History has been made at
Wyndon Stadium, where
Ash Ketchum from
Pallet Town has secured a decisive victory over the
Galar region's
Champion Leon, in the finals of the
Masters Eight Tournament. The latest episode of the
Pokémon anime series, entitled
The Finals IV: "Partner" (ファイナルⅣ「相棒」) aired in Japan in the evening of November 11th. This episode was the conclusion of the thirteen-part Masters Eight Tournament arc of
Pokémon Journeys: The Series, as well as the climax of Ash's battle versus Leon, the number-one ranked
Pokémon Trainer and the Monarch of the
Pokémon World Coronation Series. After a long and intense
Full Battle, with only his partner
Pikachu remaining, Ash and his team of Pokémon pulled through to victory — bestowing him the title of the new Monarch, and officially becoming known as the strongest Trainer in the
world.
The Pokémon anime series is currently in its 25th anniversary year, having started airing in Japan on
April 1st, 1997. This
tournament win represents an important milestone in the series' history, commemorating the past 25 years of challenges and friendships faced along the way up to this point. The outcome of this match was also simultaneously broadcasted onto large screens in the city of Shibuya, Japan, as a monument to the incredible significance of this event.
This achievement for Ash comes after an extended rivalry with Leon over the course of the Journeys series, as well as another astonishing victory of his
three years prior in
Pokémon The Series: Sun & Moon, when he became the inaugural Pokémon League Champion of the
Alola region in the
Manalo Conference.
The Pokémon anime currently airs Fridays at 6:55pm (JST) on
TV Tokyo. The current English dub season,
Pokémon Ultimate Journeys: The Series, is streaming on
Netflix in the United States, with the episodes showing the Masters Eight Tournament finals being slated to arrive on the platform sometime next year.
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