Last month, long time Pokemon Anime protagonist Ash Ketchum eventually became the best coach in the world after defeating Galar champion Leon in the Masters Eight tournament. It was the culmination of a 25-year arc for the anime, in which Ash and his partner Pokémon Pikachu were finally crowned champions after years of crushing defeats. Now that Ash has accomplished what he set out to do in the first episode back in 1997, what’s next for him and Pikachu? It sounds like a walk into the sunset like the one just announced for next season Pokemon Anime will introduce two brand new central protagonists in its place.
Ash’s story will end next year with 11 special episodes, which will also round out the current one Pokémon Journeys: The Series. These episodes begin January 13 in Japan and feature returning friends and familiar faces such as Brock and Misty, the original friends who accompanied Ash in the early seasons of the series. All this will make way for the next season with new protagonists who will be called Liko and Roy in the Japanese version. Not much is known about these new characters, but they are accompanied by Pokemon scarlet and violet Appetizers Sprigatito, Fuecoco and Quaxly.
According to the news, longtime voice actors from Ash Rica Matsumoto and Sarah Natochenny posted their own tributes to the character online, with Natochenny saying, “No matter what lies behind his final chapter, he will live forever in the hearts of many generations to come.”
While it’s probably a good thing for them Pokemon Anime to shake things up after we’ve followed Ash and Pikachu around the world for over two decades man that hurts. These two characters have long been a staple Pokemon has made them a touchstone for every fan, young and old. We even saw how much people cared about Ash’s rise to champion when it happened, as did fans who hadn’t seen the anime in a long time post congratulations about how proud they were of the never-aging 10-year-old. But now that he’s a Pokémon Master, he doesn’t have much to do with his story. So maybe now these Pokemon Anime can target new stories that help it discover the world in a new context.
This seems to be an overarching theme Pokemon Right now, even the games have been postponed Stories about aspects of the universe that go beyond competitive sports. Both Pokémon Legends: Arceus and Pokemon scarlet and violet had stories that weren’t as fixated on being a Pokémon League champion, and they were a lot more compelling for that. As sad as it is to say goodbye, maybe Ash needed to achieve his goals so the anime could find new ones.
