Pocket Monsters (2019) Speculation Thread

[World Turtle]

You have a point about Charizard being the Bonus Fire Type, but the problem is that Charizard was an old Pokemon, not a new capture. Don't get me wrong, I was happy when he finally returned, but Ash could still have capture another Fire Type of Unova.

I never understood this. Why does he need a second fire-type just because he caught an extra Grass type and an extra Water type? The Unova Lineup was OS 2.0. Leavanny was the Butterfree or Heracross counterpart being a Bug type (being part Grass was just coincidence) and poor Palpitoad was the Kingler.

 

[Eddieursa]

The Pokemon Ending is merely a game about linking Pokemon's japanese names with the first and last kanjis; but it's obvious they hide spoilers with several of the Pokemon linked. After seeing the new version of the ending, I have my suspictions.

1º) Togepi - Pikachu - Cramorant:
- Togepi is a Pokemon that I can see Ash capturing, as weird as it sounds. Remember, it was Ash who found Misty's Togepi when it was an egg, and he won the "mini-tournament" to win it; although Togepi chose Misty as it thought it was its mom. This would give Ash a Fairy Type, and as Togekiss, it can use Aura Sphere, just like Lucario.
- Cramorant is definitely a Pokemon Ash will NOT capture. It's causing a lot of polemic for its violent form of having a Pikachu in his mouth. It can even be more traumatic than Heracross feeding on Bulbasaur. In the trailers of the next movie, Team Rocket is seen holding a Cramorant, so I guess they could capture it. And by the way, in the dance scene, Cramorant didn't even move, unlike Togepi and Pikachu. It looked like a statue or a photo more than a real Pokemon, which is werid.

2º) Cubone - Raboot - Metapod:
Nothing to say, they are all Pokemon captured by Go.

3º) Comfey - Yamper - Chikorita:
If Koharu is going to become a Pokemon Trainer eventually, these look like good Pokemon for her. Ash is definitely not going to capture another Chikorita, and I doubt Go will get one.

4º) Grookey - Egg* (Riolu) - Lycanroc (Dusk):
- Sobble seems to have been confirmed for Ash, but I'm glad this seems to confirm he will get Grookey too. Even if Rillaboom is not very popular, it really suits Ash's style.
- Riolu is a pleasant idea to welcome in Ash's team.
- Lycanroc (Dusk): Well, it was obvious Ash would return to Alola at some point with Go, and he will meet again with his Alola's team. I like the idea of Ash taking all of them for some part of his new journey at least. All of them have something to offer. Lycanroc proves Ash's new tendency of capturing very unusual Pokemon (Dragonite, Gengar and Riolu/Lucario). Incineroar because we haven't seen him fighting after evolving, Melmetal because of his Gigantamax's form and Rowlet to make him evolve to Decidueye (giving Ash his second Ghost Type).

Now, about which Pokemon Ash could capture from the other sequences:

1º) Braviary is a good Pokemon for Ash, and Bayleef could return in an episode an evolve into Meganium, especially after seeing the recent Meganium Ash defeated.

2º) Ash will fight a Tauros in next episode, but he could bring one of his own for a battle in another episode. Recent merchandise had Dratini eating berries, but it can't be Ash's Pokemon. (Go will capture it?). Wartortle could be Squirtle returning and evolving. And finally, Primeape's shadow gives me hope for his return.

3º) Absol is a good Pokemon for Ash, and Tropius too. Vibrava appeared in the previous version too, and considering Flygon's popularity, Ash could capture it. Blaziken appeared in the promo poster, so Ash MIGHT capture one, considering his popularity. Also, since he will have Grookey and Sooble, he can get Blaziken as his "Fire Starter". Like I said, Rowlet could return to evolve into Decidueye, giving Ash his second Ghost Type. Grapploct could work as a Pokemon for Ash. Ash could bring back his Torkoal for some Pokemon Battle. The Mankey makes me wishes for the return of Ash's Primeape. Treecko appeared in the previous version too, maybe Go will capture one too? Either way, I would love to see Ash's Sceptile again.

