Ash Meets New Rival in Latest Pokemon Episode

After Ash won the Alolan League Championship during the Pokemon Sun and Moon anime, he had taken a brief relaxation period that involved him heading back to Kanto for the newest iteration of the anime series. Although he still has dreams of being a Pokemon master, Ash had largely taken a backseat to the new hero Go while they travel through various regions of the franchise. But with the latest couple of episodes bringing Ash and Go back to the new Galar region from Pokemon Sword and Shield, Ash's fire for battles have also been reignited with a new rival.

The latest episode of the series saw Ash and Pikachu using Gigantamax abilities for the first time in order to fight off a rampaging Drednaw, and the Galar Champion Leon (fresh off his victory over the Kanto Champion Lance) was so impressed with his ability to use the power without a special band that he had agreed to Ash's challenge to battle him.

The two of them fought, and Ash and Pikachu quickly lost even with their newly gained abilities. But this was what Ash needed to light the fire in himself this season as now he's officially entering the Pokemon World Championships league which will have him fighting through nearly a thousand opponents to rank up and challenge Leon again someday.

It wasn’t long ago that Ash’s main rival was a new trainer who had only just started... now his main rival is none other than the strongest trainer in the world. I expect this to be a great rivalry, probably not as good as Ash and Paul, but still up there with the best #anipoke pic.twitter.com/zLLHFxIR0F

— Anipoke Hub 🏆🔥 (@AnipokeHub) February 17, 2020

Ash learns in the latest episode that in order to challenge the champ of the Galar region, he'll have to make his way through the rankings and earn one of 8 "Master" class spots that fight in the final tournament. It's here that he'll be able to challenge Leon after presumably making his way through the Gym Leaders and other opponents in the region, so now Ash has a new goal and rival in place for this season forward.

What do you think of Ash's new goal for the Galar region? Are you happy to see he's finally back and battling again after winning the Alolan League? Let us know your thoughts in the comments or talk to me directly about all things anime and other cool things @Valdezology on Twitter!

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.