Pokemon Officially Ranks Its Strongest Trainers to Date

Pokemon has done a lot in its 20+ years on air, and the anime is still finding ways to surprise fans. The franchise’s latest series has tested boundaries with its travel-centric arcs, and now, Ash Ketchum is prepping for his biggest challenge yet. Pokemon Journeys is about to launch its global championship tourney, and the anime kicked off the climatic act by ranking its eight strongest trainers to date.

As you can imagine, the list is filled with familiar faces, and Ash has faced most of them at this point. The Pokemon trainer has come a long way since he left Pallet Town, and most importantly, Ash is ranked amongst the best according to this top-tier list.

After defeating Raihan in battle, Ash was ranked as the world’s eighth top trainer and given a pass to enter the championship tournament. The trainer, who is recognized as the Alola Champion, is now ranked under Iris as the Unova Champion came in at seventh on this list.

The sixth spot goes to Alain, and of course, fans expect Ash’s rival to get a rematch with Greninja before this tournament is called. The fifth place rank goes to Kalos’ own Diantha with Lane, the Kanto and Johto Champion, taking fourth place. As for third, Steven Stone nabbed the spot for Hoenn while Cynthia rounds out the top two for Sinnoh. And of course, the Galar Champion Leon is leading the entire pack at this list’s top spot.

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With this official ranking in place, Pokemon Journeys is about to pit the anime’s best trainers to date against one another. The anime has never gathered this much talent in one place before, and Ash has some training to do before the championship series gets started. And once the event kicks off, you can bet Pokemon Journeys will go above and beyond with its epic battles. 

What do you make of this top eight list? How do you think this championship series is going to play out? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB.