The first episode of the Pokémon anime, which featured 10-year-old Ash Ketchum and his ambition to become the most powerful Pokémon trainer, was released in April 1997. After 25 years, he has now realized his dream after defeating Leon, the current Pokémon Champion.
Even though Ash Ketchum has won a few Pokémon League competitions in the past, none of them matches the World Coronation Series. Ash Ketchum competed in the Pokémon World Championships, which decided among a variety of trainers and league champions from all prior series who was the most skilled Pokémon Trainer of all. Ash Ketchum won his first match against Steven Stone and his second against Cynthia to go to the finals.
The final matchup between Ash and Leon started off as a six-on-six contest, and the decisive round saw a one-on-one contest between Leon’s Charizard and Ash’s Pikachu. In episode 132 of Pokémon Journeys, after a competitive battle, Pikachu is momentarily knocked out, and that is when he gets a flashback to Ash’s other Pokémon throughout the series that he befriended, who are cheering him on. Pikachu gets his motivation back and ultimately defeats Leon’s Charizard.
Rika Matsumoto, who is the voice of Ash also had something to say on this special occasion:
It’s been twenty-five years since I’ve played Ash, but he’s always been a guy who has done his best during battles. He always does the best he can, I can’t handle the emotion. The boy I have seen since 1997 has grown up, and I also think of those who could no longer see him as a champion. One step away from becoming the Pokémon World Champion, both for children and adults, please continue to support Ash Ketchum until the end! ».
What’s Next For Ash? Is the Pokémon Journeys Anime Finished?
Now that Ash Ketchum has achieved his goal of becoming the best Pokemon trainer, it is quite natural that fans are thinking, “what’s next for him”. The series will likely follow 1 of the following 2 routes.
- Continue with the Ash Ketchum’s Adventures
- The series gets a new protagonist
The first option would be too boring as the anime writers will have to dumb down the duo of Pikachu and Ash to make the series competitive. The second option is looking more and more likely, according to the episode titles of the next 3 anime episodes.
- Project Mew
- Seize the Future! Pokémon!
- I’m Glad I Got to Meet You!!
No official synopsis of the upcoming episodes have been released yet, but judging from the title of episode 135, Ash and Pikachu’s journey looks more and more likely to be ending.
Pokémon! I’m Glad I Got to Meet You!! episode title gives the vibe of the Goodbye, and interestingly, the title is also related to the first episode of Pokemon, which was named Pokémon – I Choose You!
Although it is too early to tell, fans can expect a new protagonist to replace Ash. Pokemon is such a profitable franchise, so the production committee will definitely look to get more profit from an already established franchise. We will get more information in the upcoming weeks on whether Ash’s story will really end this time or if he will continue his adventure a little longer.
I will only watch the anime if ash is there ,i don’t want any new character to be there,it won’t be boring if they make a proper show with great fights and all
They can at least make Ash much older now since he became a Pokémon Master. Maybe, go back to his hometown and become a trainer for his own gym training young pokémon students while meeting up with his old friends Brock and Misty and Professor Oak. He also need to show off his trophy to his mom as well.