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Pokémon Horizons General Discussion/Speculation Thread

I am curious, if they are doing the world tour format, will the protags only have gen 9 pokemon or will it be a mix like Ash's journeys team (further shafting the paldea reigon)
 
If there's any Pokémon that would be worthy of being Pikachu's successor or at least close to one if Sprigatito ends up being the new girl's main mon, then Pawmi could fit the bill.
 
I'm still in shock that they are replacing Ash as the anime's main character. I didn't think it would happen, but I think it'll be good for it to get away from Ash and Pikachu and allow new characters to take the show's reigns and move it forward.
 
nickdt said:
Well...

One thing about Ash retiring/not being the main lead anymore can also have to do with Rica obviously not getting any younger... so its possible they are looking out for her to not voice Ash anymore on a regular basis... and the 2 new leads can have two younger talents taking the helm.
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I’ve seen people say things like that but I just don’t buy it considering that Masako Nozawa is 86 and still going strong voicing Goku and his sons. Just not Japan’s style when it comes to VAs especially in iconic roles.
 
I have thought about the possibility of Rica not being interested in continuing voicing Satoshi or wanting to take a break to do other roles or something like that since that would be one plausible reason why they would be replacing Ash. Unless she s is dealing with some health problems that haven't been made public yet, I don't know if that would be the case. She's only 54, is still active as both a voice actor and a singer and as far as I can tell, she really loves performing as Satoshi. She has been voicing Satoshi for twenty five years, but other voice actors have voiced other iconic characters even longer than that, so I doubt that it's a matter of looking out for her health barring anything that she could have mentioned privately.
 
RileyXY1 said:
I think that Pikachu will be his partner instead. I’m not expecting either new protagonist to have an Eevee because I think that Chloe is returning.
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No disrespect, but if Ash of all people is leaving, there's no way in hell someone who got as little screentime as Chloe is ever coming back. (I don't know for sure, obviously, but call it a very strong guess.)
Articfoxgamez said:
it's fake, it was claimed to be from the website but no version of the pokemon website mentions any of that.
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Damn, that would have all but confirmed who her father was. :LOL:
 
A Wild Luxray said:
Aw I was hoping it was real. I liked the thought since it seemed to put Liko on Victory Road and Roy on the Path of Legends story.
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There’s so much misinformation spreading around right now. It’s going to be hell to navigate the PokeAni community until March and April lol.
 
After all these years of wanting Ash replaced, but NEVER thinking it could happen... o_O

Truly, Arceus works in mysterious ways...

Though with all the production issues OLM's had the last couple of years, we probably should've seen something like this coming. :unsure:

And here's a burning question: Will this be one of those series that has a limited number of episodes a year like most anime do these days? Because it's pretty clear that OLM just can't handle the grind of an episode EVERY week almost the entire year...

Unless, of course, we get more breaks and clipshows. I get the feeling a lot of people don't want THAT again...<_<

And I'll give it a shot. I'm ALWAYS up for different takes on PokeWorld. Though if Rico turns out to be Rule 63 Ash...:confused_emoji:
 
Articfoxgamez said:
I doubt they will ignore all of the plot of SV. Even journeys covered the whole Eternatus and Rose thing from the end of SWSH.
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I'm only expecting the Team Star content to be covered, but they'll breeze through it in five episodes and remove all the depth and nuance from the story. I believe that the Gyms will be skipped over entirely, and I'm not sure about the titans.
 
Hidden Mew said:
I have thought about the possibility of Rica not being interested in continuing voicing Satoshi or wanting to take a break to do other roles or something like that since that would be one plausible reason why they would be replacing Ash. Unless she s is dealing with some health problems that haven't been made public yet, I don't know if that would be the case. She's only 54, is still active as both a voice actor and a singer and as far as I can tell, she really loves performing as Satoshi. She has been voicing Satoshi for twenty five years, but other voice actors have voiced other iconic characters even longer than that, so I doubt that it's a matter of looking out for her health barring anything that she could have mentioned privately.
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Rica loves play Satoshi and wants to continue playing as him as long as she can. I don't think that is the reason. Besides, Satoshi would eventually get a new voice actor just like the other Pokémon characters whose voice actors have long passed away.

I do think it was the fact that Ash was becoming more incompatible with the series' formula. His past keeps popping despite previous attempts to downplay it, and that past reminds new generation of kids that yes, Ash is actually more powerful and experienced as a trainer than he appears on the surface. And such a past creates incentive and expectation that Ash will climb higher and higher to become Pokémon Master, manifesting into Pokémon Leagues and the World Championship.

But such expectations clashes with the standard formula of starting off fresh with a new team and being the underdog of the story. Characters like Paul had to change their rivalry dynamic once it becomes clear Ash's past was showing up again and again (being retconned from an apparent new trainer with a mean attitude to a veteran player who knows the game). And the further Ash goes, the harder it is to keep him the underdog. People want Ash to succeed. Want him to become Pokémon Master. It's that desire that keeps Ash relevant for all these years. But it's also the reason why the traditional formula starting to strain and buckle over 25 years. Cyclical shows only work on paper but in practice, it usually leads to one of two outcomes:

1) A seasonal rot where the show will never recover and eventually ends on a whimper.

2) The show reboots, starts off fresh again with new characters (or new interpretations of old characters).

I think Rica Matsumoto and the show runners don't want Ash's reputation to be dragged into the muck and end on a whimper. He's too much of an iconic character to go out like that. They want to immortalize him and ensure he will go on in pop culture forever. But to do that, they need to end his main narrative arc, just like how Goku's narrative arc ends with him training Uub in the original Dragon Ball manga or how Naruto's narrative arc ends with him finally finding love with Hinata and starting a family. These characters will still have future stories to tell and I have no doubt there will be reboots and remakes in the future starring them. But their original narrative arcs are finished and now serve as the baseline of the characters themselves.

Ash's narrative arc finishing up would paradoxically allow him to be used in more future Pokémon stories than in the past. No longer bound to any story arc or formula, he could appear any time now and do things that were considered off limits for him. It would also allow writers and directors to take their time with Ash rather than just shoehorning him into stories just because he's a mandatory presence in the show. I believe that's what Rica and others were saying prior to this revelation. Ash will never truly leave the franchise, even if his narrative is concluded.
 
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