March 24th: MPM11 - The Rainbow and the Pokémon Master!

[BlueLight]

Perhaps JN148 IS a time skip episode

Don't know though. Don't expect much as mentioned. There shouldn't be another war on the true endgame, please.

 

[Trey pokes]

There's an interesting theory that has been sitting at the back of my mind for a while, so I might as well share it here considering that the details of MPM11 have been released. Please note that this is just a personal theory, so the chance of it happening is still farfetch'd (and I don't want to leave anyone with unreal expectations).

I wonder if there might be one more episode in Ash's story after MPM11. This episode would not be a part of the MPM story arc, which mainly covers Ash's final journey with Misty/Brock and the discovery of what it means to be a Pokemon master. Instead, this episode would serve as an epilogue to PM2019 as a whole - using TPCi's official episode numbering, this would be PM2019 148 (or JN148).

There are a few reasons why I think this could potentially happen:

--- 1 ---
A few months ago, TPCi unintentionally shared a press release that stated that season 25 of the English dub, Ultimate Journeys, would have a total of 54 episodes, which would put the final episode at episode 148. At the time, no one believed it (for good reason since it made little sense without the benefit of hindsight, as no one would have expected Ash to leave the show). However, we now know that this was actually an accidental leak, with the consensus that the remaining episodes included the AU Ash special + the 11 episode MPM arc.

However, the AU Ash special is kind of an oddball here, since the English dub never includes special episodes as part of a season (with only one exception being the Xerneas/Yveltal special at the end of XYZ). TPCi is not considering the special as part of Journeys either, with the anime officially numbering MPM01-11 as PM2019 episodes 137 to 147. At least the XYZ special could be justified as a normal XYZ episode since it takes place in the same universe after the events of XYZ 47 - on the other hand, the recent Ash special is part of the movie universe, and I can't see the dub randomly inserting it as a standard episode of Ultimate Journeys, considering that they rarely include specials as part of a season in the first place. If they do dub it, it seems more likely they will keep it as a special episode, like all the other special episodes that have been dubbed outside that XYZ special. If we do not include the AU special, and MPM11 were indeed the final episode, then the total episode count of season 25 would be 53, one short of the 54 mentioned in the press release.

--- 2 ---
The airing of MPM11 on March 24th occurs the week before the anime's anniversary. This seems almost too perfect that I had initially expected MPM to include a one week break sometime during its airing... it would have been poetic for the eternal 10 year old to start his journey on April 1st and end it on March 31st. Plus, ending Ash's chapter of the anime during the anniversary week just makes sense. It also seems strange that two different TV guides indicate that Pokemon still has its timeslot reserved on March 31st (as per Gryphon4tw on page 127 of the PM2023 thread, although TV guides have been wrong before so this isn't 100% hard evidence). I reckon that the anime team should be aware of this as well, considering that they have had special episodes air on the anniversary week before (such as SM020/021 and PM2019 103/104).

--- 3 ---
The first episode of the new series is scheduled to air on April 14th, which feels kind of late if the previous series ends on March 24th. That would be a three week wait between the last episode of PM2019 and the first episode of PM2023 - while breaks tend to happen between series, the break between two new series has never been that long before. As datapoints, there was no break in Japan between the final OS episode and the first AG episode, a one week break between AG and DP, a one week break between DP and BW, a one week break between BW and XY, no break between XY and SM, and a one week break between SM and PM2019/JN.

That being said, none of this is hard evidence, but I just felt compelled to share. It is still most likely that MPM11 is the final episode of Ash's journey, since a lot of this is based on observations that could be easily explained with other reasons. Perhaps the initial goal was 54 episodes, but only 53 ended up being aired due to the production issues from last year. Perhaps the AU special will indeed be included as a 54th episode of season 25 in the English dub. Perhaps the TV guide was wrong, or the March 31st slot is reserved for a recap that summarizes Ash's journey over the past 26 years and not an entirely new episode. Perhaps the break between PM2019 and PM2023 is longer than normal because it is a completely new story. Who knows? But it's fun speculation at this point.

