This creates expectations of the viewers (to watch ALL 1200+ episodes).
This also makes the start of every new region very jarring (Pikachu loses to level 6 starters?!).
New MCs solve these issues.
Pokemon Horizons: The Series will finally reach the Western audiences this December. The series will bring us to Paldea — the region of the latest mainline twin Pokemon games, Pokemon Scarlet and Pokemon Violet. Though Pokemon anime fans are also in for something far more unprecedented than a tie-in for an entirely new place and cast — this will be the first mainline Pokemon anime that doesn’t feature Ash Ketchum (Satoshi) as the main character.
And we strongly believe that this change is good for the series.
Good ‘ol days
Look, we’ve got nothing against Ash himself. He’s a kind-hearted, yet competitive critter wrangler, a decent enough trainer to finally become a Champion (after what, a dozen tries?) and he has a curious, upbeat disposition that made him a good PoV for us viewers.
In fact, there are only a few things that did not change in the Pokemon anime over the years: Ash, his trusted pal Pikachu, and our favorite bumbling trio of Jesse, James and Meowth. Misty and Brock went their own separate ways back in Johto, and the rest of the cast came and went as our protagonist traveled around the world.
Ash, Pikachu and Team Rocket were a comfortable status quo for the series — though perhaps it’s due time to bring in some changes.
Saying our goodbyes
Look, Ash had been the main character since 1997. That’s 26 — almost 27 years by now. The 8-12 years old kids that watched his adventures from the start are pushing their thirties by now, and even if some of them are still watching — Pokemon’ target audience is still not them, but the 8-12 y.o. kids of today.
Having the same main character travel through different regions creates expectations. If you want to know everything about said main character, you have to start from the beginning — and the show has over 1200 episodes by now. Moreover, all those old, epic adventures in which Ash fought for championships and battled against mythical opponents, made the start of every new adventure feel jarring — it’s not very interesting to have Pikachu steamroll everything in its path, and so it often loses early on. Including losing to regional starters on Day 1.
Saying goodbye to Ash and introducing a new main character (or two) allows the anime to solve all of these issues. It’s not another adventure of a boy who survived encounters with Pokemon God Arceus, Pokemon Satan Girantina and Gary “Smell You Later” Oak — it’s a brand new adventure for brand new protagonists at the start of their own Pokemon journeys, and you can start watching them from the very beginning with the first episode of Pokemon Horizons.
Perhaps, Pokemon will finally take note from Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure (Jojo no Kimyou na Bouken), and feature a new MC for every region from now on to reset the board. Maybe the new MCs introduced in Horizons will replace Ash as the perpetual protagonists — we’ll see. For now, we can simply enjoy this new leaf in our Pokemon adventures.
C’mon, Ash. Let these new kids catch ‘em all.
Summary:
Ash had been the main character since 1997.
This creates expectations of the viewers (to watch ALL 1200+ episodes).
This also makes the start of every new region very jarring (Pikachu loses to level 6 starters?!).
New MCs solve these issues.
Pokemon Horizons: The Series will finally reach the Western audiences this December. The series will bring us to Paldea — the region of the latest mainline twin Pokemon games, Pokemon Scarlet and Pokemon Violet. Though Pokemon anime fans are also in for something far more unprecedented than a tie-in for an entirely new place and cast — this will be the first mainline Pokemon anime that doesn’t feature Ash Ketchum (Satoshi) as the main character.
And we strongly believe that this change is good for the series.
Good ‘ol days
Look, we’ve got nothing against Ash himself. He’s a kind-hearted, yet competitive critter wrangler, a decent enough trainer to finally become a Champion (after what, a dozen tries?) and he has a curious, upbeat disposition that made him a good PoV for us viewers.
In fact, there are only a few things that did not change in the Pokemon anime over the years: Ash, his trusted pal Pikachu, and our favorite bumbling trio of Jesse, James and Meowth. Misty and Brock went their own separate ways back in Johto, and the rest of the cast came and went as our protagonist traveled around the world.
Ash, Pikachu and Team Rocket were a comfortable status quo for the series — though perhaps it’s due time to bring in some changes.
Saying our goodbyes
Look, Ash had been the main character since 1997. That’s 26 — almost 27 years by now. The 8-12 years old kids that watched his adventures from the start are pushing their thirties by now, and even if some of them are still watching — Pokemon’ target audience is still not them, but the 8-12 y.o. kids of today.
Having the same main character travel through different regions creates expectations. If you want to know everything about said main character, you have to start from the beginning — and the show has over 1200 episodes by now. Moreover, all those old, epic adventures in which Ash fought for championships and battled against mythical opponents, made the start of every new adventure feel jarring — it’s not very interesting to have Pikachu steamroll everything in its path, and so it often loses early on. Including losing to regional starters on Day 1.
Saying goodbye to Ash and introducing a new main character (or two) allows the anime to solve all of these issues. It’s not another adventure of a boy who survived encounters with Pokemon God Arceus, Pokemon Satan Girantina and Gary “Smell You Later” Oak — it’s a brand new adventure for brand new protagonists at the start of their own Pokemon journeys, and you can start watching them from the very beginning with the first episode of Pokemon Horizons.
Perhaps, Pokemon will finally take note from Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure (Jojo no Kimyou na Bouken), and feature a new MC for every region from now on to reset the board. Maybe the new MCs introduced in Horizons will replace Ash as the perpetual protagonists — we’ll see. For now, we can simply enjoy this new leaf in our Pokemon adventures.
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