Pokemon Anime to Debut Impressive Champion Battle

Ash and new series hero Go have taken a few steps into exploring the newest region of the series, Galar, introduced in Pokemon Sword and Shield, but the newest incarnation of the series is shaking things up as it’s not limiting itself to interacting with characters or ideas from this latest generation. Fans have already seen some of the ways this new series is integrating elements from the Kanto and Hoenn regions into Galar, and a future episode of the series teasing a much bigger clash between the regions on the horizon.

The synopsis for Episode 12 of the Pokemon: The Series has made its way online thanks to @Arkeus88 on Twitter, and teases that there will be a big battle between classic Kanto champion Lance and new Champion for the Galar region, Leon. Counting Ash as the Alola League Champion in the mix, and it’s quite a line up!

As the synopsis details, Ash and Go are heading to a special tournament to decide the best overall champion, “Professor Sakuragi has given [Ash] and Go tickets to the finals of the Pokemon World Championships, the tournament that decides the best Pokemon Trainer in the world. The two of them set off to the Galar region, where the stadium is located, to see this match with their own eyes.”

It seems that on their way to the Galar region, they spot the two Champions going all out, “The finals is between [Lance], the winner of the Elite Four Cup in the Kanto region, and [Leon], whose undefeated record in the Galar region keeps growing. Just how skilled is this man [Leon]?” Ash won’t be involved in this explosive battle of champions, but it’s certainly going to be a great introduction to the new end goal for the Galar region.

Ash never quite made his way through the Elite Four or Kanto’s Pokemon League, and Leon provides a much tougher challenge than that considering how his undefeated record has been carried over from the original Sword and Shield games into the anime. So while Ash has taken more of a back seat to Go with this newest season, this might inspire him to get back into the journey to becoming a master even more for the future of the series.

Pokemon: The Series, is now airing new episodes weekly in Japan, but unfortunately is still not officially licensed for an English language release as of this writing. There’s also a brand new film on the way to Japan this Summer, Pokemon the Movie: Coco.