In the World Coronation Series, the skills of more than 10,000 Pokemon trainers have been tested, and finally it’s time to find out who is the best of the best. While Masters Eight is fighting for the monarch’s place, Leon must fight to retain his undefeated champion title while the other seven trainers are trying to survive, presumably on a shootout with three Pokemon in their arsenal.
The composition of the quarterfinals seems relatively unbalanced, as the top four compete with the four worst, but, nevertheless, fans can expect interesting battles in Pokemon Journeys.
Leon vs Alain: Episode 115
The first round between the Masters Eight was strange as each coach didn’t seem to be playing at full strength. According to the teaser trailer, this epic round includes battles of two types of grass, followed by a match with Charizard, with the addition of some Dynamax transformations. As a dual-type Pokemon, Garlic can give Alain an advantage by using his combat-type attacks, such as a Hammer Hand, or even using his poisonous slurry bomb to effectively hit Leon’s Rillaboom. It seems that Leon has more faith in his partnership with Charizard, because he prefers to use his Dynamax group to initiate the strengthening of the Rillaboom, thereby excluding the potential Mega Charizard from the competition. This calculated choice is probably the best choice for Leon, since Honest has a wider range of attacking abilities.
If Alain resists the desire to dynamax his Chestnut, then he will have the opportunity to summon his Mega Charizard X to the field, which on paper could easily defeat an ordinary old Charizard. However, Leon is not some random opponent, and even with the advantage of Dynamax, it seems impossible to defeat the undefeated champion. In the Pokemon Journeys teaser trailer, viewers catch a glimpse of Leon’s Charizard gaining access to his Ancient Power, a move so rare and powerful that it can only be achieved through reproduction.
Lance vs Diantha: Episode 116
Lance’s Dragonite has become quite infamous as possibly the strongest of its kind (along with Iris), as the pair have worked together since the original series. Diantha doesn’t seem to stop as she summons her Aurora to the battlefield, confident in her Stone/Ice Type moves, which are expected to be super effective against the dragon. Lance can be seen with a giant pokeball in his hand, although it is unclear when he plans to use it, however, Diantha prefers her Mega Gardevoir in battles, so a reasonable choice would be to save it for the next round.
Diantha’s Mega Gardevoir is facing an unknown opponent, however, Leon’s Red Gyarados will most likely appear. Gardevoir potentially has access to some Electric-Type moves that should be super effective against the Water/Flying Type, although any of her Fairy attacks will most likely put Gyarados in his place. Interestingly, Mega Gyarados is more vulnerable to Fairy attacks than regular Gyarados, so if Lance has foresight, his beneficial transformation can be used instead of Dragonite.
Cynthia vs. Iris: Episode 117
In another dragon battle, Cynthia’s Garchomp is to fight Iris’s Haxorus in the Maiden Battle of the Century, and while Cynthia is expected to pull the Keystone out of the works, it’s unclear if Iris will do the same. Despite the fact that she may be a Dragon Master, Iris has significantly less experience in Pokemon battles than the champion of the Shinno League, and it seems unlikely that Cynthia will be defeated.
Cynthia’s Milotic is shown in the teaser trailer, and also fights with the Haxorus Iris and is probably chosen for his super-effective ice attacks. It seems that Garchomp is finishing what Milotic started, but Iris’s other Pokemon are not revealed. Generally speaking, the champion of the Unova League relies on his Emolga, Excadrilla or Dragonite in battle, so it’s safe to say that one of these three will appear. To resist the Dragon Lord, it would be best for Cynthia to rely on her fairy-tale and ice-type Pokémon, such as Togekiss and Glaseon, or to shake things up a bit by adding Lucario or Gastrodon to the mix.
Ash vs Stephen: Episodes 118-119
There is a lot of controversy surrounding this match, as fans have been dying to see Stephen Stone and Ash fight for a long time. In the teaser trailer, Cradily and Stephen Stone’s Mega Metagross valiantly attack Pikachu and Gengar Ash, although the exact connections are not confirmed. It would make sense if Stephen called Metagross to challenge Gengar, as his attacks are especially strong against the Ghost.
