Ash is the one who got me into Pokémon. I first got interested by the books chronicling his original adventures in Kanto, and to this day I remember being an elementary schooler and seeing that original book, with “I choose you!” and a picture of our favorite duo on the cover, on the shelf at the library. It was that story that opened up this world for me. I never would’ve become a Pokémon fan otherwise.
This was around the time of Sinnoh League Victors, and I remember quickly catching up and following the climactic showdown between Ash and Paul in real time on the internet (although I didn’t watch it for a few years, long story). BW came and went, and I spent my attention more on the manga and the games, but I really got back into the anime with XY(Z). Some of my favorite high school memories were waking up early to watch the Kalos League (still salty about that loss) live. To this day, the closing scene of XYZ, where the journey is recapped, makes me tear up.
I’m now a senior in college, about to graduate in a month. And I can’t believe that tomorrow is going to be the last day that I’ll ever wake up to a new adventure featuring Ash and Pikachu. With everything that’s changed, that was something that always stayed the same. Every Friday (barring the hiatus during Covid), I’d always wake up to see either the episode or view the recap. And I loved following the threads here, both in the spoilers and the after-episode discussion forums. For me, Ash and Pikachu moving on is honestly one of the bigger “wow, things really are changing this year, aren’t they” moments. They might move on, and so must I, all three of us to our next adventure.
Thank you, Ash and Pikachu, for entertaining, inspiring, and always being there for me for 15 years. Thank you to everyone responsible for producing this show, both the original and the cub- for making something that I can rewatch a million times and eventually, show my children, so they can grow up with Ash and Pikachu like I did. And thank you, everyone, for being so awesome here. I’m excited to see where the new series goes and can’t wait to share the excitement of the new chapter of Pokémon with you all.
NEXT TIME- A NEW BEGINNING!