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

[AgedVeteranofShow]

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.

Plus, you don’t have to pay tons of money to get Netflix in other majority English speaking nations, you need a subscription to it to watch the dub here (I’m not paying that much to watch the dub in an arguably notably degraded state vs prior years, IMO). It basically lasted on local TV through syndication like UPN in the US, then moved to Kids WB early into OS in “The Problem with Paras,” until 4Kids got sacked late into AG for PUSA/TPCi basically cost cutting and reducing the entire budget when TAJ was essentially cheaper for TPCi to use & such: as a tragic side effect, we lost almost all the original English staff that worked on the dub from the very start, when it moved to CN save 3 people, and it would last on cable/satellite TV there from BF to XYZ. After that, it went to Disney XD for SM, and then off TV airwaves entirely by JN/MPM in the USA.

I’d say what Uxie said is a lot of it, the Series never grew with its audience much and kept being targeted at its target audience- other things that likely led to its decrease in popularity in the West over time are likely filler fatigue midway into Johto, Misty leaving, the English dub change and overhaul of most VAs & writers early into Battle Frontier, Tobias’ defeat of Ash in late Sinnoh, the Unova reset, Alain/Alan’s defeat of Ash in Kalos, etc.

 

[Hidden Mew]

I’d say what Uxie said is a lot of it, the Series never grew with its audience much and kept being targeted at its target audience- other things that likely led to its decrease in popularity in the West over time are likely filler fatigue midway into Johto, Misty leaving, the English dub change and overhaul of most VAs & writers early into Battle Frontier, Tobias’ defeat of Ash in late Sinnoh, the Unova reset, Alain/Alan’s defeat of Ash in Kalos, etc.

I don't think that the anime continuing to target its target audience is necessarily a bad thing. It's a kid show and not every kid show has to also appeal to teenagers/adults. The anime still experimented with different characters and storylines in every series, so it isn't like the anime didn't change just because of the stats quo of keeping Ash around. Plus, I don't think that really hurt it in the west considering how long it was on network TV. I also have my doubts about the voice cast turning off enough kids to affect ratings. Same with Ash's infamous defeats. Those are common complaints from long time fans, but I don't know of that would bother the kids in the target audience to the point where it would result in lower ratings. I think that's mostly projecting or assuming that kids would feel the same about these decisions like older fans do. Other factors like changing timeslots/channels, lack of promotion and fewer people watching shows live on TV with the rise of the Internet would most likely be bigger reasons why ratings have been lower in the west than stuff like that.

 

[AgedVeteranofShow]

I don't think that the anime continuing to target its target audience is necessarily a bad thing. It's a kid show and not every kid show has to also appeal to teenagers/adults. The anime still experimented with different characters and storylines in every series, so it isn't like the anime didn't change just because of the stats quo of keeping Ash around. Plus, I don't think that really hurt it in the west considering how long it was on network TV. I also have my doubts about the voice cast turning off enough kids to affect ratings. Same with Ash's infamous defeats. Those are common complaints from long time fans, but I don't know of that would bother the kids in the target audience to the point where it would result in lower ratings. I think that's mostly projecting or assuming that kids would feel the same about these decisions like older fans do. Other factors like changing timeslots/channels, lack of promotion and fewer people watching shows live on TV with the rise of the Internet would most likely be bigger reasons why ratings have been lower in the west than stuff like that.

While not necessarily a bad thing, remaining stuck in that 5-12 target demo also limits its appeal per se to mainly children. Following this formula also kept it as popular as it was for decades, but it also caused backlash at various instances in time as well, per se. I do legitimately think re: the dub change it is a decision that did do some damage to the popularity overseas, at least through DP as it was at its most controversial during BF & then: several fans on YouTube have claimed to stop watching the Series outright when that happened in BF (not just the dub, the Japanese Version)- some didn’t recognize it and didn’t care, but some did as well, to clarify. If you go on the video by PokeResort on YouTube on the topic, there’s over 600 likes on the top comment stating they dropped the Series for years, and others outright after the event. The same applies to Ash’s defeats, people particularly took the Sinnoh and Kalos losses so hard they didn’t want to give the Series a chance again as they felt Ash peaked as a trainer in those Arcs (especially Alain/Alan).

