Many of you are wondering if Iris and Ciulan are leaving early and the possible consequences.
For the sake to have a bit of normality in this show, I hope that they leave in the last /second last episode of Best Wishes or that at least Cilan doesn't really leave. HOwever, BEst WIshes is so rare that this is the least possible option.
The precedents are that the information of sayonara was revealed at the end of March (very early) while the games are released in October. But the games are released worldwide and although in all the countries seems impossible to catch up I see the writers attempting to catch up with USA by airing early in Japan XY episodes. THe other two options is a 2-month break of the show in Japan or airing in Japan special episodes.
If both Iris and Cilan leave, where they leave and in what episode. First and all, the poster of the anime festa reeals all the islands where DA is placed meaning that there will be 0-2 episodes apart of the revealed ones. That gives the series to late July or early August to leave Iris and Cilan, 2 months before the games are released.
Remember that the series has 1 episode in April, 5 in May, 4 in June, 3 in July, 5 in August (needs to be cut 1 for Naruto) and 4 in September.
With this, there are 3 possible outcomes:
-They air the XY anime early to catch up internationally before the games came out (max. 2 months).
-The departure won't be until late-September when the gang is already in Kanto and it will be like normal.
And the last one: they leave Iris and Cilan early but the series will have episodes in Kanto until October. But remember that Ash isn't travelling alone for about 8 episodes. The possible problem is that Ash will have to be alone... or we can predict that the "I love Marine" and "I love Gothic" (succesors of I love Eevee) with releases in July and September are relevant to the anime like the BW Kids sets and Dawn and Brock are making a (re)cameo.
The latter (Brock) isn't really a problem because we are waiting a cameo of him and he don't have many reasons to come back he has less reasons). But the fomer (Dawn) doesn't really need another cameo and she has more reasons to come to re-joining the main cast (however and in theory Contest should be in the games) mainly because of her Piplup (that thing is loved in Japan and gives money to the writers).
When we could speculate that a older character are returning to the main cast?
Exactly, if Dawn reappears when Ash isn't travelling with at least Iris with a Gen VI pokemon in her team and there isn't any female character confirmed or she has like 15 years old.
But the writers are never bringing back older characters? In normal circunstances, clearly no. But in special circunstances, the writers can bring older characters to the show if the circunstances are right. And there's the precedent that TR are reverting back to the old personalities and in DA they appear to fully return their old personalities.
Some notes:
Misty and May leave too long ago to have reasons to rejoining the cast.
If Brock come back, Croagunk could return. If Dawn come back, Piplup will return. But they aren't bring back neither the rest of their teams or the past rivals.
Ash and Pikachu (almost) will go to XY. If Ash catches another pokemon, it probably will go. And Oshawott can return of XY and not for evolving into Dewott and more to being a hogger screentime.
Team Rocket are expect to revert to being funny and I see Wobbuffet back.
I see Eevee in the main cast of the XY anime.
If Cilan stays, Pansage could return. And if somehow Iris stays, Axew or Emolga could return.
).
