Pokémon Masters 8 finally reached its thrilling conclusion in November, with Ash taking the throne as the world champion. It's unknown if he'll stay the protagonist after this, but he and Pikachu put on an incredible show in the finale.
With Scarlet & Violet around the corner, the anime got to showcase its eight most powerful trainers with their strongest Pokémon in an all-out battle. However, eight Pokémon from Masters Eight differentiated themselves as being in a league of their own.
8 Ash's Gengar
Ash's Gengar had one of the saddest backstories in the anime, but it was able to make the journey from an abandoned Pokémon to a beloved member of Ash's team and eventual world champion.
Gengar became one of the top members of Ash's team after gaining the ability to Gigantamax, and was an incredibly clutch performer throughout the tournament. It didn't get the same level of shine as Ash's main two teammates, but without Gengar, Ash would never have taken home the gold.
7 Diantha's Gardevoir
Psychic-type Gardevoir is one of the most popular Pokémon in the game pre-Scarlet & Violet and will likely remain that way even after Generation 9. It's also semifinalist Diantha's most loyal companion and her ace Pokémon in the games.
Gardevoir was the key to Diantha beating Lance and advancing to the semifinals round, and she put up an impressive fight against Leon. While all of Diantha's other Pokémon folded to Leon's Rillaboom, Gardevoir was even able to keep up with Leon's unbeaten Charizard for quite a while.
6 Steven's Metagross
Steven's Metagross may not have been able to carry him out of the first round, but there's no shame in losing to the eventual world champion Ash. The powerful pseudo-legendary Pokémon likely could have taken Steven to the semifinals had he faced a different opponent.
Mega Metagross was a powerful force to be reckoned with. It's both one of the coolest and strangest looking Steel-type Pokémon in the game and put up a great fight against Ash in the first round of the Masters 8 tournament before being eventually defeated by Ash's loyal and long-term partner Pikachu.
5 Ash's Lucario
In many ways, Ash's Lucario was the successor to Ash's beloved Greninja, forming a deep connection with Ash that in Lucario's case manifested in its mega evolution and incredible aura manipulation.
Lucario was the star of the show against Cynthia, especially considering that Ash's Pikachu went down early. With no Pikachu and few resources left, Ash's Lucario was able to defeat Cynthia's Dynamax Togekiss and her signature Pokémon, the dual Dragon/Ground-type Garchomp. It put on another impressive performance in the finals against Leon, but the star of that battle was mostly Pikachu.
4 Leon's Rillaboom
Leon vs Alain was a highly anticipated first-round matchup, but Ash's former rival Alain felt like he hardly got the chance to shine against Leon's incredibly powerful Gigantamax Rillaboom, who tore apart his team in the 3v3.
Not only did Rillaboom crush Alain in its Gigantamax form, but that set the stage for what would ultimately be two more rounds of incredible performances by the Grass-type gorilla-like Pokémon. Rillaboom took out half of Diantha's entire team by itself in the semifinals and dealt the finishing blow to three of Ash's weakened Pokémon in the finals.
3 Cynthia's Garchomp
Cynthia's Spiritomb and Togekiss surprised many with their impressive performances, but it was Cynthia's Garchomp that once again proved itself in the first round against Iris and in the semifinals against Ash.
Garchomp was Cynthia's original partner Pokémon, dating back to when Cynthia was younger than Ash and Garchomp was just a Gible. They proved how powerful they were as a team against Iris and Haxorus, and a non-Mega Garchomp was nearly able to defeat Ash's Mega Lucario in a very close battle.
2 Leon's Charizard
Heralded as the ace partner Pokémon of the undefeatable champion, Leon's Charizard proved that it was one of the strongest Pokémon in the world numerous times, and brought one of the most beloved Pokémon in the series to new heights.
With Fire-type Charizard rivaling Pikachu as Pokémon's mascot, it was a battle of the two most iconic Pokémon in the entire series as Pikachu and Charizard had their final battle. Charizard defeated a Mega Charizard and Mega Gardevoir without needing a mega form of its own, with Ash's Pikachu proving to be the only Pokémon it couldn't defeat.
1 Ash's Pikachu
Ash's Pikachu has been with fans for 25 years, and after all that time fans of the series can finally say that Pikachu is the strongest Pokémon partner of any trainer, standing above the partners of every region's champion.
After being tricked by Cynthia, Pikachu was taken down by a brutal Destiny Bond by Spiritomb, however, it had already proven itself by taking down Steven's Mega Metagross the battle before. Pikachu reached new heights against Leon, where it turned into a Gigantamax and was able to take down Leon's Cinderace as well as his ultimate Pokémon, Charizard. It'll be interesting to see what the series does with Ash in Gen 9, but for now, he and Pikachu are the top dogs in the world.