Network changes also did some decreases indeed as you’ve stated, particularly off local TV, and SM’s goofier style relative to XY also stopped some after that Series, as well as JN generally boring people like Johto and BW.

 

[Hidden Mew]

While not necessarily a bad thing, remaining stuck in that 5-12 target demo also limits its appeal per se to mainly children. Following this formula also kept it as popular as it was for decades, but it also caused backlash at various instances in time as well, per se. I do legitimately think re: the dub change it is a decision that did do some damage to the popularity overseas, at least through DP as it was at its most controversial during BF & then: several fans on YouTube have claimed to stop watching the Series outright when that happened in BF (not just the dub, the Japanese Version)- some didn’t recognize it and didn’t care, but some did as well, to clarify. If you go on the video by PokeResort on YouTube on the topic, there’s over 600 likes on the top comment stating they dropped the Series for years, and others outright after the event. The same applies to Ash’s defeats, people particularly took the Sinnoh and Kalos losses so hard they didn’t want to give the Series a chance again as they felt Ash peaked as a trainer in those Arcs (especially Alain/Alan).

Network changes also did some decreases indeed as you’ve stated, particularly off local TV, and SM’s goofier style relative to XY also stopped some after that Series, as well as JN generally boring people like Johto and BW.

It's hard to take YouTube comments about the voice actor changes at face value when a lot of those comments could have been made by older fans instead of kids within the target demographic. Same with the issues people had with Ash's defeats. I remember people dropping the anime for awhile due to the voice actor changes too. Whatever damage the dub change did for the anime's popularity in the west was probably not long term since the TPCI dub aired on Cartoon Network for about a decade. People took Ash's defeats pretty hard in those respective series, but I'm not sure how kids watching the show felt about it at the time.

I'm not saying that these issues could have turned off kids from the anime. I am saying that I have my doubts about stuff like the dub cast and Ash's infamous defeat turning kids off from watching the anime enough to where it would have drastically affected the ratings. I think that there are just too many other outside factors for me to believe that. Plus, I don't think kids within the target demographic would have the same exact opinions/complaints about the anime as older fans do.

 

[AgedVeteranofShow]

It's hard to take YouTube comments about the voice actor changes at face value when a lot of those comments could have been made by older fans instead of kids within the target demographic. Same with the issues people had with Ash's defeats. I remember people dropping the anime for awhile due to the voice actor changes too. Whatever damage the dub change did for the anime's popularity in the west was probably not long term since the TPCI dub aired on Cartoon Network for about a decade. People took Ash's defeats pretty hard in those respective series, but I'm not sure how kids watching the show felt about it at the time.

I'm not saying that these issues could have turned off kids from the anime. I am saying that I have my doubts about stuff like the dub cast and Ash's infamous defeat turning kids off from watching the anime enough to where it would have drastically affected the ratings. I think that there are just too many other outside factors for me to believe that. Plus, I don't think kids within the target demographic would have the same exact opinions/complaints about the anime as older fans do.

Fair enough. I think Pokémon was popular enough back then by that time for those events to not have caused a major drop in support, but nonetheless, a little vs prior per se. Re: the dub another base breaker was when Ed Goldfarb became the dub’s composer in XY and the OST changes became more prominent than prior, as that did turn off some older fans who prior didn’t take issue with things even under TPCi. Obviously this was most prominent on YouTube and Twitter so it’s questionable as to how much long term damage it did, but I think this change caused less of a loss of support than the prior two events and only among diehard fans overseas.

The Series is indeed still popular among the target demographic, but as more became disillusioned with various aspects, the popularity gradually faded from its heights to clarify.

