Who will Ash defeat in the Masters 8 tournament?

[Heitor160]

It's pretty much a guarantee Ash will get to the Finals, so there are at the very least 2 trainers in the Masters 8 who he will defeat for sure. Now the question is, who are these 2 trainers?

• Cynthia: One of the most likely characters Ash will have to battle. She was introduced mid-season, but has already appeared in a miriad of episodes. Also, Volkner made a direct reference to Ash's potential on the Masters 8 right after telling him Cynthia was in. Cynthia is also the most popular champion, so having Ash defeat her would be the only way to avoid a lot of hate for her hypothetically losing a battle against Leon. She is also currently the Masters 8 character with the most Pokémon shown on Journeys (Garchomp, Kommo-o and Roserade). The return of Paul also reafirms this theory. I predict Ash will lose against Paul in a training match, then both of them will get to the Masters 8. Then Cynthia will defeat Paul in the top 8 and Ash will beat her in the semifinals. This would make Ash, Paul and Cynthia's arcs come full circle.
• Lance: Ash is from Kanto, Lance is from Kanto. What else can I say? Besides Cynthia, Lance is the trainer with the most build-up to eventually battle Ash. They've known each other for a long time and I honestly don't see any other trainer that could defeat him (maybe Cynthia?), since they wouldn't just repeat his battle against Leon
• Diantha: I don't really see Ash battling against Diantha unless Greninja comes back, which is highly unlikely. She'll probably be defeated by Leon in the top 8
• Steven: He still hasn't appeared, but Wallace made a direct reference to him. There's virtually no build-up to a battle against Ash (they've only seen each other once), so I think he'll probably be defeated by Leon.
• Raihan: I'm pretty sure Ash will take his place on the Masters 8. His arc with Leon is pretty much finished. If he does manage to get to the Masters 8, he'll be defeated by Leon for sure
• Flint: There's a possibility Ash will battle him, though I think it would be pretty underwhelming for Ash to defeat him rather than Cynthia. Maybe he'll be defeated by Steven in the top 8?
• Iris: Ash already defeated her, so if she shows up again I'm pretty sure she will just end up losing to some other trainer, possibly Cynthia
• Paul: Another good possibility, though I don't really think it's that likely since Ash already defeated him. I would prefer him to beat Ash unnoficially and then get butchered by Cynthia

My final predictions are:
Top 8:
Ash x Lance -> Ash wins
Cynthia x Paul (or maybe Cynthia x Iris?) -> Cynthia wins
Leon x Diantha (or Leon x Raihan) -> Leon wins
Steven x Flint (or Steven x Diantha)-> Steven wins

Semifinals:
Ash x Cynthia -> Ash wins
Steven x Leon -> Leon wins

Finals:
Ash x Leon -> Ash wins?

What do you guys think?

 

[cricketlaxwolvesbandy]

Leon
Cynthia (definite) Give me Ashs Charizard vs Garchomp
Alain (Greninja vs Charizard rematch)
A Charizard fest masters 8 with two of the bad Charizards going down

 

[Red and Blue]

Assuming Leon is still number 1 by the time Ash faces him I think he'll beat Cynthia and Lance in the Quarter and Semifinals. Those two have already been hyped up along with Leon and Raihan for a while now

 

[Sham]

Iris will defeat him.

 

[Pokegirl Fan~]

Flint (to get in)>Raihan/Paul>Leon>lose to Cynthia/gen 9 trainer/Mallow etc

 

[Almighty Zard]

Leon
Cynthia (definite) Give me Ashs Charizard vs Garchomp

I'd rather see Infernape come back than Charizard for this match.

Assuming Leon is still number 1 by the time Ash faces him I think he'll beat Cynthia and Lance in the Quarter and Semifinals. Those two have already been hyped up along with Leon and Raihan for a while now

agreed, i fully expect Ash to at least fight those 3 as well as Leon.

Iris will

will what?

Flint (to get in)>Raihan>Leon>lose to Cynthia/gen 9 trainer/Mallow etc

with as much as they hype up Leon i seriously doubt that Cynthia's going last.

 

[SatoSereFan224888]

Well if they’re doing a tournament, I think Ash will beat Raihan in the first round then defeat either Cynthia or Diantha in the semifinals then he will face Leon and defeat him.

 

[Rune Knight]

It is looking like Ash will not get the opportunity to challenge every single member. So I was thinking that if Ash becomes the Reigning Monarch, other missed opportunities and challenges could carry over to the next series. Like if Ash doesn't get to battle Diantha during the events of Journeys, she could be one of the characters that challenges him for his title during Gen 9.

