I love how people speculate things based on their opinion or what they want to see in the anime. First I wanna mention a few things
1. Whoever’s ranting about Brock not doing anything and should leave the show, to them – Brock isnt’t going anywhere as much as Ash and Pikachu ain’t going anywhere. The fate of the anime doesn’t get decided based on how 1 person feels about Brock. As far I know, 9 out of 10 people like Brock. And who’s to say he isn’t doing anything. His lifelong wish is to become a top notch breeder, and the way I see it he’s doing a pretty darn good job at it. He takes care of the noobs’ (Ash and Dawn) Pokemon. He makes their Pokemon food as well as cooks for the rest of the gang. Breeding is something that’s not easy to portray in the anime. If the screentime is more focussed on how Brock is taking care of Pokemon, that would get boring after a while, so presumably he’s studying about breeding (reading books, etc.) off-screen. However, I blame the writers for the fact that they have neglected Brock way too far in this saga
2. I don’t understand why 50% of this thread has turned into Misty discussion topic. But I can see people want Misty back not because she’s a great character and all, but they want to see her with Ash so they can get a opportunity to create some shipping. When did Misty leave? Like in 2002? Dream on guys, lol. The storyboard writer clearly said in an interview that none of the old supporting girls are making a comeback, at least not permanently. They introduce new girls in every region just to give some eye candy to the boy fanbase.
Back to the original topic. It’s good to see Sinnoh saga is finally coming to an end this Fall. That’s good news. This saga has already dragged on too long with all the filler episodes with the main storyline sandwiched in between. It’s about time it ended. Hopefully there will be some character developments in the next region, and they better stick to the main storyline this time around.
About the legendary Pokemon in the league, I have a strong suspicion he’s gonna somehow bump into Buck just before the league starts, since Buck is the only trainer from the game that hasn’t been introduced in the anime. And Buck might have a Heatran. I highly doubt a Nando-Mew theory though. It’s because no one will capture a Pokemon that’s considered a god like creature in the anime. Sure, his harp is designed like a mew, but that doesn’t mean he possess a Mew. It might signify something bigger, such as he wants to have a heart like Mew.
Is it even confirmed yet that Ash faces Paul in the final? At this point we are all speculating things. Why can’t Ash face Paul in the best 8, beat Paul, and loses to the trainer with legendary Pokemon in the best 4? Anything is possible. We will just have to see