 

[Johtoo]

Not at all. Ratings for the new series is far below journeys, and viewers in the west simply don't care about it (despite it not being out yet. There's little to no interest at all from that side). I'm not sure about the quality of the show as i dipped out halfway through the first episode, so maybe it's better than journeys? But, I just don't see this experiment working. Being transparent, the anime doesn't have to bring Ash back again. The Pokemon Company are strong enough that they don't need to rely on the anime being popular to sustain their brand, and it's obvious the anime can survive without ash based of this notion; however, you have to argue what is gained by Ash leaving the series?
1. Freshness? Of course, however, the anime felt fresh after every arc as Ash was always surrounded by new characters.
2. A new story to be told? Honestly, this is the only legitimate point. While Ash's story isn't complete and could be fleshed out, a new protagonist does allow for a new take of the show.
That's all I've got to be honest. Because Ash returning would result in higher ratings, more fan engagement in Japan and the west and the reintroduction of the Pokemon movies. This is important, because there is absolutely no way the new cast could carry a successful movie run In Japan. A counter argument would be why not just keep Ash in the movies then? Well, you can't because this isn't Ghibli and Ash's story didn't manifest itself from those awful AU movies. You also risk confusing younger audiences if you go this route as newer fans won't be introduced to Ash's story if he isn't the central character in the anime. Anyway. i'm not entirely sure what will come from this. I do see the anime sticking with these characters because why not? However, the status quo continues. Taking a main character out of the anime does continue to negatively affect the show's popularity. Dragon Ball, Yugioh, and now Pokemon. Fortunately, the Pokemon brand is strong enough that i'm not sure if this bothers them anymore, but I would be curious to see how the western side of TCPI feels about this. Netflix was shilling money to TCPI because the nostalgic audience for Pokemon was there on their platform. If Ash isn't there anymore, and western media company's care less about having the product on their platform, will they force the change themselves? We do know the anime has had a history of bowing down to western pressure in the past.

 

[Hidden Mew]

Not at all. Ratings for the new series is far below journeys, and viewers in the west simply don't care about it (despite it not being out yet. There's little to no interest at all from that side). I'm not sure about the quality of the show as i dipped out halfway through the first episode, so maybe it's better than journeys? But, I just don't see this experiment working. Being transparent, the anime doesn't have to bring Ash back again. The Pokemon Company are strong enough that they don't need to rely on the anime being popular to sustain their brand, and it's obvious the anime can survive without ash based of this notion; however, you have to argue what is gained by Ash leaving the series?
1. Freshness? Of course, however, the anime felt fresh after every arc as Ash was always surrounded by new characters.
2. A new story to be told? Honestly, this is the only legitimate point. While Ash's story isn't complete and could be fleshed out, a new protagonist does allow for a new take of the show.
That's all I've got to be honest. Because Ash returning would result in higher ratings, more fan engagement in Japan and the west and the reintroduction of the Pokemon movies. This is important, because there is absolutely no way the new cast could carry a successful movie run In Japan. A counter argument would be why not just keep Ash in the movies then? Well, you can't because this isn't Ghibli and Ash's story didn't manifest itself from those awful AU movies. You also risk confusing younger audiences if you go this route as newer fans won't be introduced to Ash's story if he isn't the central character in the anime. Anyway. i'm not entirely sure what will come from this. I do see the anime sticking with these characters because why not? However, the status quo continues. Taking a main character out of the anime does continue to negatively affect the show's popularity. Dragon Ball, Yugioh, and now Pokemon. Fortunately, the Pokemon brand is strong enough that i'm not sure if this bothers them anymore, but I would be curious to see how the western side of TCPI feels about this. Netflix was shilling money to TCPI because the nostalgic audience for Pokemon was there on their platform. If Ash isn't there anymore, and western media company's care less about having the product on their platform, will they force the change themselves? We do know the anime has had a history of bowing down to western pressure in the past.

To be fair, Yu-Gi-Oh! kind of had to replace its cast. The Duel Monsters series was ultimately an adaptation of the manga and they reached its conclusion. I don't think giving Yugi and his friends new archetypes every few years would work the same way it did with giving Ash new Pokemon every series. Plus, replacing your cast after five years is far more reasonable than waiting twenty five years to do it with your main character. The spin-off series are still pretty successful in Japan, but not so much elsewhere. You could argue that changing the cast affected its popularity in the west, but I think that there were other bigger factors involved and why none of the other spin-off series have been successful outside of Japan.