 

[RileyXY1]

The Pokemon Ending is merely a game about linking Pokemon's japanese names with the first and last kanjis; but it's obvious they hide spoilers with several of the Pokemon linked. After seeing the new version of the ending, I have my suspictions.

1º) Togepi - Pikachu - Cramorant:
- Togepi is a Pokemon that I can see Ash capturing, as weird as it sounds. Remember, it was Ash who found Misty's Togepi when it was an egg, and he won the "mini-tournament" to win it; although Togepi chose Misty as it thought it was its mom. This would give Ash a Fairy Type, and as Togekiss, it can use Aura Sphere, just like Lucario.
- Cramorant is definitely a Pokemon Ash will NOT capture. It's causing a lot of polemic for its violent form of having a Pikachu in his mouth. It can even be more traumatic than Heracross feeding on Bulbasaur. In the trailers of the next movie, Team Rocket is seen holding a Cramorant, so I guess they could capture it. And by the way, in the dance scene, Cramorant didn't even move, unlike Togepi and Pikachu. It looked like a statue or a photo more than a real Pokemon, which is werid.

2º) Cubone - Raboot - Metapod:
Nothing to say, they are all Pokemon captured by Go.

3º) Comfey - Yamper - Chikorita:
If Koharu is going to become a Pokemon Trainer eventually, these look like good Pokemon for her. Ash is definitely not going to capture another Chikorita, and I doubt Go will get one.

4º) Grookey - Egg* (Riolu) - Lycanroc (Dusk):
- Sobble seems to have been confirmed for Ash, but I'm glad this seems to confirm he will get Grookey too. Even if Rillaboom is not very popular, it really suits Ash's style.
- Riolu is a pleasant idea to welcome in Ash's team.
- Lycanroc (Dusk): Well, it was obvious Ash would return to Alola at some point with Go, and he will meet again with his Alola's team. I like the idea of Ash taking all of them for some part of his new journey at least. All of them have something to offer. Lycanroc proves Ash's new tendency of capturing very unusual Pokemon (Dragonite, Gengar and Riolu/Lucario). Incineroar because we haven't seen him fighting after evolving, Melmetal because of his Gigantamax's form and Rowlet to make him evolve to Decidueye (giving Ash his second Ghost Type).

Now, about which Pokemon Ash could capture from the other sequences:

1º) Braviary is a good Pokemon for Ash, and Bayleef could return in an episode an evolve into Meganium, especially after seeing the recent Meganium Ash defeated.

2º) Ash will fight a Tauros in next episode, but he could bring one of his own for a battle in another episode. Recent merchandise had Dratini eating berries, but it can't be Ash's Pokemon. (Go will capture it?). Wartortle could be Squirtle returning and evolving. And finally, Primeape's shadow gives me hope for his return.

3º) Absol is a good Pokemon for Ash, and Tropius too. Vibrava appeared in the previous version too, and considering Flygon's popularity, Ash could capture it. Blaziken appeared in the promo poster, so Ash MIGHT capture one, considering his popularity. Also, since he will have Grookey and Sooble, he can get Blaziken as his "Fire Starter". Like I said, Rowlet could return to evolve into Decidueye, giving Ash his second Ghost Type. Grapploct could work as a Pokemon for Ash. Ash could bring back his Torkoal for some Pokemon Battle. The Mankey makes me wishes for the return of Ash's Primeape. Treecko appeared in the previous version too, maybe Go will capture one too? Either way, I would love to see Ash's Sceptile again.

I don't think that Ash will ever get a pure Dark-type, especially considering how they've treated Ash's dual type Dark-types.

 

[thunderblade12]

So this series sees like it can go anywhere. We don't even know how many battles it will take Ash to get to the top 8. You'd imagine he would probably lose a few times and slide down a few ranks so the series isn't just straightforward victory after victory to take Ash straight to the top.

I think the way they're giving Ash multiple very powerful fully evolved Kanto pokemon means they're not really going to focus giving any of them character development. They'll stick around for a while and get a few high-profile battles in but there's no need to give them time before they evolve or anything like that. My gut is telling me that he'll get a handful of extra pokemom from each of the seven regions he's visited, most of which will get minimal development and be caught already rather powerful just like Gengar and Dragonite. And he'll get some Galar pokemon in between that will be more like mainstays and may get more screentime and development. Probably Grookey and Sobble. He might catch other Galar pokemon fully evolved though. Like maybe Corviknight or Toxricity.

