In the 1,232nd episode of thePokemonanimated series, Ash Ketchum died. Okay, he didn’tdiedie. But Ash and his partner Pikachudidwalk off-screen towards a rainbow, never to be seen again, which is as close as you can get to dying in the world of Pokemon.
Over the last two years the Pokemon series has continued on with a new cast of characters on a journey of their own, but the hole in our hearts left behind by Ash hasn’t, and may never be filled. In an attempt to refresh the aging anime and bring new life to the series, The Pokemon Company killed the only reason viewers have stuck around for decades (okay, notkilledkilled).
Pokemon Horizonshas its fans, but the series has suffered without Ash, and it’s time to bring the Pokemon Master back.
Pokemon: The New Class
What Pokemon did to Ash is what a lot of sitcoms do when they’ve been on the air long enough. When the show goes on too long, the cast eventually gets swapped out for fresher blood, but this only ever seems to alienate the most dedicated fans. That ’70s Show replaced Eric with Randy. Saved By The Bell and Scrubs tossed out the old cast and gave us a New Class, and even Blue’s Clues cut Steve for the younger, more follically gifted Joe.
Most of the time these kinds of refreshes are just last-ditch efforts to save a dying show, but sometimes, like in the case of Blue’s Clues, ER, and Doctor Who, rotating through protagonists just becomes part of the new formula.
There’s little reason to think the Pokemon anime is going to end anytime soon, but replacing Ash with Liko and Roy after nearly 30 years does put the series in a strange category all its own. There are two kinds when it comes to children’s anime: those with rotating protagonists likeBeybladeandHunter X Hunter, and those with a permanent protagonist likeYu-Gi-Oh!andDragon Ball.
For 27 years Pokemon was the latter, and now we don’t know what it is.
What Is Pokemon Without Ash?
Make no mistake, Ash was as synonymous with Pokemon as Yugi and Goku are to their shows, if not more so. Replacing Ash was more than a refresh between generations, it was a stunt designed to generate headlines and bring attention to the show. The ‘murder’ of Ash Ketchum was more than a narrative shake-up; it was a major upheaval to an institution of media that risked alienating some, if not most of the core fan base.
In this way, Ash’s departure is a lot like the 1993 DC Comics crossover event, The Death of Superman.
Okay, not murder murder.
Superman’s death was a spectacle. There had been other major deaths in comics before, like Jean Grey in 1980’s Dark Phoenix Saga, but The Death of Superman was the first comic book death that became a major media event. The story came at a time when comic speculation was at its peak, and DC aggressively marketed the event to comic stores and press.
Newspaper headlines were written about The Death Of Superman, which brought the story beyond the scope of contemporary comic readers, eliciting opinions from anyone and everyone who had a connection to the Man of Steel. The issues depicting Superman’s death and resurrection became the best–selling comics of 1992 and 1993.
It’s easy to see the parallels between Ash and Superman. Even those who haven’t watched the Pokemon anime in decades have strong feelings about Ash leaving the show. The change generated buzz for the series, and even headlines that drove renewed interest in the long–running series.
The Death And Rebirth Of Ash Ketchum
The Death of Superman was always intended to end with Superman’s resurrection. In the year he was absent, four other would-be heroes took up the Superman mantle, each inevitably proving why no one else is capable of filling the Man of Steel’s red leather boots. Pokemon: Horizons is not a story about living in a world without Ash, but it is still hard to believe this is the new status quo for Pokemon.
Next year is Pokemon’s 30th anniversary - a momentous event that can’t possibly be celebrated with Ash Ketchum. The ongoing Pokemon: Horizon’s second series will likely wrap up by the end of this year, and after that, we don’t know what’s next for the Pokemon anime.
When Ash left the show, some speculated that his journey may continue in the films, but we haven’t had a new Pokemon movie since 2020. Whether we get a new movie with Ash or he returns to the series, it seems likely we’ll see him again in 2026.
Whether that was always the plan as it was with Superman, or Pokemon’s way of apologizing for icing Ash in the first place, we may never know.
