do you think the anime will extend ash's retirement for another generation?

[AgedVeteranofShow]

@sc190191 I think the only reason why they would show Ash Ketchum in Pokémon Horizons is for the fans and not the new kids. Thus, that means it makes sense to understand the fans and bring back the Ash that’s existed for 25 years.

I think Ash changed a lot over the years (purely subjective whether one dislikes or likes the changes, that said): he has an entirely different English portrayal for the first 8 years compared to the last 17 years, his dialogue also has changed over time in both Languages if you pay attention, his facial design has also changed & his outfits too. Even in Japanese, he is designed the same way in the first 13 years, then has design changes every saga from BW onward in art style, etc. It's not the same person over his 25 year run necessarily to me, the core of what the character stands for stayed the same (the underdog sometimes idiotic protagonist who strives to be the best trainer in the world etc) but everything else is different about him IMO from EP001 vs JN147.

I like this new shift to Liko, even though I like many am a bit underwhelmed by Horizons so far, but this is something various franchises did rather than dragging out their main protagonists well past their peaks (IMO), and it's about time Pokemon did this. That said, Ash will always be the original Pokemon protagonist, and has a lot of good memories for me like everyone (mostly early on, was my hero as a boy in fact). Having said that, I wouldn't mind cameos of an older Ash, but otherwise I think his journey is finally over and grateful for that direction JN took.

 

[kiwichu]

I think he's gone forever.

That's so sad. My childhood hero is gone. However I bet they will bring him back, just like in sun and moon Brock and Misty came back, Brock training to become a pkmn doctor. I bet we will see Ash again, I have a lot of doubt that they have just basically erase the main character, the most popular character in all of Pokemon anime.

 

[AgedVeteranofShow]

That's so sad. My childhood hero is gone. However I bet they will bring him back, just like in sun and moon Brock and Misty came back, Brock training to become a pkmn doctor. I bet we will see Ash again, I have a lot of doubt that they have just basically erase the main character, the most popular character in all of Pokemon anime.

He’s changed a lot over the years anyway, tbh: his hat, his mannerisms, his outfits, even his voice and dialogue in the dub are completely different from his debut. Whether one likes those changes or not, is up to you.

 

[kiwichu]

He’s changed a lot over the years anyway, tbh: his hat, his mannerisms, his outfits, even his voice and dialogue in the dub are completely different from his debut. Whether one likes those changes or not, is up to you.

I loved the Unova hat, I have a Pikachu in pkmn sun with a unova hat when i used pikachu20 as a code for a gift.
I'm sad Veronica Taylor (is that right?) stopped voicing Ash. But I got used to the current voice.

 

[AgedVeteranofShow]

I loved the Unova hat, I have a Pikachu in pkmn sun with a unova hat when i used pikachu20 as a code for a gift.
I'm sad Veronica Taylor (is that right?) stopped voicing Ash. But I got used to the current voice.

The Unova era was honestly the best of modern Era Ash in English in general, I felt Natochenny was actually trying there, but it was quickly back to business as usual in Kalos and from there has been a progressive downslide into Journeys IMO (much like the dub itself, to be fair).
That's fine, each to their own: I wish they had let Veronica Taylor finish the Arc she started, at the least, ended on a very bitter note (I don't feel either Rogers or Natochenny were very good fits for the role, personally, both annoyed me in the part very much at various intervals- the worst Ash ever sounded in the 25 year run was in Early DP that said, I recall his gravelly, deep, rough, coarse smoker voice there- Sarah stopped smoking at least, but now it's turned into the voice of a teenage girl instead at times IMO).

 

[SunGodNika1997]

I can't imagine they'll pass up an opportunity to break the internet with an Ash appearance in Horizons, though it might be a couple of years down the road. Other than that, I think it's best to let sleeping dogs lie. Ash literally reached the pinnacle, and there's seriously nothing else you can do after that.

 

[FelipePR]

The anime has already been in a decline every new series with Ash and Pikachu starring. I would not think that the lower ratings than Journeys series, if it were to happen, would have any influence on this decision alone.

I agree, I think Ash will only come back, as a protagonist, if, for some reason, The Pokémon Company is unable to export the anime anymore, which seems unlikely given the magnitude and economic strength of the franchise as a whole.

 

[UxieLover1994]

I agree, I think Ash will only come back, as a protagonist, if, for some reason, The Pokémon Company is unable to export the anime anymore, which seems unlikely given the magnitude and economic strength of the franchise as a whole.