What he'll catch seems pretty tough to predict. It seems like they're giving him the popular pokemon that people have always wished he'd catch though. So Lucario is the only one I'm really set on.

Kanto:
He already has Gengar, Mr. Mime, and Dragonite. I don't know if they would give him many more extra Kanto pokemon. I could see Butterfree, Lapras, Pidgeot, and/or Primeape coming back at the end of the series when Ash starts using his older pokemon though. And with that, and his other Kanto pokemon already in storage, he has plenty from Kanto.

Johto:
Tyranitar because of that Larvitar we got teased with back in the Johto saga. Espeon too because of Red from the games. And Snubble always seemed like a good fit since they were sorta pushing it as a Johto mascot alongside Marril back in the day. It would also be a pure Fairy type for Ash. And it's time to get a fully evolved Johto starter. Typholsion and Feraligatr never got any love in the anime. Meganium gets more attention but even it never got much


Hoenn:
I don't know. There a few I could see Ash getting like Exploud, Kecleon, and Hariyama. They just seem to fit. Absol and Flygon are the only ones I think might get on his team for popularity reasons though. Maybe give him a Swampert since Brock's Mudkip never did anything.

Sinnoh:
Lucario for sure. Even back in DP it just made sense and was kind of surprising that it didn't happen. That's really all though. Maybe they'll give him a weird wildcard pokemon from Sinnoh similar to Mr. Mime. Lickilicky, Skuntank, or something like that.

Unova:
So many. This team is the one that needs the most work. Evolve Boldore and Palpitoad for starters. Braviary would be amazing. There are a lot of Unova pokemon that it would be nice to see Ash get though. Galvantula, Beartic, Chandelure, etc.

Kalos:
Kinda like Unova, it all just boils down to my preferences... Tyrunt, Heliolisk, Aeigslash, Trevenant etc. I don't really have a reason other than I personally think they fit or like them. Maybe Chesnaught for the same reason as Swampert.

Alola:
Nothing really. A lot of the pokemon that are popular from Alola belonged to other characters during that very recent arc and got decent screentime.

Galar:
Inteleon
Thwacky
Corviknight
Toxricity
Grapploct
Eiscue

 

[Eddieursa]

I don't think that Ash will ever get a pure Dark-type, especially considering how they've treated Ash's dual type Dark-types.

Think again, pal. Zorua/Zoroark is a Pokemon they have been "promoting" for Ash for a long time, in a similar way to Lucario. Both Absol and Zoruark are good candidates. Besides, have you forgotten that Greninja and Incineroar are both partial Dark Types?

 

[Eddieursa]

Calls my attention who could be the 8 trainer in the Master Class. I don't know why they didn't have clear images, but I guess they try to keep us intrigated. Well, we have three trainers confirmed:
- Leon, Number 1 and Galar's Champion.
- Lance, from Kanto's Elite Four and Champion of either Johto or Kanto.
- Raihan, Gym Leader of Hammerlocke in Galar and Dragon Master. (By the way, I think his presence will serve for Ash to have a reason to battle in Galar's Gyms).

Now, we should wonder who are the remaining 5. I have clear candidates:
1º) Cynthia, Sinnoh's Champion. She's very strong and this group needs female members.
2º) Diantha, Kalos' Champion. As strong as Cynthia, and it adds another female member.
3º) Alder, Unova's Champion, seems strong enought to be part of this group.
*Iris is Champion in B2W2, but there's no way she will be Champion in the anime. Her level is WAY too low, as she was one of Ash's partners in his journey.
4º) Steven, Hoenn's Champion, is another good candidate.