I can't really judge Horizons myself, but the reception has been fairly positive so far from what I can tell. I'm not sure how long that will continue. Not really because of the quality of the anime itself, but because I'm not sure how much attention the series will retain once the novelty of having new leads wears off. I guess a lot of that depends on what Liko and Roy's goals will be exactly and how engaging the storyline will be. I don't think it will necessarily fail or bomb, but I still wonder how much payoff they want or expect from this experiment.

 

[AgedVeteranofShow]

Not at all. Ratings for the new series is far below journeys, and viewers in the west simply don't care about it (despite it not being out yet. There's little to no interest at all from that side). I'm not sure about the quality of the show as i dipped out halfway through the first episode, so maybe it's better than journeys? But, I just don't see this experiment working. Being transparent, the anime doesn't have to bring Ash back again. The Pokemon Company are strong enough that they don't need to rely on the anime being popular to sustain their brand, and it's obvious the anime can survive without ash based of this notion; however, you have to argue what is gained by Ash leaving the series?
1. Freshness? Of course, however, the anime felt fresh after every arc as Ash was always surrounded by new characters.
2. A new story to be told? Honestly, this is the only legitimate point. While Ash's story isn't complete and could be fleshed out, a new protagonist does allow for a new take of the show.
That's all I've got to be honest. Because Ash returning would result in higher ratings, more fan engagement in Japan and the west and the reintroduction of the Pokemon movies. This is important, because there is absolutely no way the new cast could carry a successful movie run In Japan. A counter argument would be why not just keep Ash in the movies then? Well, you can't because this isn't Ghibli and Ash's story didn't manifest itself from those awful AU movies. You also risk confusing younger audiences if you go this route as newer fans won't be introduced to Ash's story if he isn't the central character in the anime. Anyway. i'm not entirely sure what will come from this. I do see the anime sticking with these characters because why not? However, the status quo continues. Taking a main character out of the anime does continue to negatively affect the show's popularity. Dragon Ball, Yugioh, and now Pokemon. Fortunately, the Pokemon brand is strong enough that i'm not sure if this bothers them anymore, but I would be curious to see how the western side of TCPI feels about this. Netflix was shilling money to TCPI because the nostalgic audience for Pokemon was there on their platform. If Ash isn't there anymore, and western media company's care less about having the product on their platform, will they force the change themselves? We do know the anime has had a history of bowing down to western pressure in the past.

They were above Journeys at the start to clarify, but I'd believe they've fallen below it as well for Horizons. A lot of people were just sticking around for Ash/Satoshi's finale in both languages, for sure.

I think Ash deserved an ending far sooner, so I'm glad he's finally got one: the quality of that ending, though, he got off much better than most everyone save Misty/Kasumi IMO, but still it's open-ended regardless. I'd go with the new story to be told, angle, personally.

They've never really needed the Anime in later years, most of the sales are from the merchandise and game sales (as much fire as SCVT have come under, arguably deserved in some cases, the sales are massive so it won't deter them from the current course so long as they don't see any incentive to change course).

That's an interesting theory, it might? But then keep in mind the dub is also less popular like its Japanese counterpart with each passing Series, Ash and Pikachu in each Anime Series included. Horizons will be interesting because there's a refresh they COULD do to bring it up to modern dub standards, a lot they could rectify in past errors, but will they? Time will tell. I will say JCC not being on the script writing team head for the first time post-4Kids under TPCi in this new Series dubbed is a welcome change to me, but I just wish sadly it didn't come about via his illness.

 

[Antiyonder]

While not necessarily a bad thing, remaining stuck in that 5-12 target demo also limits its appeal per se to mainly children.

I don't know. You look at Family Guy, Brickleberry, The Ren & Stimpy Adult Party Cartoon, yeah making things (vaguely) adult doesn't mean better quality.

The big problem was that the show's quality could only be kept more consistently well/improving if they didn't lock the timeline into floating mode or ended at least in Johto where Ash made a better go around. I'd even argue the low key ending he got would work if his journey wasn't stretched out to nearly 30 years.

And while Pokémon Adventures can be much more intense, I think it's a disservice to chalk it's success down to it's more heavy content.

Heck compared to Takeshi Shudo's pitched ending, I argue the manga does the better storytelling well without feeling ashamed if well it being a Pokémon series.

