roserade hits Ash's Dracovish with a powerful and precise attack. Garchomp and Lucario are both shown to have devastating attacks of their own in the trailer while Pikachu is effortlessly knocked back by Togekiss, and Cynthia's Milotic shoots a powerful beam at Ash's Galarian Farfetch'd during a hype-generating montage within the trailer. Given that part of the Ash vs. Cynthia knock-outs are highlighted in the trailer, many fans are speculating on what hasn't been shown.
Since the Japanese trailer was released, many Pokemon fans have expressed their enthusiasm for the battle between Cynthia and Ash finally taking place, with some noting their favorite Pokemon in her team. Given that the Pokemon Journeys episode hasn't been released yet, it's currently unclear which of the two champion Pokemon trainers will come out on top. Because of how many Pokemon Cynthia has already defeated in her Pokemon Journeys battle with Ash just in the trailer, some Pokemon Journeys fans are anticipating that she will win the confrontation.