The last member is tricky. As far as I see, it should be someone Ash defeats to enter in the Master Class. The question is who. I have two candidates:
1º) Wallace, previous Hoenn's Champion, but now more into Pokemon Contests. Since he's the Champion of Contests, he's probably not interested in the World Championship. So, maybe Wallace is not a good candidate after all.
2º) Giovanni, leader of Team Rocket. I know, sounds crazy, right? But in the other hand, seems suitable for Giovanni's character to prove the world just how powerful he is. It would suit that Ash defeats him to remove him from the Master Class, as a villain like him doesn't deserve to be in this group. Also, I want Ash having a rematch against him since Unova. The problem is, Giovanni would take an enormous risk in this position. Ash already knows he's Team Rocket's leader, so he could reveal his identity to the authorities. Not to mention that, after the Viridian Gym's incident, Ash and Gary could have told Officer Jenny that the Gym Leader was the head of Team Rocket.

 

[RileyXY1]

Think again, pal. Zorua/Zoroark is a Pokemon they have been "promoting" for Ash for a long time, in a similar way to Lucario. Both Absol and Zoruark are good candidates. Besides, have you forgotten that Greninja and Incineroar are both partial Dark Types?

Neither of them are pure Dark. For Ash's partial Dark-types they've always ignored their Dark-type and focused almost exclusively on their other type. I can't imagine how a pure Dark-type Pokemon would be handled.

 

[wellwellwells]

1º) Togepi - Pikachu - Cramorant:
- Togepi is a Pokemon that I can see Ash capturing, as weird as it sounds. Remember, it was Ash who found Misty's Togepi when it was an egg, and he won the "mini-tournament" to win it; although Togepi chose Misty as it thought it was its mom. This would give Ash a Fairy Type, and as Togekiss, it can use Aura Sphere, just like Lucario.
- Cramorant is definitely a Pokemon Ash will NOT capture. It's causing a lot of polemic for its violent form of having a Pikachu in his mouth. It can even be more traumatic than Heracross feeding on Bulbasaur. In the trailers of the next movie, Team Rocket is seen holding a Cramorant, so I guess they could capture it. And by the way, in the dance scene, Cramorant didn't even move, unlike Togepi and Pikachu. It looked like a statue or a photo more than a real Pokemon, which is werid.

2º) Cubone - Raboot - Metapod:
Nothing to say, they are all Pokemon captured by Go.

3º) Comfey - Yamper - Chikorita:
If Koharu is going to become a Pokemon Trainer eventually, these look like good Pokemon for her. Ash is definitely not going to capture another Chikorita, and I doubt Go will get one.

4º) Grookey - Egg* (Riolu) - Lycanroc (Dusk):
- Sobble seems to have been confirmed for Ash, but I'm glad this seems to confirm he will get Grookey too. Even if Rillaboom is not very popular, it really suits Ash's style.
- Riolu is a pleasant idea to welcome in Ash's team.
- Lycanroc (Dusk): Well, it was obvious Ash would return to Alola at some point with Go, and he will meet again with his Alola's team. I like the idea of Ash taking all of them for some part of his new journey at least. All of them have something to offer. Lycanroc proves Ash's new tendency of capturing very unusual Pokemon (Dragonite, Gengar and Riolu/Lucario). Incineroar because we haven't seen him fighting after evolving, Melmetal because of his Gigantamax's form and Rowlet to make him evolve to Decidueye (giving Ash his second Ghost Type).

I understand not everyone knows japanese, but this has already been explained SEVERAL times in the forum. The whole ending is based around a Japanese word game in which you need to say a word and the person coming up next need to say one that begins with the same hiragana/katakana (all of them sound as consonant+vocal) than the one before ended with until someone loses by saying one that ends with a ん or ン (which only sounds like “n”). They make two long games and then show the main Pokémon’s with two other that follow the same rule:

CuwaWA - WAnpaCHI - CHIkorita

Same thing with Dusk Lycanroc, it may be hinting at its return, but it also the same game:

SarunoRI - RIoLU - LUgarugan

 

[Leonhart]

Think again, pal. Zorua/Zoroark is a Pokemon they have been "promoting" for Ash for a long time, in a similar way to Lucario.

In what way? We've only had a small amount of Zoroark merchandise recently compared to the dozens of Riolu and Lucario products that have been advertised on merchandise lists recently.

 

[Eddieursa]

Neither of them are pure Dark. For Ash's partial Dark-types they've always ignored their Dark-type and focused almost exclusively on their other type. I can't imagine how a pure Dark-type Pokemon would be handled.