 

[Adelon]

I think he's gone forever.

Nah, he is likely to return but his days as the main protagonist are probably over.

 

[AgedVeteranofShow]

I don't know. You look at Family Guy, Brickleberry, The Ren & Stimpy Adult Party Cartoon, yeah making things (vaguely) adult doesn't mean better quality.

The big problem was that the show's quality could only be kept more consistently well/improving if they didn't lock the timeline into floating mode or ended at least in Johto where Ash made a better go around. I'd even argue the low key ending he got would work if his journey wasn't stretched out to nearly 30 years.

And while Pokémon Adventures can be much more intense, I think it's a disservice to chalk it's success down to it's more heavy content.

Heck compared to Takeshi Shudo's pitched ending, I argue the manga does the better storytelling well without feeling ashamed if well it being a Pokémon series.

That's true, for sure, but also just relegating to only children also limits its reach per se & it's never been more than a well crafted ad for that generation of the games over time.

I think Ash should've been ended after Johto, or after Battle Frontier, personally: Sinnoh was pushing it, but after Tobias, it was clear he was stuck in a formula of status quo it took 25 years to finally escape.

Pokemon Adventures isn't what I'd have had in mind for an ideal Anime, hard to say what it is (both it and the main Anime put Generations to shame, though, just utter garbage IMO).

Shudo's ending would've been dark as heck, but honestly, if it had happened earlier would've been interesting.

 

[DigitalGen6]

I think Ash should've been ended after Johto, or after Battle Frontier, personally: Sinnoh was pushing it, but after Tobias, it was clear he was stuck in a formula of status quo it took 25 years to finally escape.

I read something about, how it was supposed to end after the Indigo League but it got so popular so they made Ash lose and go to Johto.

Pokemon Adventures isn't what I'd have had in mind for an ideal Anime, hard to say what it is (both it and the main Anime put Generations to shame, though, just utter garbage IMO).

How dare you say Adventures is garbage! /j
But in all seriousness, yeah, Adventures is pretty dark and it’s gonna take a LOT of toning down for it to actually become an anime. There’s lots of things, such as the Green and Sabrina battle (with the PokéBalls… yeah, let’s not go there) and lots of death.
If anything, they’d likely make either Generations show an actual anime (if so, I’d give it about 5 to 10 episodes per region) or Evolutions (I’d give it about 3-5 episodes per region), OR make more Origins episodes. I liked Origins, and seeing how it was rushed (4 episodes, skipped battles and a few other things) makes me salty.

Shudo's ending would've been dark as heck, but honestly, if it had happened earlier would've been interesting.

What’s Shudo’s ending? I don’t think I’ve ever heard of it.

 

[AgedVeteranofShow]

I read something about, how it was supposed to end after the Indigo League but it got so popular so they made Ash lose and go to Johto.

How dare you say Adventures is garbage! /j
But in all seriousness, yeah, Adventures is pretty dark and it’s gonna take a LOT of toning down for it to actually become an anime. There’s lots of things, such as the Green and Sabrina battle (with the PokéBalls… yeah, let’s not go there) and lots of death.
If anything, they’d likely make either Generations show an actual anime (if so, I’d give it about 5 to 10 episodes per region) or Evolutions (I’d give it about 3-5 episodes per region), OR make more Origins episodes. I liked Origins, and seeing how it was rushed (4 episodes, skipped battles and a few other things) makes me salty.

What’s Shudo’s ending? I don’t think I’ve ever heard of it.

That's right: it was supposed to end after Season 1, but the popularity kept it going on...and on...to the point Shudo left during late Johto outright due to his creative differences with the heads of the Anime supposedly.

I think Adventures was so much better than Generations (god, I hate it, the worst animated media this franchise has produced IMO) in terms of how to PROPERLY do a story about a main cast of characters post-Gen I, in fairness, just a bit too dark to be ideal to me per se. Origins was something that could've been great, I liked it more than Generations, but its problems were that it started to become a Gen VI advertisement for Mega Evolution by File 4 with Charizard & it didn't go past just 1 Generation in hindsight.

