What happened to Jimmy?

[Somari]

According to the new movie, Ethan has two anime counterparts: Hibiki and Kenta. Why give him another counterpart though?

Him and Jimmy look basically exactly alike, it's sorta creepy to have an identical stranger of a "main" protagonist from the games.

They serve similar roles in the anime, though Ethan is probably doing what Jimmy and Kris didn't off-screen.

Did they simply just retcon Jimmy's name, to match his game one?

If Ethan has two counterparts, does that mean Red can appear? Or is that too drastic?

 

[Ranger Jack Walker]

Maybe its a simple retcon of the names?

Name recons happened for all 3 of the Legend of Thunder protagonists although it was only in the dub.

 

[Silktree]

I'd like to think that it was the writers' way of poking fun at the fans who used the anime's handling of Lyra as evidence of her being distinct from Kris in the games.

If Ethan has two counterparts, does that mean Red can appear? Or is that too drastic?

He arguably should have appeared alongside Leaf; these two characters took their place for no good reason. Likewise for this person in regard to Ethan.

Maybe its a simple retcon of the names?

Name recons happened for all 3 of the Legend of Thunder protagonists although it was only in the dub.

There is no reason to believe that; he wasn't a filler character whose name could have just been forgotten. Besides, the design differences alone make it obvious that we are dealing with two separate characters, even though for all intents and purposes, that isn't the case in the games.

 

[PDL]

I'd like to think that it was the writers' way of poking fun at the fans who used the anime's handling of Lyra as evidence of her being distinct from Kris in the games.

Or maybe the writers don't actually care that much about continuity in the first place. They can use a game character or make one up at will. This character could have appeared in From Cradle to Save, but nope, we got this character instead.

As much as some people like to believe, the orignal Johto protagonists (Jimmy and Kris), and even the newer ones (Ethan and Lyra) are very minor and it shouldn't really matter if they both exist in the same continuity. We already have a few examples of dopplegangers of other characters, so it shouldn't be too big of a strech to imagine that the same thing occurs for Jimmy and Ethan.

If Ethan has two counterparts, does that mean Red can appear? Or is that too drastic?

He already did, his name was Ritchie.

 

[marshiyanmisuta]

They have nothing alike except their hats. So, not really...

 

[Emboar]

I dont think so....

 

[Chillarmy]

Perhaps it was a name change, but then again both characters are (or should I say were) pretty minor to the entire Pokemon anime. Jimmy only appeared for a special, while Ethan makes a cameo in the beginning of the new Pokemon movie. Therefore, it wouldn't matter too much if they made two characters for the hero in the 2nd generation games.

 

[Hellion]

Maybe he's still trapped in the well? Oh wait, that's Timmy.

Kidding aside, I saw the movie today and I gotta say that the Ethan in the movie (as well as the HGSS games) looks younger than the Jimmy in the Raikou Special (as well as the GSC games). Maybe that's why they have different names and yet similar designs because the games kept the original design for the boy main character.

 

[Lil Brother]

In my head canon, they're the same character. Kenta likes to go by the name "Hibiki" sometimes just like Jimmy likes to go by the name "Yoshi" sometimes.

Ba dum bum.

Oooooh, maybe Lyra and Ethan are the younger siblings of Marina and Jimmy, respectively? Then they can fall in love like their older siblings will and have a fabulous double wedding some day.

Fanon's fun. But it is interesting, considering previous movie opening have liked to show strong coherence to the larger anime canon (like, interestingly enough, Legend of Thunder characters showing up). This show's weird.

 

[J J M]

As much as some people like to believe, the orignal Johto protagonists (Jimmy and Kris), and even the newer ones (Ethan and Lyra) are very minor and it shouldn't really matter if they both exist in the same continuity. We already have a few examples of dopplegangers of other characters, so it shouldn't be too big of a strech to imagine that the same thing occurs for Jimmy and Ethan.

If all else fails, go for the doppelganger theory. xD Though, that is pretty much the most logical option out there since they both have different names in the original.

 

[Kahlil]

another name change? they do look similar to me... hmmmm...