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World Championships in the anime

Since Ash already beat Kukui I'm not sure we'll see him. Drake (assuming you mean the OI one, not the Hoenn Elite Four one) has the same issue, but also the added hindrance that he's an anime-only character from twenty years ago with no advertising value.

I'd like to see Ash finally beat Alain and Tobias but I doubt we'll see them again--both were ultimately just plot devices to enforce the status quo, and even though Alain did get a story arc I don't think he'd have existed if Ash was going to win the league.

I could definitely see Raihan in the tournament--the game said he's supposedly champion level.
 
Since Ash already beat Kukui I'm not sure we'll see him. Drake (assuming you mean the OI one, not the Hoenn Elite Four one) has the same issue, but also the added hindrance that he's an anime-only character from twenty years ago with no advertising value.

I'd like to see Ash finally beat Alain and Tobias but I doubt we'll see them again--both were ultimately just plot devices to enforce the status quo, and even though Alain did get a story arc I don't think he'd have existed if Ash was going to win the league.

I could definitely see Raihan in the tournament--the game said he's supposedly champion level.
I meant Elite 4 Drake
 
In my opinion:

-High chances: Ash, Leon (duh), Lance (already introduced), Steven (highly popular), Cynthia (highly popular), Ash's rival for this series (it's too early to tell if it's Houji or not).
-Mid chances: Gary (everyone knows he's a researcher, but he's recognizable to lots of people and his game counterpart is a champion), Paul (fanservice), Wallace, Alder, Diantha (not really that popular), Elite Four members from the first 6 gens, Galar Gym Leaders (too early to tell which ones have higher chances, but if we go by the games the most competitive ones are Kabu, Bea, Piers and Raihan).
-Low chances: Ritchie, Harrison, Vincent, Macey, Tyson, Morrison, Tobias, Barry, Cameron, Bianca, Virgil, Trip, Stephan, Tierno, Trevor, Sawyer, Alain (there are enough Charizards in the tournament, but who knows if the writers would like to address fan complaints), Gladion, Kiawe, Hau, Guzma, Prof. Kukui (too recent), Misty (the only companion I could see joining, but she would lose to Ash again in an early round so maybe it's not worth it).
 
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(there are enough Charizards in the tournament, but who knows if the writers would like to address fan complaints)
I don't think TPCI thinks there's such a thing as enough Charizard.
Alain is actually the league winner I think is most likely to reappear because he was more recent. The main issues are:
*Most Anime only characters have low advertising value other than Ash and Team Rocket.
*Without Greninja beating him would feel weird.

In theory the setup for this tournament would be a way to bring back old rivals without it feeling too forced, but the show just isn't that interested in strong interseries continuity anymore.
 
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Misty has a much higher chance of showing up then Paul.

None of the the anime-created rivals have much of a chance showing up IMO. It will be Elite Four, Champions, and prominent Gym Leaders IMO. I do agree that Gary could show up though, but we shall see.
 
Aside from old characters, someone I'd really be interested in seeing appear thanks to this World Tournament plot is...

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Her appearance in Let's Go was awesome and I think it would be cool to have her be an upcoming trainer from Pallet town to mirror and make her a foil to Ash. Just my two cents. :unsure:
 
I'd love to see Green, but that ship probably sailed when AG ended. She'd make a great long-term rival, though.

Raihan would be a really boring choice for the Master 8 given Lance's likely return. I'd be surprised if either Steven or Cynthia were absent.

Alain would stick out like a sore thumb. Any Mega Evolution user would unless the feature returns in a future game.

Ash, Lance, Leon, Steven, Cynthia, a new rival and a new champion would be my bets, leaving just one wild card.

Prof. Oak with the fabled Mew.
 
Didn't he get rid of his mega stone and mega key?

That said I'm not expecting him or any other anime only characters to reappear.
He said that he wanted to get new ones on his own. Without a Mega Charizard X, I don't think he has anything to offer.
 
Alain and Tobias deserve payback though for robbing Ash of the Sinnoh and Kalps League title that was rightfully his.
No one robbed Ash of any title. I guess Tobias could be argued as pulling out Legendaries out of nowhere, but Alain won perfectly fair and square. As much as people don’t like to hear it his Charizard trained more than Greninja ever could.

Raihan would be a really boring choice for the Master 8 given Lance's likely return.
There’s no overlap in their teams though. He’s likely to be in focus given he’s Leon's rival in the games, and Lance mentions his gym.
———
I do agree that Alain would be out of place specially if Megas don’t make an appearance till the Top 8.