 

[Torpoleon]

I feel like Ash is going to fight Raihan in order to get into the Masters 8, so that would rule out Raihan as someone for Ash to face in the Masters 8. I agree with others that it could be Lance then Cynthia then Leon. Ultimately could see the Masters 8 looking something like this when the tournament begins:

Leon, Cynthia, Lance, Steven, Diantha, Ash, Paul, Iris.

First Round
Leon VS Iris: Leon wins
Cynthia VS Paul: Cynthia wins
Ash VS Lance: Ash wins
Steven VS Diantha: Steven wins

Semi-Finals
Leon VS Steven: Leon wins
Ash VS Cynthia: Ash wins

Finals:
Ash VS Leon: Ash wins?

I like the idea of Ash VS Paul being an unofficial match that Ash loses, with Paul suggesting Ash uses reserves in the Masters 8. I feel like Iris should be here considering she was seen in the opening after all, and this does give all the regions representation (with Ash repping Alola).

If Paul is in the Masters 8, it would be cool if they had him beat Brandon to get in.

 

[Jehadhasan]

Y'all didn't counted alan and tobias can probably return and brandon too.

 

[Sham]

Iris will be defeating Steven, Paul, Flint, Diantha or Lance.

 

[Heitor160]

Y'all didn't counted alan and tobias can probably return and brandon too.

• Alain story arc finished in a way that would make it very hard for him to return, since he gave up on using mega evolutions
• Tobias is an intersting case. He was like a reverse Deus ex machina to prevent Ash from winning the Sinnoh league. If he came back, Ash would have to defeat Leon in the semifinals and then battle Tobias in the finals, which I feel is really unlikely since the show has hyped up Ash vs Leon a lot. Another possibility would be similar to the Kukui battle, maybe Tobias could challenge him after he defeated Leon in an unnoficial match.
• Brandon could come back, but it wouldn't really impact a lot of stuff overall. Ash already defeated him, so a rematch would be unlikely. Maybe Paul defeats him in the top 8 and then proceeds to lose against Leon in the semifinals, but it's really hard to imagine both Ash and Paul getting to the semifinals in a tournament full of champions. At the very least Diantha, Steven and Lance (or Cynthia) would be all out in the top 8, which I feel would be really anticlimatic

 

[Almighty Zard]

Y'all didn't counted alan and tobias can probably return and brandon too.

not all of us care about those 2 being beaten as if Ash has to do so.

 

[Ignition]

Raihan -> Cynthia -> Leon. Maybe Steven instead on Raihan if he beats him first try. Don’t really care for Lance or a match against him tbqh

 

[JustAStatistic]

Ash beats Raihan to get in the tournament. Then he beats Lance in the first round, Cynthia in the second, and whatever they want to do with Leon in the finals.

If Paul and/or Iris comes back, than one of them should narrowly lose to Cynthia in the first round, while the other beats Steven/Diantha in the first round and loses to Leon in the second.

 

[Rune Knight]

I was also thinking that tournament this time around could be more point-based like during the semi-final rounds of the Silver Conference. That way, everybody would have a chance to battle against one another.

Due to time-constraints however, this is probably unlikely.

 

[KibaLG8]

I was also thinking that tournament this time around could be more point-based like during the semi-final rounds of the Silver Conference. That way, everybody would have a chance to battle against one another.

Due to time-constraints however, this is probably unlikely.

Well if they continue the battle formats seen currently, there’d be plenty of time to have them all battle eachother.

 

[thedarkdragon11]

This order:

1. Flint
2. Unova trainer (hopefully not a leftover; hopefully Ingo/Emmet/Benga/Alder)
3. Diantha
4. Lance
5. Steven (last match before the tournament/playoffs)
6. Raihan (I think he loses the first try in the upcoming episode; quarters)
7. Cynthia (semis)
8. Leon (finals)

 

[Ryker101]

My guess is Raihan, Cynthia then Leon. If they want they can include Lance too but I’m not banking on it. Tbh I want him to battle Flint instead

 

[Captain Jigglypuff]

This order:

1. Flint
2. Unova trainer (hopefully not a leftover; hopefully Ingo/Emmet/Benga/Alder)
3. Diantha
4. Lance
5. Steven (last match before the tournament/playoffs)
6. Raihan (I think he loses the first try in the upcoming episode; quarters)
7. Cynthia (semis)
8. Leon (finals)

Actually Ingo being in the Masters 8 makes some sense since he randomly ended up in Hisui just like the player character and is pretty prominent in Legends which is interesting since he was a side character for the most part in the post game of an optional battle facility in Gen 5. And I mean a lot of details about his character and his past were added which is strange as you would only see him in Gen 5 for maybe four battles in the Subway if you were trying to get all of the Ranks. I have a feeling that Ingo ending up in Hisui is hinting something happening with him soon. I know that game events don’t necessarily confirm future anime events and episodes but they do influence it a little bit.