Ash's future after Journeys

[Emmy]

There wasn’t an obvious step after they finally stopped with the carrot and stick that was the leagues and yet they came up with this.

???

The concept of the "Pokémon World Tournament" has been around since BW2 so it seemed like an obvious choice to have Ash go to after becoming a Champion.

 

[PkmnTrainerV]

I honestly wouldn’t be opposed to him starting over and pretending the PWC didn’t happen, but keeping SOME of his memories intact when they’re relevant, somewhat like SInnoh. I’ll be fine if we don’t get many past companion appearances too if it means a quality show.

 

[Kurolegacy]

???

The concept of the "Pokémon World Tournament" has been around since BW2 so it seemed like an obvious choice to have Ash go to after becoming a Champion.

This tournament runs nothing like the BW, something that if was there next logical step would have been actually brought up some time before 3 generations later. The fact that the dub even changed the name to the World Coronation Series furthers how they want to distinguish between the 2.

 

[thomaswiencek]

Say, guys. After Journeys, I would think that Ash Ketchum and his Pikachu would come back in the reboot series of the Pokémon main anime set in the alternate timeline instead of original. That's all. You think so?

 

[Mr. MoonStone]

Personally, the more I think about the concept of Journeys, the more I feel like the series belongs in one of those generations that have an extra year in length, almost like a gap year to celebrate the franchise. Like Gen III going into Gen IV (battle frontier arc) or Gen VIII going into Gen IX if it has an extra year. Upon reveal the direction never really felt quite right or natural for the anime in my opinion and after seeing the general reception for the series...ehh...it probably could've been handled better as a single, 45 to 54 episode entity.

All that being said...I think post-Journeys Ash will be the usual fanfare. I don't expect anything big to happen to his inclusion in the anime other than maybe facing a new style of challenge other than what is presented in the games. I don't expect him to be written off, nor do I think he is going to take a bystander position. I just really hope the overall writing and planning is better executed. I get that they operate on the basis of Gamefreak and Nintendo, but you'd think a series that is a complete departure from the games, like Journeys, would be planned a little more tactfully.

 

[thomaswiencek]

Personally, the more I think about the concept of Journeys, the more I feel like the series belongs in one of those generations that have an extra year in length, almost like a gap year to celebrate the franchise. Like Gen III going into Gen IV (battle frontier arc) or Gen VIII going into Gen IX if it has an extra year. Upon reveal the direction never really felt quite right or natural for the anime in my opinion and after seeing the general reception for the series...ehh...it probably could've been handled better as a single, 45 to 54 episode entity.

All that being said...I think post-Journeys Ash will be the usual fanfare. I don't expect anything big to happen to his inclusion in the anime other than maybe facing a new style of challenge other than what is presented in the games. I don't expect him to be written off, nor do I think he is going to take a bystander position. I just really hope the overall writing and planning is better executed. I get that they operate on the basis of Gamefreak and Nintendo, but you'd think a series that is a complete departure from the games, like Journeys, would be planned a little more tactfully.

Thank you.

 

[Hidden Mew]

I hope Ash's Kalos "form" will show up again.
If there are alternate anime universes (something I think could be given how drastic his personality change was from Kalos to Alola), we seem to be still going on his Alola universe-personality.
So if they are willing to either mess with multiverse things, or to just write Ash in like his Kalos "form", it could happen.
Do I think it'll happen? Nah.
He'll be same as usual.

There isn't a different timeline in the anime. Every series is set in the same continuity. I also think it's extremely difficult to claim that SM was set in a different universe just based on Ash's personality, especially when the writers can and have made Ash whatever they want him to be for any given series. Not to mention there were nods to multiple series in SM with Misty and Brock's appearances, which is more than what BW and XY had in terms of continuity references. I can understand not liking SM Ash or preferring how he was in XY, but to say that the anime is in a different universe because of his personality is really strange to me.

 

[PikachuSmasher]

I hope Ash's Kalos "form" will show up again.
If there are alternate anime universes (something I think could be given how drastic his personality change was from Kalos to Alola), we seem to be still going on his Alola universe-personality.
So if they are willing to either mess with multiverse things, or to just write Ash in like his Kalos "form", it could happen.
Do I think it'll happen? Nah.
He'll be same as usual.

I don’t agree with Alt universes here. Sure, his personality shift from Kalos to Alola was a lot, but don’t forget, Journeys still has Kalos continuity. We got Korrina returning in JN025 and in JN084. In JN084, we’re sure to get one or two callbacks to Ash’s Mega Evolution experience in his time in Kalos. Also Ash’s old Kalos Pokemon returned in JN068. No way Journeys is an alt universe, its only Ash’s personality that has changed in the series and it shows his growth through the entire anime.

