Pokemon Journeys Promo Teases Ash's Debut in the Masters Tournament

Pokemon Journeys is setting the stage for Ash Ketchum's first major battle in the Masters Tournament of the World Coronation Series, and the promo for the next episode of the series airing in Japan is getting ready for his big debut! Ash Ketchum has been working his way up through the ranks of the world spanning tournament through the anime thus far, and it was revealed that his final hurdle would be a tournament featuring some of the other regional champions from across the world. Fans were curious to see which champions Ash could face off against, and soon we will see his first foray into this major battles.

The latest slate of Pokemon Journeys episodes airing overseas have been working through the quarterfinals battles of the Masters Tournament. The first three battles have been settled, and now it's Ash's turn as he's up against the third ranked trainer, and Hoenn Champion, Steven Stone. This will be the first proper battle between the two champions in the anime overall, and the promo for the next episode of the series has shared the first look at just how Ash will be taking on Steven in this highly anticipated match. Check it out below: 

Episode 118 of Pokemon Journeys is titled "Ash Heads Into Battle! Vs. Steven!" and the synopsis for the episode describes it as such, "The fourth match of the first round of the Masters Tournament finally sees the start of [Ash's] battles. His opponent is [Hoenn] champion [Steven], whose powerful Pokemon drive [Ash] against the wall...[Ash] doesn't just want to win for himself, but also for the sake of the friends and Pokemon that support him! Can he defeat the roadblock that is [Steven] and pass his first match?" 

Not only does Ash need to somehow defeat Steven in order to even advance in the Masters Tournament, the semifinals would then place him against the Sinnoh Champion Cynthia. These would be two highly anticipated champions back to back should Ash actually get a victory here, so there's a bright future should he somehow defeat Steven. But that's a lot easier said than done, so what do you think? What are you hoping to see in Ash's battle against Steven? Let us know all of your thoughts about it in the comments! You can even reach out to me directly about all things animated and other cool stuff @Valdezology on Twitter!