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What's next for YOU in this franchise?

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Sceptilee

Well-Known Member
I understand where you're coming from, it's the same for me too. Pokemon in my childhood was always the anime, and to a letter extent the tcg that I stopped collecting a long time ago, since I didn't have a Nintendo console until the GBA much later. And Ash's journey was a big part of my school life all the way to college.

It's bittersweet but honestly, it's for the best. Ash achieved what he wanted and pulled off something none of us thought possible. After this peak, it could only have gone south and I think it's better to just get a new protagonist than keep Ash around when there's no stakes and could result in embarrassing losses when no one in Paldea probably comes close to Leon. It could also be a way to rekindle interest in the new generation who now get a series all to themselves rather than witnessing the latter years of Ash's journey. Just like Boruto is for Naruto, it's not the same as the original but I still enjoy it all the same although I watch it much more casually. It will probably be the same way for me here.
 

Platinum fan.

RetiredPokemonMaster
I'm in a different situation from most, because now I'm getting back into the franchise after a near seven years absence. This will be the first time in a long time I'll watch the premier of a Pokemon anime. I literally don't know what could happen as this is new territory for such a long running series. I'll have to find my next Parena/Serecham click for the new show.
 

Spider-Phoenix

#ChespinGang
As much as I love Ash, I'm fine with him leaving. 25+ years is an excellent streak specially for a show that had active quests and progression.

Granted, it might hit once we start getting a lot of episodes where he is nowhere to be seen but even then... I'm happy I got to see his closure. And it's not like he'll cease to exist forever as I can see he being revisited at some point whether through special, the AU or yet another reboot.

And even if he isn't, well, there's still episodes with him I haven't watched so... Might as well do those?

As for the new anime, I'm looking forward it and will stay watching.

A thing I really appreciate and I'm really, REALLY grateful for in the show is that it taught me about how change's good and we should embrace change as they let us evolve as people. Seeing people who grew bitter and limited because they blinded themselves with nostalgia makes me wonder I'd hate a version of myself who became like those.

So, really, I welcome Riko and Roy with open arms. Wish them a long and sucessful run.
 

satopi

Life doesn’t end, …it changes.
I’m watching the final 11 episodes of Ash and Pikachu’s journey (and whatever future media they star or are featured in) and I’m giving the new anime a chance. I’m hoping Riko is a swift battler with a lovable personality. If Pokémon 2023 is bad then I’m dropping it. If future anime projects interest me then I’ll watch it.

I’m forever grateful and appreciative of the years I’ve got to know and follow Ash and his friends.
 

Red and Blue

Well-Known Member
Definitely going to stick around for the epilogue series of course. As for the actual new series I'll certainly give it a chance. If I don't like it I can just drop it and move on with my life. Though I'm pretty sure I'll enjoy it even without Ash
 

Satoshi & Touko

Peanuts aren't just a nut.
For me, it's hoping that if Lika and Roy are permanent (meaning the anime doesn't go the route of having rotating protagonists with each Gen), that they go the Harry Potter route with developing them.

In other words, they actually age the characters with each new series, and by extension, the age of the target demographic progressively goes up in tune with the characters.

If they're not going to just outright throw the current target demographic in the trash, then this will be an acceptable alternative since we're beginning with a clean slate.
 

Observer

Mostly watching
I'm going to watch the last few episodes with Ash, and then watch the first episode, and the second if they do it back to back, of the new series as a passing of the torch moment. That's pretty much it.
 

Pokeshipper_

Well-Known Member
I'm going to watch the 11 episodes of Ash's final journey. I grew up with the anime Pokémon, with Ash, Misty and Brock, then with the other Ash companion and all their Pokémon. It will be really sad to say goodbye to Ash and Pikachu and I don't know how I could feel about it when it will really end. So basically I don't know what's next for me in the franchise, but for now I know I want to follow Ash in his final adventure, for one last time, once again.
 

UltimateNinja

Praying for the holy relics
I have hopes. If the next series is worth the hundreds of episode of time then I am happy, if not then there is new garbage I can give my not so humble opinion on to this board.

There's potential though. New characters and Ash gone? Hell yes.

And the final 11 episodes of Ash knowing thats it for him after the specials, yeah I am on.
 
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Observer

Mostly watching
As long as there are Pokémon they can have a scarecrow as a protagonist for all I care.
The most important thing for me as of now is seeing Ash's released mons (Pidgeot especially), then it can end and they can put whoever they want.

For that to happen they'll have to work out a deal with DC comics, and then there's the matter of which version to pick from

bbec49c51538a4c3f357ddd7368a9cc8.jpg


They might have to change the rating though.
 

Ignition

We are so back Zygardebros
For the franchise? I'll probably keep up with the games for the foreseeable future. I still play some spinoffs like Masters and Pokken occasionally. Stuff like the TCG & manga doesn't interest me.

As for the anime, I'm not sure. Definitely going to watch the next 11 episodes to see Ash's end. I've mentioned this in another thread but the anime is why I'm into the franchise now. But I've felt kind of burned out from it for awhile. I'm definitely curious on what they'll do now that Ash is gone but I'm not going to watch it just because of that. I am going to give it a chance to see if it keeps my interest since I was super close to dropping Journeys because the first 15 episodes were just bad. But I'm prepared to just move on. We'll see though.
 

