>>49927632Personally I'm 50/50 on Ash losing to Leon atm. Taking JN on its own, narratively it really makes no sense for Ash to not win against Leon, but it's not like they ever let that stop them from making Ash lose anyway.
If he loses against Leon, the possibilities are:
Shitheap tier: Soft reset like DP to BW, Ash becomes a retard again and PWC is almost never mentioned, and when it is, it's done in a dumb way like having Dawn use Counter Shield during BW and having Ash recognize it.
Cop out tier: JN ends with Ash vowing to rechallenge Leon. Next series Ash remains the star of the show but it's a hard reset in a new continuity.
Damage control tier: Ash realizes that in order to become strong enough to beat Leon, he needs to move past the PWC and battle people outside of it as well. Next series is a soft reset that's more like XY or SM, where Ash is generally competent and you can headcanon him as being continuous with the previous versions, but they barely ever get referenced, if at all.
Journeys tier: JN format continues and Ash stops competing in the PWC for some contrived reason, only to join a new and totally different™ tournament where the strongest trainer is Pokespain Champion.
Not happening tier: Timeskip and Ash becomes a secondary/background character with a new lead for the show.