Ash's Greninja is surely going to return, and it may have some surprises. Surely his level increased, and it may have replaced Cut with Night Slash, a Dark Type move. We haven't see Ash's Incineroar battling since its evolution, but we can assume he learned his species' Signature Move after evolving, Darkest Lariat. When he returns (as he surely will), we could see him use it. And by the way, a pure Dark-type could be pretty much similar to how Ash handled his Gengar. I mean, Ghost and Dark types are pretty similar, and in certain way, a pure Dark type would be a "new territory" for Ash to explore.

I understand not everyone knows japanese, but this has already been explained SEVERAL times in the forum. The whole ending is based around a Japanese word game in which you need to say a word and the person coming up next need to say one that begins with the same hiragana/katakana (all of them sound as consonant+vocal) than the one before ended with until someone loses by saying one that ends with a ? or ? (which only sounds like “n”). They make two long games and then show the main Pokémon’s with two other that follow the same rule:

CuwaWA - WAnpaCHI - CHIkorita

Same thing with Dusk Lycanroc, it may be hinting at its return, but it also the same game:

SarunoRI - RIoLU - LUgarugan

I know that game, but even so, they don't merely use random Pokemon that match their names. Many of the Pokemon that appeared also make reference to Go's captures, not only Ash's. Not all of them are going to be important, that's for sure, but many of them could be either captured by Go (who simply captures anything he sees) or by Ash (as he's building an "Elite Team" this season).

In what way? We've only had a small amount of Zoroark merchandise recently compared to the dozens of Riolu and Lucario products that have been advertised on merchandise lists recently.

Well, ever since Ash bonded with the Zorua from the last Sinnoh's movie, just like he bonded with the Lucario from the last Hoenn's movie. And merchandise only covers the closest months of the anime, but a season literally last a whole year. Maybe in six months, we will have merchandise indicating new captures for Ash and Go.

 

[RileyXY1]

Ash's Greninja is surely going to return, and it may have some surprises. Surely his level increased, and it may have replaced Cut with Night Slash, a Dark Type move. We haven't see Ash's Incineroar battling since its evolution, but we can assume he learned his species' Signature Move after evolving, Darkest Lariat. When he returns (as he surely will), we could see him use it. And by the way, a pure Dark-type could be pretty much similar to how Ash handled his Gengar. I mean, Ghost and Dark types are pretty similar, and in certain way, a pure Dark type would be a "new territory" for Ash to explore.



I know that game, but even so, they don't merely use random Pokemon that match their names. Many of the Pokemon that appeared also make reference to Go's captures, not only Ash's. Not all of them are going to be important, that's for sure, but many of them could be either captured by Go (who simply captures anything he sees) or by Ash (as he's building an "Elite Team" this season).

Greninja will never get Night Slash because it is literally called "Crossroad Killing" in Japan. Dark is also called the "Evil-type" in Japan, which is why Ash hasn't used a pure Dark-type.

 

[Eddieursa]

Greninja will never get Night Slash because it is literally called "Crossroad Killing" in Japan. Dark is also called the "Evil-type" in Japan, which is why Ash hasn't used a pure Dark-type.

That's dumb. Other Greninjas seen in the anime had the Night Slash move. Why not Ash's Greninja? And "Evil-Type"? That's even dumber! Ash has already captured several Pokemon with a bad reputation because they are used by the bad guys in the anime: Kingler, Gengar, Primeape, Muk, Glalie, Gliscor, Krookodile... etc. There's no reason for Ash not to use a Pokemon that is pure Dark-Type, because that doesn't make them "evil".

The real problem, however, could it be some Dark-Type's moves. Ash's Krookodile had Crunch, but I believe they removed it because it was "too violent". Not for being "Evil Move", but because it involved a crocodile biting of something or someone it could kill. (People has died by a crocodile's attack). Of course, this is not a problem with tiny animals like young crocodiles (like Totodile) ot dogs. And it's not only Crunch, but any other move involving "biting" (like Ice Fang). They could, however, replace Crunch by Dark Pulse for Ash's Krookodile.

