Will Ash vs Leon be a Full Battle?

[Hidden Mew]

It's possible that they're just saving 3v3s and full battles towards the end of the series. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I can't remember any 3v3 battles in Sun and Moon prior to Ash vs Gladion in the Alola League, so it's possible that the same thing is happening here with Journeys. Of course, saving all the big battles towards the end of the series isn't exactly a great thing either, but it's still better than having Ash vs Leon just be another 1v1 like their first battle (which some people here are already expecting pessimistically).

I think that there is a bit of a difference. SM wasn't particularly battle heavy, so not having more three-on-three matches didn't feel too jarring. Journeys isn't battle heavy either admittedly, but battling is more connected to its premise than what was going on in SM, so I think having short battles doesn't really work in its favor. It's still possible that they're saving the longer battles for later, but given how the PWC has been handled thus far, I just don't think it's particularly likely at the moment.

 

[Max1996]

For a battle hyped up to be Ash's main goal this series. I'd say anything other than a Full Battle would be a disservice. Here's to hoping we do get one.

 

[VetProf]

Another thing I wanted to mention is that Leon has been depicted in other smaller anime projects as being a very powerful trainer boasting multiple powerful Pokemon, not just Charizard. Twilight Wings showcased Leon battling Raihan in at least a 3v3, and the "GOTCHA!" music video gave us a glimpse of his full in-game party. Even Journeys has already showed us one of his non-ace Pokemon (Dragapult), which is more than what we've seen from some of the previous champions in the anime (eg. Alder only being shown with his Bouffalant, and Diantha only being shown with her Gardevoir).

While it might not be obvious based on the few times we've seen Leon battle in Journeys thus far, I think the writers will want to depict Leon as a powerhouse who doesn't just rely solely on his Charizard, so we'll likely see him using his other Pokemon in his World Championship battles eventually. In other words, I really doubt Ash vs Leon is just gonna be a 1v1 again.

 

[Ghost Diplocaulus]

Another thing I wanted to mention is that Leon has been depicted in other smaller anime projects as being a very powerful trainer boasting multiple powerful Pokemon, not just Charizard. Twilight Wings showcased Leon battling Raihan in at least a 3v3, and the "GOTCHA!" music video gave us a glimpse of his full in-game party. Even Journeys has already showed us one of his non-ace Pokemon (Dragapult), which is more than what we've seen from some of the previous champions in the anime (eg. Alder only being shown with his Bouffalant, and Diantha only being shown with her Gardevoir).

While it might not be obvious based on the few times we've seen Leon battle in Journeys thus far, I think the writers will want to depict Leon as a powerhouse who doesn't just rely solely on his Charizard, so we'll likely see him using his other Pokemon in his World Championship battles eventually. In other words, I really doubt Ash vs Leon is just gonna be a 1v1 again.

There's also the fact that if they made Leon out to be reliant solely on Charizard to win at anything, it would essentially turn him into a non-edgelord version of Alain which... okay, technically it's not a horrible thing (especially for those who liked Alain), but come on. Leon deserves to have his own identity. It also just doesn't seem practical or realistic for a World Champion to get to that position when he only has one good Pokemon.

 

[Alola]

I'm sure they will. Although I think it will be similar to Alain and Kukui in the sense that Leon's team won't be revealed until the fight, with us as an audience having no investment in the party members aside from Charizard and possibly Dragapult, they get jobbed by Ash's current team that he barely develops, and it will come down to Pikachu Vs. Charizard... Like Alain. Wait, did I mention Alain already?

 

[Daren]

I'm sure they will. Although I think it will be similar to Alain and Kukui in the sense that Leon's team won't be revealed until the fight, with us as an audience having no investment in the party members aside from Charizard and possibly Dragapult, they get jobbed by Ash's current team that he barely develops, and it will come down to Pikachu Vs. Charizard... Like Alain. Wait, did I mention Alain already?

Weren't most of Paul's final battle Pokémon pulled out of thin air too?
But in that case we had others of his already established, they just weren't used there.
(I wouldn't call the DP team "barely developed", of course.)

 

[VetProf]

I'm sure they will. Although I think it will be similar to Alain and Kukui in the sense that Leon's team won't be revealed until the fight, with us as an audience having no investment in the party members aside from Charizard and possibly Dragapult, they get jobbed by Ash's current team that he barely develops, and it will come down to Pikachu Vs. Charizard... Like Alain. Wait, did I mention Alain already?

I can't wait for Leon to pull out his super-powerful Haxorus, who will use its super-accurate Guillotine to knock out two of Ash's Pokemon. :^)

 

[puddleths]

Weren't most of Paul's final battle Pokémon pulled out of thin air too?

Out of the six, Gastrodon and Froslass were the "out of nowhere" participants. Drapion could be lumped in, but it was at least established Paul had been trying to catch one.

 

[PkmnTrainerV]

Weren't most of Paul's final battle Pokémon pulled out of thin air too?
But in that case we had others of his already established, they just weren't used there.
(I wouldn't call the DP team "barely developed", of course.)

Well, it actively works with his personality, unlike Alain or Leon that we know of. Ash wanted a chance at "revenge" with his old team (I’m pretty sure that isn’t the correct word xD) while Paul just wants to win so he predicted that and mixed up his Pokémon to confirm the hypothesis and counter Ash's emotions.
It makes more sense with Paul since it’s a deliberately calculated move while they had to do this for Alain because they didn’t bother to give attention to anyone not named Charizard. Leon seems to be going the same way...
(I may have mentioned Alain a bit too many times for a Leon thread... )

 

[nickdt]

Well, it actively works with his personality, unlike Alain or Leon that we know of. Ash wanted a chance at "revenge" with his old team (I’m pretty sure that isn’t the correct word xD) while Paul just wants to win so he predicted that and mixed up his Pokémon to confirm the hypothesis and counter Ash's emotions.
It makes more sense with Paul since it’s a deliberately calculated move while they had to do this for Alain because they didn’t bother to give attention to anyone not named Charizard. Leon seems to be going the same way...
(I may have mentioned Alain a bit too many times for a Leon thread... )

And too a lesser extent Metagross with Alain as well (Which is a shame, since Bisharp was portrayed far stronger than Metagross in the final).