Who might the unknown members of Masters 8 be?

[DuskAstral]

As you know, at the moment we only know three Master 8 members at PWC: Dande, Wataru and Raihan. But who can the rest be?
I bet on Cynthia, Mustard, Diantha, Steven and Alder (although it would be fun if Iris were one of the members).

 

[lolipiece]

Having all eight be Champions sans Raihan would be predictably boring. Mix it up.

 

[Captain Jigglypuff]

Maybe Wallace? In the anime he was mentioned to be both a Champion and Gym Leader And Contest Expert but we never saw him battle, he wasn’t the Gym Leader When Ash was in Sootpolis City and faced Juan instead, And the AG anime said that Steven was the Hoenn Champion. The others I’m guessing are a mix of old and new characters in the anime with Virgil returning with a Sylveon, Alain because you know that the writers would make him return for such a tournament, Wally who never appeared in the anime before but is known for being pretty strong near the end of the Hoenn games, and four brand new original characters never before seen in the anime.

 

[Pokegirl Fan~]

Lillie will definitely be a part of the master 8

I would like it if Paul or Alain was a part of the master 8 too.

 

[Mew29240]

I think Steven, Cynthia, and Diantha would be the regional Champions that make it into the Top 8 with the final two spots being toss-ups.

Cynthia is easily one of the most popular Champions outright and has the potential to promote Gen IV remakes if they actually become a thing.

Diantha and Steven are the most recent Champions we've seen in the anime series through XY & XY&Z (and Diantha had that reference on a magazine in one of the episodes), so I think they've got a good chance.

Can't say who the last two could be; one of them would have to get knocked out since Ash needs to get in somehow (or beat Raihan), so they can be some nameless mook if they don't care enough. They could be previous rivals if they want to make getting into the Master Class a bit more personal to Ash though (maybe Paul/Tobias/Alain)?

 

[PsychoLogical]

Raihan’s a guarantee while Cynthia borders that as well. The other 5 are moot.

 

[IrieFuse]

Considering Mustard is Leon’s teacher or whatever I would like to see mustard on the lineup, also I would be extremely disappointed if Cynthia is NOT on the lineup. It only makes sense given how she’s been shown to be one of the strongest trainers in the anime. But I agree having it be all the champions would be extremely uneventful. I assume at least one or two of those spots will be reserved for characters that we don’t even know exist at this point in time.

Since rainhan is in there, I think it would be cool to see some other extremely strong gym leaders in there or E4 members like Koga.

Do we know if island kahunas are able to participate? i feel like Alola feels extremely removed from all the other regions

 

[Red and Blue]

A good chunk of them will probably be Champions like Steven and Cynthia. Though I could see one or two being non champion but strong trainers like Palmer. Possibly even a OC

 

[U.N. Owen]

Wally, because I want him to be in the anime so badly that sometimes you must forgo sense.

 

[ShadowForce720]

Maybe Wallace? In the anime he was mentioned to be both a Champion and Gym Leader And Contest Expert but we never saw him battle, he wasn’t the Gym Leader When Ash was in Sootpolis City and faced Juan instead, And the AG anime said that Steven was the Hoenn Champion. The others I’m guessing are a mix of old and new characters in the anime with Virgil returning with a Sylveon, Alain because you know that the writers would make him return for such a tournament, Wally who never appeared in the anime before but is known for being pretty strong near the end of the Hoenn games, and four brand new original characters never before seen in the anime.

I doubt that they would have 4 brand new anime exclusive characters in the Master 8, as they wouldn’t generate as much hype as just bringing back some characters that have appeared in the anime before or have at least shown up in the games and are getting their anime appearances.

Especially when you consider that with a brand new anime exclusive character in the Master 8 they would actually have to build them up, as they wouldn’t have any sort of prexisting fan base and would be more likely overlooked for the known characters.

Sure at most they could squeeze in 1 brand new anime exclusive character, but to have 4 of them already being part of the Master 8 wouldn’t really work.

Chances are the remaining members of the Master 8 aren’t going to be brand new anime exclusive characters.

 

[Cptnmac1]

I would not be surprised if bea ends up being one of them by the end of this

 

[Mythical-Moonlight]

InB4 they're all the Gen 8 Gym Leaders which explains why we didn't see them in the DD Arc lmao

But all jokes aside Cynthia is a guarantee.
And I have an underlying suspicion that Steven is there too

No idea who the rest could be tho

 

[Dragonsoldier77]

I definitely think it should be the champions, and raihan is the one said to have what it takes to be a champion in another region. Honestly wouldn’t feel right if they put some random anime only character.

The main question is whether all the champions are actually interested in taking part. I can see maybe steven and alder being not particularly interested. Wallace can take a spot then, then maybe mustard for another.

 

[ShadowForce720]

I assume, Raihan is going to be a guarantee as well no?

Raihan is already confirmed to be a member of the Master 8.

 

[JustAStatistic]

The other Champions (Wallace, Steven, Cynthia, Alder, and Diantha) are easy picks

Mustard, Honey, or Peony also are reasonable options

OCs if the writers are still allergic to continuity by the time of M8's debut

 

[Ultra Beast Lover]

I want to say Cynthia because Ash never got the chance to really fight her but at the same time no way is he ready unless he uses older Pokemon. It would have to be the characters that generate the most hype. Characters that people will just be happy to see again even if the staff does spoil everything. That in and of itself varies from person to person. Problem with choosing a gym leader is that Ash already beat them, it'd be lackluster to see him win again. An E4 member could work but I can't think of any I'd want to revisit. It would about have to be the champions

 

[ShadowForce720]

Just pointing this out but this is what the current Master 8 looks like with all the confirmed members:

Master 8:
1.Leon
2.Lance
3.???
4.???
5.???
6.???
7.Raihan
8.???

 

[Red and Blue]

Just pointing this out but this is what the current Master 8 looks like with all the confirmed members:

Master 8:
1.Leon
2.Lance
3.???
4.???
5.???
6.???
7.Raihan
8.???

I feel like Cynthia would be the number 3 right behind Leon and Lance. As for 8 he/she could be the trainer Ash defeats and takes the spot of

 

[IrieFuse]

That’s right I forget they actually get a ranking besides just being top 8, but I won’t speculate as to who will be in what place considering we don’t even know who they will all be. I would love to see Iris on the lineup with her B2W2 outfit. I’d love to see that iris really became a dragon master after all this *unspecified amount of* time

 

[Mr. Reloaded]

I feel like Cynthia and Steven are shoe-ins.

I bet you at least one other Galar gym leader will get thrown in if it isn't just champions. Probably Piers tbh.

And maybe one of the conference winners, (not John Dickson or that random guy that won the Indigo League).