Pokemon Deals Ash His First Major Loss as World Champion

Pokemon recently had Ash Ketchum break through his biggest victory yet as he became the World Champion following his win during the World Coronation Series, but the newest episode of the series revealed that Ash still has a lot to learn as he has been dealt his first major loss as the champion. Pokemon Journeys set Ash on a winning streak that saw him winning battle after battle until he became the best trainer in the world, but as the anime gets ready to say goodbye, Ash is also learning that he’s far from being an actual master during the events of Pokemon: Aim to Be a Pokemon Master. 

Pokemon Journeys as a series has been a celebration of Ash’s long career as a Pokemon trainer, with several allies and enemies making a comeback to once again cross paths with the eternally young anime protagonist. Recently, water-type trainer Misty, one of Ash’s first comrades that joined his globe-spanning adventures, returned to the series, revealing that she has changed a major part of her life. Misty had watched Ash’s victory in the Masters 8 Tournament, and in doing so, ignited a spark inside herself that had her vacating her position as a Gym Leader and deciding to start traveling the world once again as she had done at the start of the series.

Who Beat Ash? 

In the latest episode of Pokemon: Aim To Be A Pokemon Master, Ash lost his fight against Misty, though it wasn’t using his championship team, but rather, simply sending out Corphish which loses to Misty’s Politoed who clearly had more power behind its blows:

Misty defeated the World Champion Ash Ketchum! 💀#anipoke #アニポケ #めざポケ #Pokemon pic.twitter.com/GRetbCIpTL

— 🌈🧢 Annet 🧢🌈 (@Akilvers) January 20, 2023

Does this mean that Misty is the new Pokemon World Champion? No, as it would seem that the title can only switch hands during the Masters 8 Tournament, meaning that Ash will be holding onto the crown as he plans to exit the series. It will be interesting, with more of Ash’s old friends confirmed to be making a comeback in these episodes, to see if Ketchum might lose once again as he potentially will test his skills against familiar allies.

What do you think of Ash’s big loss following his World Championship victory? What characters from Pokemon’s past do you want to see make a return before Ash and Pikachu take a bow? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of Pokemon.