Is Pokemon‘s anime getting ready to say goodbye to Ash Ketchum soon? Pokemon Journeys has been a markedly different iteration of the anime than fans have ever seen before as it has not limited Ash to just exploring the then newest region of Galar, but every region the video game franchise has introduced to date. This has opened up the series to not only tying canonical events from previous seasons into this newest entry, but makes it further seem like Ash is on a sort of victory tour as he battles his way through the biggest tournament he’s ever entered yet.
That’s sort of the name for the game for Pokemon Journeys. Ash is taking on his biggest challenges yet as he faces familiar Gym Leaders and rivals from the past in the World Coronation Series. He’s adding fan favorite Pokemon from across the years to his team such as Lucario and Gengar, and has set his sights on his most challenging rival yet, the actual world champion at the top of it all, Leon. Now that Ash had officially accomplished his main goal of becoming a League Champion in Sun and Moon, what could there be left to do after this series is over? Could this be it for Ash?
Notably Pokemon Journeys has also introduced Goh to the anime as well. The series has done quite a lot to cement Goh as the deuteragonist of the anime, and unlike other travel companions in the past, Goh has had his own episodes all to himself where he was the main star. Goh’s goal in catching every Pokemon has also taken precedent over Ash in some notable episodes as well as Ash’s World Coronation Series battles see him jump up several places in the ranks with each new victory (and thus less necessary to actually show on screen).
With all of this from Goh, the series could be setting up for a full passing of the torch in some manner. Ash’s journeys are also coming full circle with many important faces and Pokemon from his past, and it will all come to a head in one of his biggest battles yet. So after all of this, what could there even be left for Ash to do? If Pokemon’s anime does say goodbye to Ash, it won’t be so sudden as ending Pokemon Journeys when Pokemon Scarlet and Violet release. It’ll be more gradual than that.
Like how this anime has pushed Ash further and further to the side, the next one will do just a bit more. Then the next one more after that. So Pokemon is hardly saying goodbye to Ash right now, but it will soon. What do you think? Do you think the Pokemon anime is getting ready to say goodbye to Ash? Is Ash leaving the anime even possible after all these years? Let us know all of your thoughts about it in the comments! You can even reach out to me directly about all things animated and other cool stuff @Valdezology on Twitter!