Pokémon's New Leads Are About to Do the One Thing the Anime Swore Ash Never Would

Pokémon Horizons

Pokémon Horizonsis finally doing something the anime has long rely off , and that ’s allowing time to pass for its characters . With Liko and Roy headed for a timeskip after just 90 episodes , what drive the producer to decide now was the ripe time , and why did it never fall out for Ash ?

Ash Ketchum was the lead of thePokémonanime for 25 seasons , yet throughout all that time , it was insisted thatAsh remained 10 years erstwhile , never agingor growing up in a discernible way . The context for Ash ’s anime was depict as " eternal early summer , " construct it so that time was n’t really passing for him or the world . It pretend the story into something of a summertime happy chance fantasy , a coming - of - long time history that never quite makes it to that next geezerhood . So , what led the anime to abandon that premiss with Liko and Roy , and allow them to be age up in a way that Ash never could be ?

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Pokémon’s Long-Time Showrunner Refused to Age Ash Up

Ash’s Lack of Aging Was Largely Up to One Man

In the GameFreak " Teraleak " last class , some interesting entropy about the anime was let on . One of the leaked text file contained a discussion about the Zanzibar copal and potentially phase Ash out . The idea was to exchange him with a character who " can maturate both mentally and physically over a three - year span . “The same leak also excuse that the reason Ash does n’t age is largely due to Kunihiko Yuyama , one of the lead theater director of thePokémonanime , who sees Ash as an " interminable adventurer " and enjoin that Ash " was n’t about achieving something . “Yuyama was also against letting Ash win in the Alola League .

Yuyama has been in charge of the Zanzibar copal for a retentive time ; he take over after Takeshi Shudo , the original creative thinker behind thePokémonanime . Yuyama and Shudo were faithful collaborator , having work on other projects together as well . Looking through the Teraleak documents regarding the anime , it can be seen that various people from GameFreak and the Pokémon Company had bestow up the idea of aging Ash up before , only to be strike down by Yuyama . However , Yuyama stepped down from his originative part forPokémon Horizons , opening the door for fresh fresh creatives to take charge .

Pokémon Horizons Was Built to Be Different From the Start

Pokémon Horizons Wanted to Distinguish Itself from What Came Before

With a unexampled creative staff in charge , it was much easier to make change to the recipe which had been develop for Ash . Since designing a protagonist who would observably change was patently a elemental concern , it makes good sense thatPokémon Horizonswould embrace the estimate of a timeskipas a means of show that physical modification . After all , timeskips have been highly successful in other manga and anime serial , such asNaruto , Bleach , Attack on Titan , and many more . It also makes it possible to have precipitous shift in the secret plan , as the going of clock time can change priorities .

Liko and , to a less extent , Roy , have already had a good deal of character development throughoutPokémon Horizons , covering the " grow mentally " part of the aforesaid quote , so eventually the time would have to get when the characters changed physically as well . The modification conveys well that this is a fresh chapter for the series , and that rooter can expect a very different story to start unfolding than what came before . Additionally , by removing the mentor character of Friede from this series , it forces Liko and Roy to begin growing and act as on their own , without direction from an elder .

How Have Fans Reacted to the Timeskip?

Fan Reaction Has Been Overwhelmingly Positive

So far , fans of thePokémonanime have been very receptive to the idea of a timeskip for Liko and Roy , although there is a degree of seismic disturbance that the Zanzibar copal would at long last embrace something it has forfend for so long . Many fan are excited to see if elderly protagonist will mean a darker , more serious tale , although that kind of change may be a bridge too far , at least for the second .

It remains to be seen just how much the timeskip will change the show . It could have a substantial impact on the tone of voice , reckon on what on the button happen with Friede , and older characters may be allowed to confront enceinte danger . On the other hand , the series is still principally aimed at kids , so who knows how much it will really change . Only the beginning ofPokémon Horizons ' new serial publication will reveal how the serial has change .