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[Bragr]

The Pokemon anime has been a big deal for over 2 decades and was a big reason why Pokemon became what it is.

It made Pikachu one of the most recognizable mascots in gaming and children's TV, alongside Ash Ketchum.

Now, Ash and Pikachu are set to ride into the sunset, and the final episode with the duo will air on January 13th, 2023, as a new Pokemon series will take over as the main story branch.

-------------------------

The new duo:

 

[lachesis]

Whoa, that thousand mile stare of the new protagonists..!

I only watched a few episodes thanks to my kid, and was never into Pokemon per se, but kinda feel emotional about it. I mean, it's been literally a quarter century.

 

[Pagusas]

He’ll be back. Give it 2 seasons.

 

[Rockondevil]

Haven’t watched it since I was a kid but that’s pretty sad really. To me those two are the anime.

 

[TintoConCasera]

Loved the anime as a kid but couldn't give less of a fuck tbqh.

 

[Roufianos]

He reunited with Butterfree today, ZOMG!

 

[Pagusas]

He reunited with Butterfree today, ZOMG!

Maybe he'll find his old face and eyes too, shed the insanely ugly bulbous midget look they gave him.

 

[Fake]

RIP Pokemon anime...

 

[Lokaum D+]

Thats is a bold move

 

[Trogdor1123]

Probably fine. After he became world champ or whatever, his story was over.

 

[Heimdall_Xtreme]

The Pokemon anime has been a big deal for over 2 decades and was a big reason why Pokemon became what it is.

It made Pikachu one of the most recognizable mascots in gaming and children's TV, alongside Ash Ketchum.

Now, Ash and Pikachu are set to ride into the sunset, and the final episode with the duo will air on January 13th, 2023, as a new Pokemon series will take over as the main story branch.

-------------------------

The new duo:

It breaks my heart that an era has ended..

Whenever I see an image of a purple sunset, it gives me feeling, they are powerful and emotional illustrations.

 

[Saber]

They are giving him a bad impression, as if he gonna kinda retire since he just won the last league.

And in return they substitute him for 2 generic looking characters. Talk about not giving a fuck lmao

 

[anthony2690]

​

Ending leaked:


Ash Ketchum sat in his rocking chair, staring at the empty space in front of him. It had been so long since he had last donned his virtual reality headset and stepped into the world of Pokémon. He had spent years training and catching every creature he could, becoming one of the greatest trainers the world had ever known.
But now, Ash was an old man, his once-youthful face wrinkled and tired. He had grown tired of the constant battles and the never-ending quest to be the very best. He had retired from the world of Pokémon, content to live out the rest of his days in peace.
As he sat in his chair, Ash couldn't help but feel a twinge of sadness at the thought of all the adventures he had missed out on. He had spent so much of his life in the virtual world, it was hard to believe that it was all just a game.
But as he looked out the window at the real world, Ash knew that it was time to say goodbye to Pokémon. He stood up slowly, his joints creaking and groaning as he made his way to his bedroom. He reached for his virtual reality headset and gently lifted it from its stand, a sense of finality washing over him.
Ash held the headset in his hands for a moment, taking one last look at the device that had been his constant companion for so many years. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then placed the headset back on its stand and turned to leave the room.
As he walked out into the sunlight, Ash knew that he had made the right decision. It was time to move on from the world of Pokémon and embrace the adventures that the real world had to offer. He took a deep breath and smiled, ready to embark on the next chapter of his life.

Spoiler

I'm having too much fun with that chat ai thing

 

[Thaedolus]

I can only imagine what happened to that show after 25 years is akin to The Simpsons, but I can’t remember much except thinking Misty was cute from the like two episodes my friend convinced me to watch in sixth grade.

Oh he also rented the movie with Mewtwo and I watched that

 

[InterMusketeer]

Ash is an iconic character but also a bit of a blank slate. I'm not sure he's had any character development since the first two seasons or so. If the show got stale it's not because of Ash, but their unwillingness to do anything new with him. They can replace him, but if they don't change the structure of the show it's not gonna make much difference.

I haven't seen the show in over a decade though. Kinda interested in his last episodes and the new MC as well, just to see the passing of the torch.

 

[Pagusas]

would be awesome if the show takes a serious tone shift, and we do a time jump to and adult Ash, with Pikachu slowing losing out to his older age. Ash has to say goodbye to his old friend, through a long montage, and then Pikachu closing his eyes and fading to the after life. The last few minutes can be Ash telling his daughter and son about his travels and preparing them for the start of their adventues, thus launching the new series. Would be a nice way to teach children about saying goodbye and death, and the cycle of life.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

Replacing Pikachu is kind of weird since he's long been the mascot of the whole franchise.

I would have expected new characters to still have a Pikachu, just a different one.