I’m expecting Leon and Lance (duh), Raihan, Cynthia (specially if Gen 4 remakes happen), Steven Stone, Ash's Rival (maybe Hop/Marnie/Bede). Paul has a low chance but maybe possible. Anime-only characters have a lower chance. Expect above average Sinnoh représentation if remakes arrive.
 
No one robbed Ash of any title. I guess Tobias could be argued as pulling out Legendaries out of nowhere, but Alain won perfectly fair and square. As much as people don’t like to hear it his Charizard trained more than Greninja ever could.
I'm pretty sure he means narratively, not that they actually cheated.
Both characters, in my opinion, ended up harmful to the series overall story line so it would be nice to see both defeated, but again I doubt any of the league roadblocks will so much as be mentioned again.
 
Alain was definitely better than Tobias.
I feel a bit sad about the way everything went--you can tell the writers put way more effort into him than previous roadblocks, but he got the biggest backlash because the league got hyped up too much with the ads, episode title, and Ash-Greninja, and the last two leagues had poisoned the well so thoroughly I'm confident there was nothing they could have done to avoid him being hated (except Ash winning) and after Ash's league win was so underwheling there's basically no chance of Alain being redeemed in the eyes of a big chunk of the fanbase.
*
I think it's generally agreed the Galar gym leaders will appear in the earlier rankings of the tournament, but do you think we'll see all of the version exclusive ones, just one set, or will they mix (maybe Allister and Gordie, for instance)?
 
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Alain was definitely better than Tobias.
I feel a bit sad about the way everything went--you can tell the writers put way more effort into him than previous roadblocks, but he got the biggest backlash because the league got hyped up too much with the ads, episode title, and Ash-Grenina, and the last two leagues had poisoned the well so thoroughly I'm confident there was nothing they could have done to avoid him being hated (except Ash winning) and after Ash's league win was so underwheling there's basically no chance of Alain being redeemed in the eyes of a big chunk of the fanbase.
*
I think it's generally agreed the Galar gym leaders will appear in the earlier rankings of the tournament, but do you think we'll see all of the version exclusive ones, just one set, or will they mix (maybe Allister and Gordie, for instance)?
Hmmm, maybe in this series they'll show off the minor leauges. I imagine Allister will be in he minors due to being a child, and maybe Melony will be the leader of Sirchester, but then passes it down to Gordie
 
One thing I hope happens to Ash is he gets destroyed in his first tournament.

He needs a "welcome to the big leagues" moment and I think not doing well would serve him (and the story/goal for that matter...) well. He was very nonchalant about how difficult this may be when Go was explaining the criteria.
 
One thing I hope happens to Ash is he gets destroyed in his first tournament.

He needs a "welcome to the big leagues" moment and I think not doing well would serve him (and the story/goal for that matter...) well. He was very nonchalant about how difficult this may be when Go was explaining the criteria.
Personally I think that would introduce too much power escalation to the series for my taste. Remember that Ash had a good match with someone who defeated an Elite Four member back in Kalos; also he isn't training and battling full time now but has his research assistant duties for the professor so unless they drop that plot I'd find it straining disbelief to go from getting smashed in the bottom row to reaching the Masters Class with his time divided so much.

Plus we've seen variants of that many times, with Norman, with his DP losing streaks--why not let him actually look like a good, experienced trainer for a whole series instead of quickly undercutting his League win as happened with the Battle Frontier?
 
One thing I hope happens to Ash is he gets destroyed in his first tournament.

He needs a "welcome to the big leagues" moment and I think not doing well would serve him (and the story/goal for that matter...) well. He was very nonchalant about how difficult this may be when Go was explaining the criteria.

I'd be down with that because I'm the embodiment of schadenfreude.

Tbh though I'm not excited for the prospect of a world championship storyarc that involves Ash because I hate episodes that feature major battles at the forefront especially if only Ash is going to compete while Go stands in the sidelines and Koharu stays at home/school.
 
Personally I think that would introduce too much power escalation to the series for my taste. Remember that Ash had a good match with someone who defeated an Elite Four member back in Kalos; also he isn't training and battling full time now but has his research assistant duties for the professor so unless they drop that plot I'd find it straining disbelief to go from getting smashed in the bottom row to reaching the Masters Class with his time divided so much.

Plus we've seen variants of that many times, with Norman, with his DP losing streaks--why not let him actually look like a good, experienced trainer for a whole series instead of quickly undercutting his League win as happened with the Battle Frontier?

I am not saying Ash should look like a novice, but having an early setback would be good IMO. It makes the goal feel bigger and the path more difficult.
 
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