The franchise has come a long way since the first episode of the anime aired in 1997. In the first decade, during the 4Kids era, the anime outside of Japan was front and center with the majority of western merchandise, including books, magazines, board games, and (educational) PC games, being based on it, and the mainstream games was downplayed. The popularity flip would've happened in the mid-2000s; video games became more mainstream (given critically acclaimed games like Uncharted 2: Among Thieves), the internet became a fact of life, and TPCi took over the anime's dubbing around this point, beginning the anime's downslide.

The anime isn't really needed anymore, and in this day, it is primarily a gateway series to the franchise for kids aged 3-7.

 

[Clampig]

I think that they should put in lots of cameos from ash's adventures, once they announce how far in the future or past this takes place, obviously.

 

[Keith]

Yes, unfortunately.

 

[LyraAndMarill]

IKR? This is why I want to go to Canada so I can watch the dubbed episodes and not have to wait a bazillion years (sarcasm) to watch them
I know where you can watch them without having to wait for them to get on Netflix (it’s a streaming website, I don’t think I should link it because I don’t want to get banned, but it has lots of episodes on there, even the ones that haven’t made it to Netflix yet, that’s where I watched a lot of the episodes before they went to Netflix)

I know what you are talking about, I also watch it on that website. Funnily enough, there's also a website for European Spanish speakers to watch the series, and it is far more advanced than the other streaming service I can't say, as it has the HZ episodes too.

 

[RileyXY1]

Absolutely yes. Except for a hard reboot Ash can no longer be the main protagonist of the series.

 

[Hidden Mew]

Absolutely yes. Except for a hard reboot Ash can no longer be the main protagonist of the series.

I don't think that it would be that hard to make Ash the protagonist again. I can't really say if it's that likely to happen for a few reasons, but I don't think that a hard reboot would be their only way to bring him back. At least in-universe, becoming a World Champion wasn't really the reason to replace him given that Ash clearly stated in the Aim to be a Pokemon Master finale that his goal was still to become a Pokemon Master, not a Champion,

 

[RileyXY1]

I don't think that it would be that hard to make Ash the protagonist again. I can't really say if it's that likely to happen for a few reasons, but I don't think that a hard reboot would be their only way to bring him back. At least in-universe, becoming a World Champion wasn't really the reason to replace him given that Ash clearly stated in the Aim to be a Pokemon Master finale that his goal was still to become a Pokemon Master, not a Champion,

Still, he's the most powerful trainer in the world. There's really nothing you can do with him anymore except reset him back to square one.

 

[Hidden Mew]

Still, he's the most powerful trainer in the world. There's really nothing you can do with him anymore except reset him back to square one.

He's a World Champion trainer. That doesn't mean that he's now the most powerful trainer in the world. I don't want to downplay his PWC victory, but at the same time, it's really hard for me to take it as proof that he's now too uber powerful to be the protagonist. Not only because of my issues with the PWC in general, but given that there are always new Pokemon and trainers from new regions, there would be new challenges for him to face. Just because he defeated Leon doesn't mean that Ash could easily defeat every other new Champion that is introduced. Ash clearly doesn't think he's too good to battle against random nobodies like he did in the end of Journeys. I think that's partly why the PWC didn't work for me. It's hard for a world wide tournament to really feel like a definitive ending for Ash when, by the very nature of the franchise, they frequently have to add in new Pokemon, regions and act like they've always been around.

My point is that I don't think that Ash's PWC victory was the reason for him being replaced. I don't even think that the writers would really care about how much you could really do with Ash character wise, or at least I don't think that would be much of a factor in that decision. If that was the case, they could have easily replaced him twenty or so years earlier. They certainly wouldn't have waited nearly twenty five years to replace Ash if that was their concern. In his sendoff episode, Ash specifically said that his goal wasn't to become a Champion, but to become a Pokemon Master. He didn't feel like he had reached his goal, which is why he continued on his adventures off-screen. That made it clear to me that his Champion title wasn't really a reason for Ash being replaced.

I don't think a hard reset is the only way to make Ash work as a protagonist again. They haven't really reset Ash since BW and even in that series I'd argue that fans overexaggered Ash's regression to a degree. They could still make Champion Ash work as a protagonist without setting him back to square one. I don't think it would be that hard to pull off. I can't say how likely it is for a few reasons and a full on reboot with Ash wouldn't be impossible to happen either, but I just don't think that's the only way to make him a protagonist again.