>>49846634He's going to face Leon no matter what happens. And because of this, he's either THE strongest trainer in the world, or the second strongest.
No matter what outcome, it's clear they're ready to retire him as the protagonist and push him to deuteragonist so Goh can take the wheel henceforth. There's NOWHERE higher they can lead Ash with regards to Pokemon battling, but they can give us the excuse of keeping him around because of how nebulous the criteria is to be a Pokemon Master so Pikachu can still go "pika pee" and sell toys.