 

[ManaByte]

Outrage culture war YouTubers:

 

[Elysion]

It‘s kinda weird that they‘re retiring Ash now, after 25 years, when they could’ve (and probably should’ve) done it after the end of the Johto arc/gen 2, which was twenty years ago. Each new gen after that should’ve had a new protagonist (like Digimon or Yugioh do it), with Ash maybe appearing once in a while in a cameo, as an idol the protagonists look up to. But replacing Ash now, after he was the eternally 10-year-old protagonist for the last 25 years, is a bit like replacing Homer Simpson, and having Marge marry another dude lol. After all this time, Ash is no longer just a seasonal character, he is the character of the franchise, and his replacement can never fill those shoes.

And I’ve got to say, those new characters look generic as hell. The Pokemon anime actually used to have a very unique look to it, but if it wasn’t for the three Pokemon in that picture (or the boy holding a Pokeball), it would be hard to tell that those characters belong in the Pokemon franchise.

 

[OmegaSpirit32X]

Should've done it a lot earlier, Diamond/Pearl was the height of his character and I feel like they should've followed the example of Yu-Gi-Oh! And Digimon. This being said I feel more bad about Team Rocket, they were the best part. Also I hate the new protags, I agree with how generic they look, although it's not as bad as the newer Yu-Gi-Oh's

 

[Victor Omega]

i just want a 30 year time skip of a 40 year old Ash passingthe torch to a younger protaganist.

 

[Fbh]

Guess it was about time though you never know if he'll just be back before too long. Like when they tried to focus DBZ on Gohan after the Cell Saga.

I can only imagine what happened to that show after 25 years is akin to The Simpsons, but I can’t remember much except thinking Misty was cute from the like two episodes my friend convinced me to watch in sixth grade.

Oh he also rented the movie with Mewtwo and I watched that

The anime was always kinda boring IMO, even as a kid I quickly grew tired of it because unlike DBZ or Digimon it felt like nothing happened, you could tell they'd just infinitely stretch it out with random "adventure of the week" episodes.
Digimon with actual story arcs and actual endings was much better.

The only good thin about the anime was the OST


Somehow even 20 years later the games still haven caught up in the music department.

 

[TheDreadLord]

At this point they should have just kept him as the protagonist. This is probably the start of the franchise downfall outside games.

 

[Werewolf Jones]

At this point they should have just kept him as the protagonist. This is probably the start of the franchise downfall outside games.

That happened once the games switched to 3D models which was almost a decade ago but the anime in terms of animation quality only got BETTER.

 

[sankt-Antonio]

Oh, they doing a lesbian couple? Okay.

 

[theclaw135]

At this point they should have just kept him as the protagonist. This is probably the start of the franchise downfall outside games.

Don't be put off by the poor impression left by Best Wishes. Since XY, the anime has been superior to the games.

 

[chromhound]

About damn time

 

[The_hunter]

11 episodes finale.

 

[TheInfamousKira]

Ash was pretty boring. And strangely enough, sucked at his entire life passion.

At the same time

The new leads look like Snowflake and Safespace.

 

[Heimdall_Xtreme]

Despite the fact that I watched the series very little.

I'm going to cry in the last chapter, it marked the childhood stage of gamers a lot.

 

[MAtgS]

11 episodes, plenty of time to finally defeat Team Rocket, find that ho-oh, and bang Misty.

 

[BlackTron]

I used to get up early in the morning to catch the show. I have very fond memories of the early episodes, but lost interest in where it was going an eternity ago and didn't even know Ash was still the guy until now.

Probably a terrible idea for the brand but hey it's Pokemon. Terrible ideas making bank anyway defines the IP.

 

[RaptorGTA]

Not sure if this change is gonna last. Ash and Pikachu are the face of Pokemon. I mean, you gotta change it up..but idk if this impact interest.

 

[H4ze]

I haven't seen the show in ages, but I still feel a bit sad. Pokemon was huge when I was a kid (first season is still the goat).
I have so many fond memorys with Pokemon, good times.

 

[DGrayson]

Its cool that it lasted so long. I remember watching it after high school with my sisters at home. Now my son who is 6 watches the exact same episodes on Netflix.

 

[Roufianos]

Haven't seen the anime for decades but tuned in to these final 11 episodes. Seeing Squirtle, Lapras and Pidgeot again was . Can see why they're ending this though, really seem to be out of ideas.

 

[Kenpachii]

Reboot it into a gritty series for older people.

 

[AJUMP23]

Ash discovered girls.

 

[The Sum of Zero]

What are Guel and Nika doing there?

 

[GMCamaro]

Do they at least have punny last names that relate to capturing Pokémon?

 

[NecrosaroIII]

Its cool that it lasted so long. I remember watching it after high school with my sisters at home. Now my son who is 6 watches the exact same episodes on Netflix.

I was in elementary school when it started. I'm 35 now

 

[NoLootBoxDev]

 

[Coconutt]

Ash discovered girls.