Just checked it, he still announces his intention to be a Pokémon Master right before Spearow's attack. So, no, it still had nothing to do with Ho-Oh.
This seems the most likely explanation. They always retcon his past to add new info, like his friendship with Gary and his encounter with Serena.
Some goal that includes pokémon battles.
I'd love for the return of Contests as unlikely as that would be. That was such a great way to give the female leads something proactive to do while also providing some variety in the battles. I still feel like the anime lost something important once Contests were removed, even though it was understandable given that they weren't featured in the games anymore. Although, as long as it does involve Pokemon battling to some degree, then I'd be fine with something new.
I would actually prefer something untried before, since we are at it. Maybe the female lead could explore in Galar region to get experience of discovering nature and Pokémon, in order some day to become a scientist. A nerdy personality with the tendency of overanalyzing everything which can be a helpful qualification for Ash and Gou. It would also give the audience a chance to get to know more about the Pokémon species. She could be explaining what are really interesting about those Pokémon, like those random books in Pokémon games which give players random small notes about the Pokémon world.
I do like the idea of a musician since she'll probably get Grookey as her starter.
Yeah, so far only Dawn was treated as a co-protagonist. All of the others were just sidekicks (May (kinda), Iris, Bonnie, Lillie, Mallow, and Lana), characters with their own goals in mind (Serena) or were just background material (Misty).
Which is why they're probably have Gou to be a role model for boys. It worked in other shows in the past, so what makes it anyway different for Pokemon to go down that path.
Then what is Satoshi, chopped liver?
You're looking too deep into things while wearing a tinfoil hat.
I know, I just wish Gen 8 would hold a candle like the originals have, but I know those days are over since most of the original people that worked with Pokemon are no longer working, either retired, moved on or passed on. Plus the mobile market had thrown a spanner in the spinoff works since Go.
It was a single event. Even if Ho-Oh hadn't appeared quite yet, it strengthened Ash's declaration ("you're on the right track"), which in the movie hadn't been made before that event.
The Gary flashback was a gag as they were watching a manga counterpart of Ash himself; I wouldn't take it seriously when their friendship was never discussed (plus, sitting next to someone isn't necessarily a sign of friendship). His encounter with Serena was completely inconsequential to his backstory, to the point that he forgot about it.
Unova is Isshu in Japan, so that connection doesn't really check out.
Please, explain this to me, because I have no clue what does eras mean.
The Japanese emperors have an era dedicated to them when they rule Japan. Since April this year, the Heisei Emperor (Heisei Era: 1989-2019) had abdicated the throne, and is succeeded by the Reiwa Emperor to start the Reiwa Era.
I am not the one who compared such an encounter to a goal-changing event.
He's also done quite a bit of Kamen Rider and just like Atsuhiro Tomioka, has been writing for Pokemon since the Indigo League days. Heck, he even wrote 1 of my favorite recent movies I Choose You! I think he'd perfect to be the next head writer.