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- #21
That comparison doesn't work though. Ash's first Pokemon was Pikachu, which wasn't a Kanto starter, at least not at the time when the anime began. Sure, he caught the other Kanto starters, but he was still more heavily associated with Pikachu partly because it was his first Pokemon. If Riko gets Sprigatito, that does tie her much more to the current generation. If Ash's first Pokemon was Squirtle instead, then this comparison would a bit more fitting, but it wasn't. It also doesn't work because the writers were willing to replace Ash's Kanto starters in the same series for the Johto starters, something they would not be willing to do with a character's first Pokemon. Things are also a lot different for the anime and the franchise as a whole now than they were when the anime first began.Ash got the Kanto Starters, but that didn't stop them from having him go for as long as he did.
This is like comparing apples with oranges. Just because Ash stuck around for decades after capturing the Kanto starters doesn't mean that they'll do the same thing with Riko. I think it would make the decision to replace Ash even more questionable. Why bother replacing your iconic lead for another protagonist if they want to keep the new lead around for decades too? Wouldn't that just lead to them having the same kind of problems people had with Ash as the protagonist? I can't say that it's impossible, but I don't really see them keeping Riko for more than this generation if her first Pokemon is one of the Paldea starters. Goh's first Pokemon was Scorbunny and that still tied him to the eighth generation enough to where they didn't keep around even when people kept arguing that he could be a permanent part of the cast. Riko getting Sprigatito for example would tie her into this generation just as much as getting Scorbunny did for Goh.