The Pokemon anime has seen its fair share of big tournaments. Pokemon Journeys however, has set up possibly the biggest tournament yet. With a new Pokemon generation on the horizon, the anime’s latest season, Pokemon Journeys is nearing its conclusion. Bringing together trainers from all over the Pokemon world, the World Coronation Tournament is Ash’s big challenge for this season.
We’ve seen him perform progressively better and better with each successive big tournament he takes part in. The last season, Sun and Moon even saw Ash finally become a champion himself. And now, he’s earned entry into the Masters Tournament, putting him up against the 7 best trainers in the world. But, does he have any chance against the other seven contestants?
Round One
The matchups for the first round of the tournament were recently revealed, allowing us to start realistically predicting how the tournament might go. The first match starts off strong, with the Galar champion Leon against Alain, who won the Kalos league against Ash. While Alain was able to take Ash out back then, Leon is on a whole other level. It should be fun watching Alain and Leon’s Charizard duke it out, but ultimately Leon will likely make it through. Alain simply doesn’t have the star power of his opponent, who was the last winner of the Masters Tournament. In the 2nd match, the two champions Lance and Diantha will go head-to-head. Seeing as how Lance was the runner-up in the last Masters Tournament, and is currently ranked higher than Diantha, it’s likely that he will come out on top.
The next two matches pit Ash and his former partner Iris against champions Steven and Cynthia respectively. This is where things get more tricky. While it would be fun to watch Ash and Iris face off at such a high level, it’s hard to see them both making it past their opponents. Ash can likely win out over Steven, especially after practicing against Paul’s Metagross. Iris, however, would be hard-pressed to make it past Cynthia. Cynthia is a terrifying force both in the games and anime, and has one of the most balanced teams of anyone in the tournament. Her infamous Garchomp can also likely take out any of Iris’ dragon types without issue. So unless there’s an upset of some kind, Cynthia will likely be the winner.
The Semi Finals
Following on from the round one matches, the semi-finals will probably see Leon facing off against Lance, in a repeat of the final of the last year’s Masters Tournament. It’s easy to imagine that Leon will repeat his previous victory. It would be interesting to see Lance make an upset here and make it to the finals, but narratively it wouldn’t really work. Journeys might be a globe trotting adventure, but it is still a season centered on the Galar Region and its characters. As the Galar champion, this season is Leon’s best time to shine, especially when battles are concerned. So, seeing him make it to the finals just makes more sense, and helps to keep up his unbeatable reputation from the games.
On the other side of the bracket, Ash vs Cynthia is definitely not an easy match to predict. Ash is still coming off his win in the Alola League, and his newfound friendship with Goh has certainly kept his competitive spirit alive. In terms of preparation, Ash’s recent battle with Paul did give him some fresh experience against a Garchomp, so he’s somewhat ready to face Cynthia’s. His Journeys team is also quite powerful, and comparably as balanced as Cynthia’s teams tend to be. Despite this, Cynthia is still a noted powerhouse, and is currently the strongest trainer in the Masters Eight besides Leon. It’s extremely tough to call, but there is a likelihood that Ash might come out on top, if only to set up his final confrontation with Leon.
The Final
Leon vs Ash for the finals would likely be the most narratively satisfying way to end the Tournament. While Leon vs Cynthia would be a clash of titans that everyone would love to see, putting ash against the Galar champion instead would serve as his biggest challenge in the history of the anime. And with how much Journeys has sought to appreciate every part of the Pokemon anime’s history, it would be a great match to end off the season. Especially since Leon is the one who inspired Ash to enter this tournament to begin with.
As for who could win the match, it could honestly go either way. Leon definitely has the advantage as he’s currently the world’s best trainer. And, now that Ash has finally gotten a big tournament win in the Alola league, fans would not be as upset if he had to take a loss here. Although, it would be a celebratory peak for Ash as a character to finally become the best trainer in the world, the very position he’s been dreaming of since his early days in Pallet Town. And, it might leave space for the anime to transition to a new protagonist, possibly Goh himself.
It’s impossible to guess how things will turn out, but no matter who ends up winning, if Leon vs Ash is the final match, it will be a finale to remember.