If this theorized 148th episode did exist, however, there are definitely several things that it could be about, considering that MPM11 seems to be a Pallet Town episode with Ash and Gary. That is an entirely different rabbit hole though, so I won't get into that too much in this post. Personally, I wouldn't mind an epilogue style episode that also involves the other companions as well, since their stories are also ending along with Ash - there are certainly some stories that could be told, if the writers choose to do so.

So, 1 of 2 ways: They dub the special as episode 43 and the miniseries as 44-54 or they dub the special as is and the miniseries counts as 43-53. That means they still need 1 more episode to hit the 54 mark, but what would it be? A secret 12th miniseries episode or maybe an episode that ties both it and say the movies together. Mind you movies 1-19 since 20 onwards is AU territory.

 

[Dephender]

. It also seems strange that two different TV guides indicate that Pokemon still has its timeslot reserved on March 31st (as per Gryphon4tw on page 127 of the PM2023 thread, although TV guides have been wrong before so this isn't 100% hard evidence).

These TV guides listing unnamed Pokemon episodes airing on any given date has never meant anything. It's not that they've "been wrong before", it's that they just list "Pokemon" as airing in the Pokemon slot if they don't know what’s airing. If they KNEW an episode was airing, they'd have listed its title.

 

[masdog]

These TV guides listing unnamed Pokemon episodes airing on any given date has never meant anything. It's not that they've "been wrong before", it's that they just list "Pokemon" as airing in the Pokemon slot if they don't know what’s airing. If they KNEW an episode was airing, they'd have listed its title.

Have they ever held back a Pokémon title from the TV Guide to prevent spoilers/surprise fans?

I’m pretty sure I’ve asked this question before.

 

[Dephender]

Have they ever held back a Pokémon title from the TV Guide to prevent spoilers/surprise fans?

I’m pretty sure I’ve asked this question before.

Yes, but that's more relevant with detailed episode guides for Pokemon as a whole. The guides we're talking about here are just standard listings of everything airing on every Japanese channel every day that month. These things don't really list the names of individual episodes of TV series all that often to begin with, the reason Japanese fans check them is because they SOMETIMES end up listing the name of an episode that hasn't been revealed elsewhere.
But them saying "Pokemon airs in the Pokemon timeslot" means nothing and never has.

 

[YelST]

Do we know if this is confirmed a 30 minute timeslot? I've been thinking for a while this could end up a feature length episode, one last goodbye.

quietly thinking of what I should do with work on this day, I did take the day off for Leon part 4, a day off for SAO and an afternoon off for Kaguya albeit the latter two in cinemas...

 

[Espeonite]

Serena will appear riding HO-OH in all her contest splendor, she and Ash will ride HO-OH under a rainbow emitting sparks and then Ash will finally realize his answer to his once rivals question, It was you all along that made me a Master Serena.

 

[Veedramon]

Ash will realize that he's been a pokemon master all along. Then Ho oh, almost on queue, will descend from the heavens in response to this declaration and offer the boy a ride on his back, with Ash and Pikachu jumping with joy at the opportunity.

Shortly after lift-off, Pikachu ends up falling off of Ho oh. He screams at the top of his lungs while descending, but Ho oh, with a sinister glare in its eyes, appears to completely ignore him and soars off into the distance. This was the last time that Pikachu (or anyone) saw Ash.

The mouse then decides to dedicate his life towards hunting down Ho oh and saving his buddy. He dons a captains hat and teams up with a battle-loving processor with an aeroplane and sets off!

 

[Pkjoan]

It's gonna end with Ash as a Pokemon master using Gengar to fight someone's Nidorino, and the screen fades to a GBC screen. Coming full circle.

 

[GohMaster!]

Ash will realize that he's been a pokemon master all along. Then Ho oh, almost on queue, will descend from the heavens in response to this declaration and offer the boy a ride on his back, with Ash and Pikachu jumping with joy at the opportunity.

