Big Pokemon News: Protagonist Ash Ketchum retires after 25 Years

[Isadoorian]

Article Source: The Pokémon anime is ending Ash and Pikachu’s journey after 25 years | VGC

Article Transcript:
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The Pokémon Company said on Friday that it will air 11 final episodes of Ash and Pikachu’s journey before beginning a new chapter in the long-running series. The final arc of the anime will begin on January 13.

The new show, which will take place in the Paldea region from Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, will feature protagonists Riko and Roy. It is currently unknown when these episodes will air outside of Japan.

Short clips from the final episodes, which are viewable in the trailer above, appear to confirm that classic characters from early in the anime, such as Misty and Brock, will be returning for the eleven-episode arc, as well as some classic Pokémon.

The Pokémon anime first debuted in 1997 in Japan and in 1998 in the US. As of 2022, Ash and Pikachu have appeared in almost 1,300 episodes.

While other protagonists have been featured in spin-offs, this marks the end of a continuous storyline that will be over 25 years old when it concludes.
It was suspected that Ash’s story would come to an end when he finally achieved his goal of becoming the Pokémon League Champion earlier this year. This goal is also the end goal of all the Pokémon video games.

The Pokémon Company has said Ash’s long wait to reach his goal was intentional as it wanted to show young fans that it’s OK to lose and that the journey is the important part.

 

[Slime_Punk]

I didn't even know they made shows past the year 2000. That's awesome.

Also, true story: I share a name with one of the trainers. lol

 

[mysterionz]

He’s still ten after all these years..

 

[Luca]

Guess he finally caught them all…

 

[mysterionz]

Guess he finally caught them all…

What about him only being ten after 25 years??

 

[Aspychata]

Gotta catch them all.
My life's ambition.

 

[Au Naturel]

What about him only being ten after 25 years??

If it does not bother him, it does not bother me.

 

[VictorR]

I have to say I'm impressed by the series' longevity. I think I stopped following it after the third season.

 

[Misery]

The goofiest part of that series, to me, was that the tagline is "gotta catch 'em all" but Ash would catch Pokemon at a rate of like, 1 every 300 episodes. At least that's what I remember of it.

Though, I've gotta point out this part:

The Pokémon Company has said Ash’s long wait to reach his goal was intentional as it wanted to show young fans that it’s OK to lose and that the journey is the important part.

Yeah... I doubt that. Gonna take a wild guess and say that it took Ash 25 years because every single day of it made that company a LOT of money. Call it a hunch.

 

[Luca]

What about him only being ten after 25 years??

I'm also still ten, 18 years later. Lol

 

[Swansong]

99' me would have been somewhat saddened.

Some part of me kind of would like to watch the new series to see how it goes but honestly it'll be just Pokemon and I'm a couple of decades too old at this point.

It's a franchise perpetually aimed at children and it's the biggest one in the world, so like the games there's no incentive to change the overall formula at all.