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The Pokemon anime has gotten much more competitive in recent episodes than fans might expect. A new teaser has been revealed regarding Ash's upcoming bout against the Sinnoh League Champion, Cynthia.
For those out of the loop, Ash had already defeated Steven Stone in the Quarter Finals for the World Coronation Series' final bouts back in episode JN118, which hadn't aired in the US by the time this new teaser debuted.
The next three episodes yet to air are translated as:
- The Semifinals I: "Overwhelming Victory"
- The Semifinals II: "Dazzle"
- The Semifinals III: "Valor"
The upcoming release dates for these episodes are:
- JN122: August 26, 2022
- JN123: September 2, 2022
- JN124: September 9, 2022
Keep in mind that these dates are solely for the Japanese version of the Pokemon anime.
Pokemon Channel teases anime's World Championship semifinal battles
The above video includes the Japanese trailer for one of the semifinal bouts that fans know will happen: Cynthia vs. Ash. It doesn't highlight anything about Diantha vs. Leon, as it instead focuses entirely on Cynthia's bout with Ash Ketchum.
It starts off with the former speaking to Diantha before it gets to her Spiritomb seemingly having an advantage over Ash's Dragonite. Afterward, viewers see his Gengar looking weak, and then a scene happens where Cynthia's Roserade dominates Ash's Dracovish while some dramatic music plays in the background.
Then a brief clip of her ace Pokemon, Garchomp, airs before cutting to Ash's Pikachu going against her Togekiss. The entire teaser indicates that Cynthia has a considerable advantage over Ash, and it's confirmed that her Gastrodon along with his Gengar and Dragonite have also fainted sometime in their bout.
The teaser then ends with a confrontation between Ash's Sirfetch'd and Cynthia's Milotic.
What anime fans know about the upcoming Pokemon semifinals for the World Championship arc
Several official stats have also been posted for all of the semifinalists in the World Championship tournament arc. Here is a summary of Ash Ketchum's stats:
- Attack: 5/5
- Defense: 3/5
- Speed: 5/5
- Strategy: 2/5
- Experience: 2/5
- Unpredictability: 5/5
Here are Cynthia's stats:
- Attack: 5/5
- Defense: 5/5
- Speed: 4/5
- Strategy: 5/5
- Experience: 5/5
- Unpredictability: 3/5
Here are Leon's stats:
- Attack: 5/5
- Defense: 5/5
- Speed: 5/5
- Strategy: 4/5
- Experience: 4/5
- Unpredictability: 4/5
Here are Diantha's stats:
- Attack: 4/5
- Defense: 5/5
- Speed: 4/5
- Strategy: 5/5
- Experience: 4/5
- Unpredictability: 4/5
Statistically, Ash is the weakest, being rated 22/30. By comparison, Cynthia is tied with Leon for being the strongest, both of whom have scores of 27/30. Meanwhile, Diantha has a score of 26/30 overall.
It's worth mentioning that in the newly posted trailer, Cynthia talks about retiring from battling after the tournament is over. The stakes are high for these upcoming bouts, with many Pokemon anime fans expecting Ash to beat Cynthia and face Leon in the finals.
If Ash wins it all, it would be his biggest achievement in the anime by a significant margin. He's won a few conferences before, but there would be no higher pinnacle than winning the entire World Coronation Series.