 

[RileyXY1]

That's dumb. Other Greninjas seen in the anime had the Night Slash move. Why not Ash's Greninja? And "Evil-Type"? That's even dumber! Ash has already captured several Pokemon with a bad reputation because they are used by the bad guys in the anime: Kingler, Gengar, Primeape, Muk, Glalie, Gliscor, Krookodile... etc. There's no reason for Ash not to use a Pokemon that is pure Dark-Type, because that doesn't make them "evil".

The real problem, however, could it be some Dark-Type's moves. Ash's Krookodile had Crunch, but I believe they removed it because it was "too violent". Not for being "Evil Move", but because it involved a crocodile biting of something or someone it could kill. (People has died by a crocodile's attack). Of course, this is not a problem with tiny animals like young crocodiles (like Totodile) ot dogs. And it's not only Crunch, but any other move involving "biting" (like Ice Fang). They could, however, replace Crunch by Dark Pulse for Ash's Krookodile.

They just don't want Ash's Pokemon to be associated with those kinds of underhanded tactics. It's just how they've been handling Dark-types owned by Ash, so I would guess that a pure Dark-type would be treated just as badly, and won't even learn any actual Dark-type moves.

 

[Eddieursa]

They just don't want Ash's Pokemon to be associated with those kinds of underhanded tactics. It's just how they've been handling Dark-types owned by Ash, so I would guess that a pure Dark-type would be treated just as badly, and won't even learn any actual Dark-type moves.

Like I said, pal, that's a lame excuse. This is not like the problems with Earth-moves like Earthquake or Fissure, that they are banned because of Japan's incidents with Earthquakes. Haven't you see how Ash's Gengar battle in the Vermilion Gym? It used tactics quite typical of "evil Pokemon" like surprising his opponent from behind and "mocking" him with his sinister smile. And besides, this season is clearly breaking the molds of most traditions in Pokemon's anime. Therefore, you should expect things changes about Ash's Dark Types.

There's one more thing I want to comment. Duraludon and Tyranitar have been appearing on certain merchandise for a while, and now we know Duraludon is going to appear in the episode of Leon vs Raihan. In fact, everything seems to indicate Duraludon will be his Gigantamax Pokemon against Leon's Charizard. Honestly, I expected an episode dealing with Duraludon and Tyranitar's rivalry.

Anyway, I hope Tyranitar's presence will be an indication of Ash's Larvitar returning as an evolved Pokemon. Then, if Ash battles Raihan, he could use a Gigantamax Tyranitar against Raihan's Gigantamax Duraludon.

And since Tyranitar is also a Dark Type, I expect him having Dark Pulse too. Like I said, just because in japan is called "Evil Type", it's no reason to avoid Ash having these kind of Pokemon. Some of Ash's Friends also use Dark Types with Dark Moves. Don't you remember Serena's Pancham with his Dark Pulse? (And Serena was even in love of Ash).

 

[Zariful]

So I was actually doing research on some of the dark type moves out there. And a lot of them aren’t as bad Crossroad Killing. Assurance is “Make Sure”. Night Daze is “Night Burst”. Brutal Swing is just Brutal Swing. Feint Attack is “Sneak Attack” Foul Play is called “Trickery” Knock Off is “Knock off” Payback is “Retribution” Power Trip is “Be Audacious” Pursuit is “Pursuing Attack” “Sucker Punch” is Surprise Attack. If they can have Ash say Revenge. I think some of these are fine. Dark pulse is apparently evil pulse in Japan. But Serena’s Pancham knew it

 

[Eddieursa]

So I was actually doing research on some of the dark type moves out there. And a lot of them aren’t as bad Crossroad Killing. Assurance is “Make Sure”. Night Daze is “Night Burst”. Brutal Swing is just Brutal Swing. Feint Attack is “Sneak Attack” Foul Play is called “Trickery” Knock Off is “Knock off” Payback is “Retribution” Power Trip is “Be Audacious” Pursuit is “Pursuing Attack” “Sucker Punch” is Surprise Attack. If they can have Ash say Revenge. I think some of these are fine. Dark pulse is apparently evil pulse in Japan. But Serena’s Pancham knew it

Thanks, Zariful. Either way, like I said, there were other Greninjas that used Night Slash in the anime, so I don't see a problem with Ash using it too.