 

[Hidden Mew]

The idea of a complete reboot of the anime has crossed my mind, but I don't think it's particularly likely to happen for a few reasons. They effectively already did a complete reboot with the movies and that was a much better fit in my opinion. While most of the movies prior to I Choose You were canon to the anime, they were also rarely mentioned or had any noteworthy impact on the anime. Just having each movie take place within its own universe, assuming that The Power of Us and Secrets of the Jungle aren't also set in the same timeline as I Choose You, instead of trying to fit it within the current events of the anime made more sense.

I also can't really see them getting rid of all of their established continuity. While most series don't really make use of previous events, characters and Pokemon, they still have the opportunity to bring characters back or throw in some nods to previous series, which is especially important for any remakes. Throwing away even the chance to use older characters or Pokemon again seems rather unnecessary.

Even though each series is set in its own continuity, the anime isn't structured to where that continuity would be an issue. Kids can jump into Journeys without seeing SM or any of the previous series and follow along with it just fine. I don't think that Ash is going to win the PWC regardless, but even if he did and defeated Leon, I don't think that would make it impossible to keep him around as the main lead. They'll just have him do something else with the next series and maybe eventually mention his ranking in the PWC at some point.

 

[Alola]

I'm pretty sure they'll follow whatever Generation 9 has in store for the next region or such. I think Journeys is showing that the writers don't do too well with original material, given how poorly the PWC and Galar's representation is being handled, a director switch, etc.; they'll probably be happy to have a blue print of sorts to follow again. I assume, anyway.

 

[isrrael120]

Basically any idea of what to do after Journeys would be critiqued at this point if I'm honest!

 

[Queen Cynthia]

they still have the opportunity to bring characters back or throw in some nods to previous series, which is especially important for any remakes. Throwing away even the chance to use older characters or Pokemon again seems rather unnecessary.

You've got a point, but ...

, but even if he did and defeated Leon, I don't think that would make it impossible to keep him around as the main lead.

But how? I can't really think of a reasonable way out of this dilemma.

They'll just have him do something else with the next series and maybe eventually mention his ranking in the PWC at some point.

Do you think the audience will accept that? Going back to challenging good old gyms or some kind of remake of the Battle Frontier or whatever you can think of will appear lame and like a "downgrade" compared to the PWC where Ash had to battle the strongest trainers in the whole wide world. If the writers decide to do it that way, they'll take a massive risk of losing a lot of fans.

 

[Hidden Mew]

You've got a point, but ...

But how? I can't really think of a reasonable way out of this dilemma.

Well they don't really have a lot of options here. Ash is too iconic and marketable to be replaced at this point, so I don't really see it as a dilemma as a result. I think replacing Ash would be a much more risky move than keeping him around after Journeys. There's no guarantee that a new character would be well received or become as iconic as Ash and Pikachu are for the anime.

Do you think the audience will accept that? Going back to challenging good old gyms or some kind of remake of the Battle Frontier or whatever you can think of will appear lame and like a "downgrade" compared to the PWC where Ash had to battle the strongest trainers in the whole wide world. If the writers decide to do it that way, they'll take a massive risk of losing a lot of fans.

Honestly, yeah, I think that generally speaking the audience would be okay with that. Like I mentioned before, it's hard for me to see Gyms as a downgrade from the PWC when a bulk of the tournament has been against random one shot characters in one-on-one battles. The concept of the PWC sounds cool on paper, but the execution has been rather lacking in my opinion. Even with the prize of battling Leon and getting a chance to battle other powerful trainers in the Ultra/Master Classes in mind, the PWC just doesn't feel as compelling or impressive as it should be. Ash has gone through more difficult Gym badge quests than the PWC and that really shouldn't be the case if they really wanted to make it a big deal or the next step in Ash's journey. I still feel like fans have also hyped up the PWC a bit too much over the course of the series, which is probably one reason why I'm not that invested in it. It should be a big deal, but it really doesn't come off that way. If Ash was facing off against powerful trainers more consistently and they didn't have off-screen matches for a good chuck of the Great Class, maybe I'd be more into it.

