I’m not crying, you’re crying.
After twenty-five years, plenty of different companions, appearing in some of the best Pokemon series, and tons of movies that have made childhood dreams come true, Pokemon is doing the unthinkable, something we never thought would happen – they’re replacing Ash and Pikachu as the main protagonists of the series.
While this isn’t that surprising, considering Ash finally succeeded in winning the Pokemon Championship, where he truly became “the best that no one ever was,” it’s still a pretty big shocker to both '90s and '00s babies (such as myself) to see the beloved child with his electric-type Pokemon finally step away. However, the new protagonists have already been announced for the next series, via a special announcement video posted to Pokemon’s Twitter. Pokemon's press release states that their names are Liko and Roy.
It won’t be long before we actually end up meeting these two new trainers, but not much else is known. So until we get to know exactly who these characters are, I have my theories – and I just have to share them.
They’ll End Up Being Ash’s Children
This is certainly one of the big theories that is circulating around the internet. Ever since the first look was released, fans have been trying to figure out how these two could possibly be related to the former main character, Ash, and honestly, this is a theory I could certainly see.
While some might think that they don’t really look entirely like Ash, that’s not that big of a deal, as Ash (in my opinion) looks nothing like his mother in the series (and to be honest, we still don’t know who his father is, despite all those fun theories out there). So these could very well end up being Ash’s children.
Another key thing that sort of makes me believe this is if you look in the girl’s hair, she has a very familiar looking hair clip – one that looks exactly like the logo that’s on Ash’s cap in the Indigo series from the very beginning of the anime. This could just be a fun little callback, but it could also mean almost a symbolic passing of the torch. Who knows?
They’ll Be Ash’s Apprentices
As I said before, Ash finally became the Champion in the most recent anime series, after literal years of people waiting for him to become the very best like no one ever was – even though in the show, he’s still a kid. And everyone literally hasn’t aged. Which is why I think there could be a time jump in this next series, and Ash might have become almost a teacher of sorts, and the kids are his apprentices.
I don’t think that Ash will end up becoming a professor like Professor Oak, but I do think that he’ll end up becoming a Pokemon Master and he takes it upon himself to go across the world to train new Pokemon trainers. It would certainly be a fun opportunity to not only show him as an adult, but to keep him a part of the series – and instead, have him as background character like Professor Oak while focusing on the new characters.
They’re Actually Ash’s Friends That Are Introduced In The Last Episodes
If anyone notices in the new picture, the Pokemon that are featured are most certainly not from the original 151 – or any Pokemon really that long-time fans would recognize. Instead, they are actually the new starters from the latest Pokemon game – Pokemon Scarlet and Pokemon Violet, two games that are a great Pokemon gift – despite the game’s glitches.
The starters are Sprigatito, Fuecoco, and Quaxly, whom are featured in the new region, Paldea, an open world adventure for players everywhere. If you can recall, there’s going to be some final episodes that are going to tie up Ash’s journey in the world of Pokemon, and for all we know, they could end up getting introduced during or toward the end of those episodes.
They could end up being close friends, or just new rivals, or anything else, and then there’s no need for Ash to be aged up and the story just passes onto them. It would certainly be something fun.
They’ll Be Ash’s Opponents At A Competition
Something else that also happens a lot in Pokemon is traveling. Ash, and whatever companion he just so happens to have, are always traveling, from one region to the next. So if I'm being honest, I can fully expect them to travel to Paldea, of all places.
I mean, it’s a beautiful map that we are given in the game, with plenty of diverse areas and some really cool cities. I could see Ash traveling there for a competition at the very end of the series and facing these guys – maybe as new trainers, who are looking to test out their new Pokemon and become the next big trainers.
I could see them losing terribly, because obviously Ash is the better trainer (since he literally won a championship), but it would be a great way to close off his character and to move onto the next big partnership. We don’t know if these new characters are siblings, friends, or allies. All we really know is that they're the new protagonists – so they could end up being competitors for Ash in the very end.
Or They Won’t Be Connected To Ash At All
Or, you know, they could just not be connected to Ash at all.
A part of me also believes this completely, that these two are going to have nothing in common with Ash. While I could love for there to be some sort of proper way to hand off the series from one person to the next, I could totally see The Pokemon Company doing this.
I could see Ash just walking off into the sunset with Pikachu and not turning back, and then the next time the new show comes out, these characters have completely different backstories that have nothing to do with Ash.
Would that sort of disappoint me? To an extent, but I think that’s just my nostalgia talking. I grew up with Ash and Pikachu and it feels strange to think of them gone from the anime that really started it all for me, and for them to suddenly be replaced by a new set of protagonists for us to care about. A quick way for fans to care would be to have them have some sort of connection to Ash.
But would that stop me from enjoying it? Nah. I’d still love it, because at the end of the day, it really is all about the journey, and while Ash might have been my journey as a kid, I could already see the two new characters ending up being another kid’s journey to watch now. And soon enough, it’ll be their faces plastered all over Pokemon merchandise.
While I’m going to be sad that Ash and Pikachu are leaving, I do have hope for the rest of the franchise – and I can’t wait to see what comes next. All I ask is that I see Jessie and James again before it’s all done.
