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I think Leon is more or less filling the rival role for Ash; a powerful opponent he wants to overcome. But instead of being another competitor like Gary or his successors Leon is already the established top dog.
It's just as well, really; if Ash had a normal rival it would sort of give away this series would probably end with Ash beating them and then losing to someone else in the PWC.
I don't think Leon is the rival. He is more like the final boss Ash is working towards (Basically a Kukui character).
However, Bea has been established as one of his rivals, so is Raihan. This series benefits from having multiple rivals as well, especially since its a PWC format where participants can go up and down depending on wins and losses. Ash got up by defeating Korrina, but went down after losing to Bea and Raihan will be the final hurdle before Leon.