But Ethan already is in the anime as Jimmy has the character's actual design and the starter. I was even surprised they changed Gold's name for Ethan, and not Kenta/Jimmy, as it was already an established "real name".I'd even say Ash is also the anime version of Ethan, since this one wasn't introduced in the DP/HGSS era while Lyra did.
And, if I'm not mistaken, Jimmy is seen with his Donphan at the start of one Sinnoh movie too, so he actually appears in DP saga.
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I wonder what characters will we see in Pallet.