He had several endings in mind, here are some:

The Dark Endings to the Pokemon Anime That Never Happened

If one Pokemon writer would have had their way, the series would have ended years ago. Surprisingly enough, the proposed endings were pretty dark.

gamerant.com

(CBR etc. are pure garbage 99% of the time to me, to clarify, but this is an accurate and good article for once- from GameRant)

 

[DigitalGen6]

That's right: it was supposed to end after Season 1, but the popularity kept it going on...and on...to the point Shudo left during late Johto outright due to his creative differences with the heads of the Anime supposedly.

Creative differences! Yay! /s

I think Adventures was so much better than Generations (god, I hate it, the worst animated media this franchise has produced IMO) in terms of how to PROPERLY do a story about a main cast of characters post-Gen I, in fairness, just a bit too dark to be ideal to me per se.

Yeah. Not to mention Generations had only male MCs (which is something I didn’t like) as well as protagonists not talking (which I get, the reason is a protagonist is a blank slate) and no Nate in any of the BW episodes. This is why Evolutions is better.
If they toned down Adventures and made it like, suitable for all ages than just basically teenagers (I started reading it a few years ago with ORAS and got the final volume three Christmases ago, not once did I see anything dark other than the really kid friendly scene where Rayquaza attacks Zinnia), then yeah.

Origins was something that could've been great, I liked it more than Generations, but its problems were that it started to become a Gen VI advertisement for Mega Evolution by File 4 with Charizard & it didn't go past just 1 Generation in hindsight.

I didn’t watch Origins much (I watched it about three or so years after its release), but what I do remember is Mega Evolution existed. I get it. It’s Gen 6 time, but Origins is supposed to be based on FRLG, meaning no Mega Evolution.

 

[Hidden Mew]

How dare you say Adventures is garbage! /j
But in all seriousness, yeah, Adventures is pretty dark and it’s gonna take a LOT of toning down for it to actually become an anime. There’s lots of things, such as the Green and Sabrina battle (with the PokéBalls… yeah, let’s not go there) and lots of death.
If anything, they’d likely make either Generations show an actual anime (if so, I’d give it about 5 to 10 episodes per region) or Evolutions (I’d give it about 3-5 episodes per region), OR make more Origins episodes. I liked Origins, and seeing how it was rushed (4 episodes, skipped battles and a few other things) makes me salty.

I wouldn't really say that Adventures is dark or would require a lot of toning down to become an anime. It can be dark and it is often more serious than the anime is by comparison, but Adventures is still a kids' manga. It doesn't have a drastically different target audience compared to the anime. There are still some stuff they'd probably have to tone down for an anime adaptation, but I think the fanbase largely overhypes how dark Adventures can be, especially when most of the examples they tend to bring up are from the R/B/Y arcs.

That being said, I'd be surprised if they ever give Adventures an adaptation. It would be cool, but given how long the series has been going, I think it would be more impractical to give it an anime adaptation.

 

[DigitalGen6]

I wouldn't really say that Adventures is dark or would require a lot of toning down to become an anime. It can be dark and it is often more serious than the anime is by comparison, but Adventures is still a kids' manga. It doesn't have a drastically different target audience compared to the anime. There are still some stuff they'd probably have to tone down for an anime adaptation, but I think the fanbase largely overhypes how dark Adventures can be, especially when most of the examples they tend to bring up are from the R/B/Y arcs.

That being said, I'd be surprised if they ever give Adventures an adaptation. It would be cool, but given how long the series has been going, I think it would be more impractical to give it an anime adaptation.

They did make Twilight Wings in 2020, Hisuian Snow in 2022 and PokéToons (I think it was in like 2021 or smthn, idek anymore) so it likely might not have to do with how long the series has been going but idk lol

 

[Hidden Mew]

They did make Twilight Wings in 2020, Hisuian Snow in 2022 and PokéToons (I think it was in like 2021 or smthn, idek anymore) so it likely might not have to do with how long the series has been going but idk lol

Those were shorts or online mini-series. I was talking about giving Adventures a proper anime adaptation, something that fans of the series have wanted for ages. Because it has so many arcs at this point, I think it would be pretty difficult for them to do that, especially when not a lot of the more recent arcs have attracted as much attention compared to the early volumes.

