>>51365739Ash and Cynthia’s much final battle has finally started, and it begins with Ash and Goh hyping up Ash’s. On the other side Diantha gives Cynthia good luck words because she’s still mad that Ash nearly beat her back in Kalos, and Cynthia reveals she’s considering retiring after the battle.
The battle starts with Cynthia subverting crowd expectations by bringing out a new Pokémon; her Spiritomb that any fan of the games will surely be familiar with. Said Spiritomb makes its infamous reputation known in the anime by immediately putting Ash’s Dragonite to sleep and then KOing shortly afterwards. Cynthia’s Roserade and Ash’s Gengar then spar until Will o Wisp forces Cynthia to recall Roserade, likely because of another secret it holds that Ash is currently unaware of. Spiritomb makes its return and although it takes some SE damage from Gengar, the combination of Bullet Seed, Leaf Storm, and Sucker Punch was too much for it, and it also KO’d.
Now it’s Togekiss VS the team leader himself, Pikachu. Cynthia continues to keep hold of the battle’s pace, making use of Togekiss’ ability to flinch Pikachu and put it at a disadvantage, only to then recall it to finish it off with Gastrodon. However this was the opportunity Ash was waiting for, and he utilizes Pikachu’s trademark adaptability to take Gastrodon’s moves against itself, KOing it soon after.
Finally it’s down to Pikachu and Spiritomb, yet Ash assures Cynthia that he’s a changed man and a much stronger trainer than he was when she last saw him in a competitive scene, making use of one of his signature strategies developed in Sinnoh; Counter Shield, to not only nullify Spiritomb’s attacks, but also defeat it entirely.
Yet in the end, Cynthia was playing 4D chess with Ash from the start, utilizing a Destiny Bond strategy we haven’t seen since the Hoenn League to take out Pikachu, Ash’s ace, and leave him at a 4-3 disadvantage as the battle continues into next week.
