In Pokemon Journeys, Cynthia revealed she hides a Key Stone in her lipstick during her Masters Eight battle

The most recent episode of Pokemon Journeys had a major development for Ash's journey through the Master's Eight, even though Ash himself wasn't actually involved. It also underlined why Cynthia is one of Pokemon's most interesting characters, but also the ways Pokemon sometimes feels like it's holding her back from her full potential. It all comes down to Cynthia's lipstick, and what might be one of the coolest moments in Pokemon history.

First off, let's clear up what Master's Eight even is. It consists of eight Pokemon League Champions, which includes Ash. It’s mostly the league champions from each region (Ash being the Alola champ), but they’re there simply through being better than everyone, not through automatic qualification - that’s why the eighth spot is filled by Alain. There are some major characters and some lesser characters, and at least up to the semi-finals, we know what's going to happen. For example, in the quarter finals, Cynthia faces Iris. Since I'm sure you've all just opened a new tab to look up who Iris is, it should come as no surprise that Cynthia won. This sets her up for a semi-final with Ash, which is harder to call. There's a theory that Ash will win and bow out of the show completely, but every time Ash has come up against the Pokemon League, the expectation was that he would win - but he only managed it on one occasion. The truth is we just don't know. On the other half of the tie is Leon and Lance, the winner of whom is also too close to call. Leon vs. Ash is a dramatic rematch, but Cynthia vs. Lance feels like the true battle of champions.

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While Cynthia's victory over Iris was obvious, the method was a major surprise. Cynthia revealed that she had a Key Stone, meaning for the first time ever, we saw her Garchomp Mega Evolve. It's an interesting psych out tactic - while it wasn't needed against Iris especially, it gets her in Ash's head. He couldn't beat her without a Key Stone, now he has to face her with one. Granted, he has one of his own, but still. It's a promise to Ash that she will be on her a-game.

If revealing the Key Stone alone wasn't enough to get in Ash's head, her method will have done the job. Rather than keep the stone in a ring or a bracelet as you might expect, she instead keeps it in her lipstick, revealing it with a single swish across her lips. This is both incredibly cool and incredibly stupid. I know I'm overthinking a Pokemon character putting on lipstick, but you can't do something that is so much my jam and not expect me to have questions.

First off, what Cynthia reveals is a lipstick, yet it's painted on in one swoop and leaves a sheen, like a gloss. Secondly, why is Cynthia trying to get into her opponents' heads with the softest glossy Barbie pink shade imaginable? Cynthia wears a black coat with a fur trim and power suit trousers with a fitted plunging neckline complete with teardrop jewels. Granted, she usually wears no lipstick at all, but when she does, it wouldn't be this. Cynthia is more of a 3INA woman, with dark shades of chocolate, berry, or black. Maybe she's packing MAC lip liquid, or the dusty unique tones of Selena Gomez's Rare line. She does not shop at Claire's Accessories for her make-up.

It's rare that power and femininity are combined like this in popular media, especially when the target audience isn't just girls alone. It's incredible to see Pokemon tell the world the coolest thing you can do is put on lipstick, it's just a shame they picked the least-Cynthia shade of lipstick imaginable. Roll on the semi final when she reveals her Key Stone is inside some Clarks Mary Janes, I guess.

Next: Revisiting Kanto - Pokemon Fans, We Don’t Appreciate Silence Bridge Enough

Stacey Henley is the Editor-in-Chief at TheGamer, and can often be found journeying to the edge of the Earth, but only in video games. Find her on Twitter @FiveTacey