Shortly after lift-off, Pikachu ends up falling off of Ho oh. He screams at the top of his lungs while descending, but Ho oh, with a sinister glare in its eyes, appears to completely ignore him and soars off into the distance. This was the last time that Pikachu (or anyone) saw Ash.

The mouse then decides to dedicate his life towards hunting down Ho oh and saving his buddy. He dons a captains hat and teams up with a battle-loving processor with an aeroplane and sets off!

This feels like a satoserefan fanfic.

 

[BlueFlameCharizard]

Serena will appear riding HO-OH in all her contest splendor, she and Ash will ride HO-OH under a rainbow emitting sparks and then Ash will finally realize his answer to his once rivals question, It was you all along that made me a Master Serena.

Ho-oh will just be there to leave a message in the sand for Ash.

"Ho-oH was here, Ash is still a loser"
Gary will then chuckle and mention that brings back memories when they both started and how nothing has really changed.

Just kidding lol. I wonder if they'll actually elaborate what a Pokemon Master actually is, or are they going to keep it vague for the purpose of still keeping people guessing. All just wild speculation at this point.

Maybe Ho-oh will take them to where becoming a master starters perhaps if it is a classification that can be obtained. You need guidance from a Legendary level Pokemon to begin the actual journey. Preferibly a specific legendary... Who knows...

 

[masdog]

Then Ho oh, almost on queue,

Ho-oh is waiting in line?

 

[Ragnarok4]

There's an interesting theory that has been sitting at the back of my mind for a while, so I might as well share it here considering that the details of MPM11 have been released. Please note that this is just a personal theory, so the chance of it happening is still farfetch'd (and I don't want to leave anyone with unreal expectations).

I wonder if there might be one more episode in Ash's story after MPM11. This episode would not be a part of the MPM story arc, which mainly covers Ash's final journey with Misty/Brock and the discovery of what it means to be a Pokemon master. Instead, this episode would serve as an epilogue to PM2019 as a whole - using TPCi's official episode numbering, this would be PM2019 148 (or JN148).

There are a few reasons why I think this could potentially happen:

--- 1 ---
A few months ago, TPCi unintentionally shared a press release that stated that season 25 of the English dub, Ultimate Journeys, would have a total of 54 episodes, which would put the final episode at episode 148. At the time, no one believed it (for good reason since it made little sense without the benefit of hindsight, as no one would have expected Ash to leave the show). However, we now know that this was actually an accidental leak, with the consensus that the remaining episodes included the AU Ash special + the 11 episode MPM arc.

However, the AU Ash special is kind of an oddball here, since the English dub never includes special episodes as part of a season (with only one exception being the Xerneas/Yveltal special at the end of XYZ). TPCi is not considering the special as part of Journeys either, with the anime officially numbering MPM01-11 as PM2019 episodes 137 to 147. At least the XYZ special could be justified as a normal XYZ episode since it takes place in the same universe after the events of XYZ 47 - on the other hand, the recent Ash special is part of the movie universe, and I can't see the dub randomly inserting it as a standard episode of Ultimate Journeys, considering that they rarely include specials as part of a season in the first place. If they do dub it, it seems more likely they will keep it as a special episode, like all the other special episodes that have been dubbed outside that XYZ special. If we do not include the AU special, and MPM11 were indeed the final episode, then the total episode count of season 25 would be 53, one short of the 54 mentioned in the press release.

--- 2 ---
The airing of MPM11 on March 24th occurs the week before the anime's anniversary. This seems almost too perfect that I had initially expected MPM to include a one week break sometime during its airing... it would have been poetic for the eternal 10 year old to start his journey on April 1st and end it on March 31st. Plus, ending Ash's chapter of the anime during the anniversary week just makes sense. It also seems strange that two different TV guides indicate that Pokemon still has its timeslot reserved on March 31st (as per Gryphon4tw on page 127 of the PM2023 thread, although TV guides have been wrong before so this isn't 100% hard evidence). I reckon that the anime team should be aware of this as well, considering that they have had special episodes air on the anniversary week before (such as SM020/021 and PM2019 103/104).