 

[DigitalGen6]

Those were shorts or online mini-series. I was talking about giving Adventures a proper anime adaptation, something that fans of the series have wanted for ages. Because it has so many arcs at this point, I think it would be pretty difficult for them to do that, especially when not a lot of the more recent arcs have attracted as much attention compared to the early volumes.

Oh yeah. There’s about 17 chapters in the entire thing and trying to turn them into about three or four seasons worth of adventures may probably be too much for Pokémon to handle (I know it’d be too much for me as well).

 

[sc190191]

I hope that eventually Ash/Pikachu and other old characters will have minor incorporations into this new series. I think it is possible to happen eventually, but not likely for quite some time, because it is important to give the new series the opportunity to grow on its own. I think non-main characters that have game importance have a greater chance to return when certain regions are visited, but there could be some vagueness about whether that is a continuation of that anime character from before vs just a character based on the games (i.e. if we saw Clair we probably wouldn't see her shiny Druddigon).

My greatest hope is that this new series is in the same anime universe of the past 25 years. I actually wouldn't mind if we got new protags each generation, but with the hope that there would be minor incorporations of characters from the history of the series at various times. I really don't expect Ash and Pikachu to ever be the main characters again, but possibly they could be main characters in a mini series (which could be really fun). They could also become some future protagonist's goal to beat, which could be a fun incorporation.

I just want to touch on the idea of using AU Ash in the future instead of Anime Ash. I just finally watched The Distant Blue Sky special and I thought it was quite good. That being said I don't like the idea of using AU Ash in the future for anything other than one off stories, and I really disdain the idea of using AU Ash instead of Anime Ash. I get the reason for using the AU, it makes it a lot easier to tell a specific story without trying to get 25 years worth of details in a row to avoid contradiction. To be honest I think this is also why Journeys rarely went to Alola (because Ash knew loads of people on all the islands so they really couldn't avoid including people he knew) or places like Lumiose or Cerulean (where it wouldn't make sense for Ash not to visit certain friends). That being said if they use AU Ash instead of Anime Ash they are using a character we honestly barely know and it doesn't have near the same impact.

Anime Ash touched a great number of fans over a great number of generations. Whether you watched in the 90s, 00s, 10s, or 20s, you know something of Ash and Pikachu's story. Even if you didn't watch the entire series you will know something of the adventure and can connect to the characters through those memories. All of the 25 years led to Ash and Pikachu being where they were at the end of the series (and yes I know it wasn't always a perfect progression), and those adventures shaped the two of them and how they grew. Sure you can rely on that growth for AU Ash, but it really isn't the same. When we watch AU Ash we don't know what Pokemon/people he may or may not have bonded with over the years, whereas with Anime Ash we know about countless adventures and experiences he has had. Those memories are the reason for including Ash in the future, so just including an Ash lookalike/actalike isn't the same.

Of course as someone who always preferred other lead characters to Ash I desperately would hope for any chance of those characters appearing again (even though it is vastly less likely), but if we are in the AU universe (or not the same universe at all) we know essentially nothing of those characters. Presumably in AU Ash world Misty is just the generic Cerulean Gym Leader like in the games. She may or may not have the same personality/Pokemon as the Misty we all know and love, but she certainly wouldn't have the same adventures and experiences we all have wonderful memories of. If Horizons (or a future series) visits Cerulean City and meets Misty at some point I would far rather it was our Misty as opposed to a generic Misty based off the games.

The clean slate/AU just makes writing and story execution easier - and that totally makes sense. We would all be the first people to complain big time if the new writers contradicted one of our beloved characters. That being said I feel absolutely no connection to AU Ash, it isn't an "Ash-type character" we all followed for 25 years, it is the Ash of the specific PokeAni universe that went on countless wonderful adventures and shared time with many people and Pokemon we all loved. I have a feeling this means a decent amount to a lot of the staff as well, considering the types of episodes we got at times during Journeys where they really did remember a lot of important traits of older characters (that weren't just generic traits of their game counterparts) when including them in episodes. The only question is does that love outweigh the ease of going the AU route. I guess only time will tell.

 

[JollyYoshi]

@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.