Pokemon Gives Fans Anime Flashbacks With Serena Easter Egg

Pokemon finally brought the fan favorite Serena back to the anime with the newest episode of Pokemon Journeys, and cemented her status as a favorite among fans with a pretty slick Easter Egg. The newest iteration of the franchise has seen Ash Ketchum and Goh exploring every region of the anime introduced so far, and previous episodes have seen Ash reunite with many familiar faces from the past. But as the episodes continued, there was still one major character that fans have been asking to get an update on after many of Ash’s other traveling companions made their way back to the anime in some capacity.

Pokemon Journeys‘ newest episode finally brought Serena back to the anime after six long years with Ash and Goh heading back to the Hoenn region, and while much of the episode they actually miss out on seeing one another again, there was actually a moment that revealed that traveling with Ash really had a huge impact on her. Speaking with Chloe about whether or not Chloe should take part in an upcoming Pokemon Contest, Serena actually quotes something Ash told her when she was at a crossroads herself! You can check out the comparison below as spotted by @AshandSerena on Twitter: 

Episode 105 of Pokemon Journeys brings Serena back to the anime as it’s revealed that she’s still making her way through the Pokemon Contests in the Hoenn region. When Chloe is scouted to take part in the next one, Serena ends up helping her decide what to do. Chloe was nervous about taking part, but Serena then tells her the same thing Ash had told her long ago. Depending on the translation, it basically amounts to telling Chloe to just do something and whether or not she succeeds, at least she’ll gain something important from the experience. 

It’s quite the subtle Easter Egg that further cements just how much Ash had meant to her during their time together, and unfortunately it’s not until the end of the episode that fans get to see Serena and Ash cross paths once more. It’s only for a brief time, but it goes to show that their paths might be totally different at the moment they still mean quite a lot to one another after all this time. But what do you think? Did you catch this callback from Serena in the newest episode? What did you think of her return to the anime? Let us know all of your thoughts about it in the comments! You can even reach out to me directly about all things animated and other cool stuff @Valdezology on Twitter!