>>50885895THEN WHY PUT HIM IN THAT POSITION IN THE TOURNAMENT!?!
Simple fix. Switch him and Cynthias position in the brackets. Cynthia fights Diantha and does a cool thing where she overcomes a type weakness and really sells her as strong for a match with Leon. Then fans can really get their panties in a bunch wondering who will win that match.
Lance has a dragon master battle against Iris, and either cements himself or passes on his torch to the next generation. So we either get the following match for Ash being a rematch against Iris OR (EVEN BETTER) we have Ash fight the champion of his home town region and with Ash winning he is spiritually the champion of his home town, and really sells for his match against Leon as LANCE was the only person so far thats come close to contending with him. It's then pretty satisfying for Ash as a trainer even if he doesnt beat Leon.