Obviously some people are fine with how the PWC has been handled and I can understand that to a point, but it has been a major issue for a lot of fans pretty much since it started. I'm not even sure how many people are that invested in the PWC. I asked in another thread if people would really be upset if Ash lost to Leon just because I don't know if fans are that invested in their battle given that there isn't much there beyond Ash wants to battle him. That's a big reason why I don't think that fans would be upset about going back to Gym battles or that it would risk losing a lot of fans. I'm sure that some people would be annoyed with it, but I've seen plenty of people also missing Gym battles and people wanted a return to the Gym badge quest right when Sword/Shield were first announced too. I wouldn't be shocked if they still found something else for Ash to do in the next series instead and I'd probably be okay with that if we had another character taking on Gym Leaders instead, even though I still don't know how that would work when Ash himself loves to battle. But the idea of Ash going back to a Gym badge quest doesn't really sound like it would be a massive deal breaker that turns off a lot of fans from the anime. I'd be annoyed if he never does Gym battles against just because I think it would probably result in more Gym Leaders not getting proper appearances in the anime like what most likely is going to be the case for most of the Galar Gym Leaders.

 

[Unireon]

Not only the PWC, but Journeys as a whole, looked better on paper than whatever they are trying to do.

It is so upsetting seeing all that potential being wasted like this, it truly hurts.

 

[Emmy]

If they wanted to let the idea of the PWC fade from people's minds a bit before going back to Badge Quests, they could always pull another Orange Islands and have a short season in-between Gens 8 & 9...Yes, I will not give up on the idea that they should adapt L:A in some fashion even if they have to do a reverse-Samurai Jack and have Ash thrown into the past of Hisui for a spell.

 

[Unireon]

They can easily handwave it.

A Celebi did it.

Despite being a reused plot-device.

 

[Almonds]

If they wanted to let the idea of the PWC fade from people's minds a bit before going back to Badge Quests, they could always pull another Orange Islands and have a short season in-between Gens 8 & 9...Yes, I will not give up on the idea that they should adapt L:A in some fashion even if they have to do a reverse-Samurai Jack and have Ash thrown into the past of Hisui for a spell.

Plot twist: For an L:A anime, it will be Ash's grandfather who looks and acts exactly like him, and also has a Pikachu.

 

[rfrz]

My opinion is, he's probably will never beat leon (by looking back anime story, after gaining victory from orange island and loses again until winning battle frontier then loses again and winning alola league, i think he will take a long time to win a big tournament, either regional tournament, pwc, or battle frontier alike competition later.) I think he's too irreplaceable in anime, because he and his pikachu are the icon of pokemon anime and pikachu ended being pokemon mascot.


Im thinking the best thing for him (my opinion) is to lose against leon and somehow end his involvement in pwc and having another journey like in the orange island (maybe somehow he and his pikachu travel in past in hisui to resemble the pokemon legends arceus game) to refresh his dullness and having another goal when he came back to present. (personally, i prefer he's having gym battles back, but a lot more engaging and stronger than before in another region maybe recomended by his rival that he met in world coronation before losing to leon or maybe by the other champion in master class, )

Sorry for bad english.

My opinon is, Retiring ash seems like very bad idea because he and his pikachu are the main identity of pokemon anime. If they want so, they should've done that in johto / sinnoh. But they choose to keep ash. (maybe because the background of the pokemon anime is the story of ash and his pikachu and other pokemons.)

 

[Die-Hard Dragon Devotee]

My opinion is, he's probably will never beat leon (by looking back anime story, after gaining victory from orange island and loses again until winning battle frontier then loses again and winning alola league, i think he will take a long time to win a big tournament, either regional tournament, pwc, or battle frontier alike competition later.) I think he's too irreplaceable in anime, because he and his pikachu are the icon of pokemon anime and pikachu ended being pokemon mascot.


Im thinking the best thing for him (my opinion) is to lose against leon and somehow end his involvement in pwc and having another journey like in the orange island (maybe somehow he and his pikachu travel in past in hisui to resemble the pokemon legends arceus game) to refresh his dullness and having another goal when he came back to present. (personally, i prefer he's having gym battles back, but a lot more engaging and stronger than before in another region maybe recomended by his rival that he met in world coronation before losing to leon or maybe by the other champion in master class, )

Sorry for bad english.

My opinon is, Retiring ash seems like very bad idea because he and his pikachu are the main identity of pokemon anime. If they want so, they should've done that in johto / sinnoh. But they choose to keep ash. (maybe because the background of the pokemon anime is the story of ash and his pikachu and other pokemons.)

Who's to say Ash is leaving the anime for good though, even if he does win? He could become a recurring character in the same vein as Professor Oak.

 

[PkmnTrainerV]

Ash isn’t leaving the show for the foreseeable future imo. To profitable to keep him around. Removing Ash and Pikachu would be like removing Doraemon and Nobita from Doraemon.