Now, I don't believe the popularity of a Pokemon really involves in its appearance in the anime or if Ash or any other character will capture it (at least, not entirely), but I have checked the lists of the most popular Pokemon, and I believe SOME THINGS could actually happen. Let's see:

1º) Greninja (1º): Surely, Ash's Greninja will return. Very likely, as it appeared back in the promo poster of the new series.
2º) Lucario (2º): Practically confirmed Ash will have one, after evolving the Riolu that will come out of the egg from the next episode.
3º) Charizard (4º): This Pokemon is really overused in the anime sometimes. But even so, I hope Ash's Charizard will return in one episode.
4º) Eevee (20º): Two of his evolutions have an even higher position; Umbreon (5º) and Sylveon (6º). We can assume that, in case Ash captures one Eevee, it could evolve into one of these. I personally think Umbreon is a better option, because Sylveon really looks too "female" for Ash.
5º) Garchomp (7º): Luckily, Ash's Gible will return and Ash will train it until it evolves. It's very probable, even if we consider his Poke Ride as Ultra Guardian was a Garchomp. (But I still don't get how this Pokemon can Fly in the Anime, but not in the games).
6º) Gengar (10º): Ash already captured this Pokemon.

7º) Tyranitar (12º): I really wish Ash's Larvitar will return somehow, evolved into a Tyranitar and he will officially join Ash's team.
8º) Toxtricity (14º): Not entirely convinced, but this Pokemon could actually work for Ash; especially if Ash gets a Rillaboom too.
9º) Rowlet (16º) and Decidueye (22º): I hope this means Rowlet will return, and considering how close his final evolution is in votes (also in Alola's Pokemon Popularity), it will eventually evolve to Decidueye, giving Ash his second Ghost Type after Gengar.
10º) Luxray (21º): I'm not really convinced, but if they are ever going to give Ash another Electric Type, this could be a good option. He once befriended a Luxio.

11º) Zoroark (23º): This is another good Pokemon for Ash.
12º) Lycanroc (24º): It was already hinted in the new ending his potential return, and I really hope it will be truth.
13º) Corviknight (25º): Another Steel type for Ash, which is also the regional bird; so it's quite probable Ash will get it.
14º) Flygon (26º): Ever since the first Hoenn's movie, this has been seen as a good Pokemon for Ash. I personally like the idea.
15º) Sceptile (28º): I hope Sceptile will return for one of Ash's Pokemon Battles.
16º) Blaziken (29º): There has been some hints about Blaziken in the promo poster and other places. If Ash captures this Pokemon already evolved, it would be a great add to his team.

 

[ash&charizardfan]

Iris as a Champion would rub some fans the wrong way, and besides she never showed interest in pursuing that position before, so it's doubtful that she'd become one off-screen. I want her to return as a Gym Leader, however.

Iris could come back as a genuine gymleader, she is considered as a budding gym leader of opelucid city gym succeding drayden and this was even mentioned in the anime.

 

[cam24t]

I just don't see Ash defeating all these really powerful trainers... the anime just started letting Ash win some major battles.

 

[Eddieursa]

I just don't see Ash defeating all these really powerful trainers... the anime just started letting Ash win some major battles.

I share your concern, pal. It's very unlikely for the Ash we know. Then again, this could be the reason Ash has captured two powerful and fully evolved Pokemon this season (Dragonite and Gengar). It seems to be Ash is gathering power this season. Also, we can't forget many of his Pokemon have years of training and practise in combat. Even those that are kept at Oak's Lab, who says they don't train by themselves at Oak's Lab? Charizard spent years training at Charrific Valley, and now that he's at Oak's Lab, I doubt he will just turn lazy again. I'm pretty sure he's still training at Oak's Lab along with other of Ash's Pokemon. Some of them could even take his example, like Pignite.

Who knows? Until now, this season has been full of surprises, and we can get more in the future.

 

[Satoshiforthewin]

I'm going to go out on a limb and hope that if Go catches mew
Ash should get a Mewtwo
I know it's just wishful thinking but it would be awesome if he got it