Juaquin

The Chosen One
probably done with the anime i only watched for Ash and skipped most of gohs episodes this series

Game wise will probably play remakes or any arceus type games based in previous known regions ...i only got S/V because i didnt think Ash journey would end and by the time the writing was on the wall i was sold on them
 

Master Pikachu 11

Well-Known Member
I'm heartbroken.

For me, Pokemon is, first of all, Ash (and the anime). In fact, in my country, whenever you say Pokemon - people think of the anime and Ash & Pikachu. The anime was the reason I got interested in the franchise (which is a great example of how the anime served as a promotion to the games). New games and generations were just excuses, in my opinion, for another journey of Ash.

Naive as it sounds, I really never thought it's going to end. When JN was announced, nobody thought it's going to be Ash's last ride, we weren't prepared for that. In fact, only at the last minute we officially knew it's over. Looking back on JN, I think that they had to do much more things in order to make it the best finale.

So yeah, at some point it all felt the same - new region, new companions, same gyms, never going to win the league - and so on. But slowly, the writers broke some patterns - starting with BW. No Brock, TR doesn't have to be in every episode. Then, Ash doesn't have to travel across the region (SM), and he can win a league. Then he can travel in many regions at the same time and even not be in a whole episode(!). And so on...

While the anime serves as a promotion to the game, at some point it had its own "entity". Ash and Team Rocket, and we got emotional Pokemon bonding, great storylines - all those are things we never get to see in a game. While it kept being a promotion, it had its own theme at the same time. Games' ideas and characters had to be adjusted to the anime plot, and not the other way around.

This farewell wasn't satisfied enough, in my opinion, but then again, I don't think there is such one. I myself really don't know how my attitude towards the whole franchise is going to be. I'm one of those people that Ash for them is the glue that after 25 years still keeps me in this Pokemon universe.

What are your thoughts? And do you see yourselves still keeping interest in the anime or the whole franchise?

If you've come this far, thank you for reading my personal thoughts.
I agree with your thoughts and I felt the series could have done more as I wished that they could have done what they did in DP and Ash rotate his current team with his reserves just to keep his opponents guessing on what Pokémon he was going to use and allowed us to see him use his Pokémon again. I still wanted to see him catch more then the five that we got so we could see Ash utilize them in battle like Tyranitar.
Anyway, after these 11 episodes I am probably going to call it quits with the anime in general. I think it will be best for me to move on since Ash was one of the reasons that I stayed interested because I grew up watching him from the beginning so to finally see him achieve his goals will be my childhood dream come true.
 

Leonhart

Imagineer
I have no particular attachment to Satoshi or Pikachu, so I'm not really broken-hearted about their departure from the main anime. The spin-off mini-series featuring them might be worth watching just because Kasumi and Takeshi will appear, but I don't think I have it in me to invest my time in Liko and Roy's series.
 

Almighty Zard

He has returned.
As for the anime, I'm not sure. Definitely going to watch the next 11 episodes to see Ash's end. I've mentioned this in another thread but the anime is why I'm into the franchise now. But I've felt kind of burned out from it for awhile. I'm definitely curious on what they'll do now that Ash is gone but I'm not going to watch it just because of that. I am going to give it a chance to see if it keeps my interest since I was super close to dropping Journeys because the first 15 episodes were just bad. But I'm prepared to just move on. We'll see though.

I almost dropped the show in Jouto when Ash released his Charizard, since at the time I thought it was a stupid decision, but once I realized Charizard could return in late Jouto (which was around the time I found serebii) I was abit more understanding, but i'm gonna keep watching because I find the new characters and potential new story we're getting is interesting prospect, i've been with this show since it started and i'd be glad to continue that ride.

I do feel for those who don't want them (Ash, Pikachu and TR) to leave, but to me it should've been done sooner, because unlike most other anime's that were similar like Yu-gi-oh and Beyblade, Ash was NEVER allowed to succeed when it mattered, as in the regional leagues, I know people might dispute the OI and BF, but they clearly aren't the same as a regional league or the PWC in terms of importance in the anime.

The constant resets that started with Hoenn didn't help either, even if it seemed cool to see Ash raise new pokemon there were always issues with it, either through being under-developed like the jouto and unova teams or being four mon-squads like his hoenn, kalos and alola teams where 4 (one of which being pikachu) guys did most if not all of the work, to the point where your wondering if getting the remaining 2 were worth being caught at all. the Sinnoh and JN teams were the closest ones we had to balance, but even they had their issues.

Also for most of Ash's early teams, their experience gaining came at the expense of battling Team Rocket every episode, and that really made me wonder how one could get strong by beating the same pokemon all the time, since how can you grow by not battling more diverse opponents? Say what you will about JN's doing things off-screen for the most part, but perhaps by battling actual other trainers more than TR, for a change (since even when unova started the "let's stop putting them in every episode" they still continued to be the major source of Ash's training in unova, kalos and alola) could be why his JN's team turned out so strong.

I do think if they had let him go sooner the impact wouldn't have been as bad, but how long can you keep driving someone into the dirt, I'd rather him and Pikachu leave on a high note than get sent crashing down the mountain after what is clearly his biggest win. Because there's only so long you can see someone as a character, before they start seeming more like a soulless corpse doll that doesn't feel alive.

As for Team Rocket, I do wonder if their reckoning is near, since I would assume that if Ash and Pikachu are going, they might as well put an end to them finally.

Either way that's just how I feel about things moving on, and i'm gonna give the new series a shot hope it does well.
 
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