--- 3 ---
The first episode of the new series is scheduled to air on April 14th, which feels kind of late if the previous series ends on March 24th. That would be a three week wait between the last episode of PM2019 and the first episode of PM2023 - while breaks tend to happen between series, the break between two new series has never been that long before. As datapoints, there was no break in Japan between the final OS episode and the first AG episode, a one week break between AG and DP, a one week break between DP and BW, a one week break between BW and XY, no break between XY and SM, and a one week break between SM and PM2019/JN.

That being said, none of this is hard evidence, but I just felt compelled to share. It is still most likely that MPM11 is the final episode of Ash's journey, since a lot of this is based on observations that could be easily explained with other reasons. Perhaps the initial goal was 54 episodes, but only 53 ended up being aired due to the production issues from last year. Perhaps the AU special will indeed be included as a 54th episode of season 25 in the English dub. Perhaps the TV guide was wrong, or the March 31st slot is reserved for a recap that summarizes Ash's journey over the past 26 years and not an entirely new episode. Perhaps the break between PM2019 and PM2023 is longer than normal because it is a completely new story. Who knows? But it's fun speculation at this point.

If this theorized 148th episode did exist, however, there are definitely several things that it could be about, considering that MPM11 seems to be a Pallet Town episode with Ash and Gary. That is an entirely different rabbit hole though, so I won't get into that too much in this post. Personally, I wouldn't mind an epilogue style episode that also involves the other companions as well, since their stories are also ending along with Ash - there are certainly some stories that could be told, if the writers choose to do so.

welcome to the forum, i will be your guide

 

[Veedramon]

Ho-oh is waiting in line?

My bad, meant cue lol.

Ho-oh did get to Ash first, afterall

 

[kickachu]

Pokemon anime exec confirms Ash Ketchum will return

We're not ready to say goodbye to Ash Ketchum in the Pokemon Anime, but fear not, one exec has confirmed he'll be coming back soon.

www.ggrecon.com

Ash will be back one day

 

[BlueLight]

Pokemon anime exec confirms Ash Ketchum will return

We're not ready to say goodbye to Ash Ketchum in the Pokemon Anime, but fear not, one exec has confirmed he'll be coming back soon.

www.ggrecon.com

Ash will be back one day

This has been talked about before in this thread, despite his comment in Twitter, we're still unsure whether he'll come back as a recurring character in the new series.

 

[Pteranodonte]

Ash will realize that he's been a pokemon master all along. Then Ho oh, almost on queue, will descend from the heavens in response to this declaration and offer the boy a ride on his back, with Ash and Pikachu jumping with joy at the opportunity.

Shortly after lift-off, Pikachu ends up falling off of Ho oh. He screams at the top of his lungs while descending, but Ho oh, with a sinister glare in its eyes, appears to completely ignore him and soars off into the distance. This was the last time that Pikachu (or anyone) saw Ash.

The mouse then decides to dedicate his life towards hunting down Ho oh and saving his buddy. He dons a captains hat and teams up with a battle-loving processor with an aeroplane and sets off!

Still better than the "I was a Pokémon Master all along" crap we'll get.

 

[Dephender]

This has been talked about before in this thread, despite his comment in Twitter, we're still unsure whether he'll come back as a recurring character in the new series.

Yuyama said he THINKS we'll meet Satoshi again. Dogasu said Yuyama said he THINKS we'll meet Satoshi again. Why do these idiot "journalists" act like anyone CONFIRMED he'll be back? Can they not read?

 

[Blood Red]

This feels like a satoserefan fanfic.

This reads more like a standard fanfic plot to me

 

[Dark_King25]

Prediction: Tracey's old ass scyther ****s hoe-oh up