What are all of your thoughts on the recent theory going around that because Ash's name is based on a tree, the end of his journey might be him becoming a Pokémon professor
First of all that name thing I think is heavily unlikely simply coz his original name Satoshi isnt based on any tree
But for the concept of him becoming a Pokémon professor, I actually can see it in a way
See we already know for ash Pokémon Master is a concept he himself mostly came up with, the interviews with staff members heavily implies this. And he doesn't consider becoming the strongest trainer = Pokémon master
The end of journeys does set him up to be the most powerful trainer if he defeats Leon, which he likely will
So I like to think that being a Pokémon master isn't just being the best at battling, but it's also discovering and understanding all types of Pokémon and being able to form bonds with them. So as Ash gets older, him deciding to become a Pokémon professor like oak and kukui to focus on understanding pokemon more and forming bonds with them, as well as still battling with them from time to time as world champion, seems like a fitting ending for me.