This Pokemon Chart Compares All of Ash Ketchum’s Anime Designs

Pokemon Sword and Shield will be releasing on Nintendo Switch later this Fall, and like past releases, a new generation of the anime will kick start in order to celebrate it. But unlike previous eras of the anime, Pokemon will be getting a huge shake-up. Titled Pokemon: The Series, this new anime will see Ash make his return for the next era of the anime with a new design in tow. Ash has seen as many character design changes as he has Pokemon League attempts, but how far has he come really?

@cota_pika on Twitter put together a cool chart that catalogs each of Ash’s design changes from the very first iteration of the series all the way to his brand new design for the next era of the anime. Check it out below!

Each new era of the anime comes with its own take on Ash Ketchum, and some design changes have been better received than others. It began with some slight clothing changes, but the most notable change came with the X and Y generation which gave him lighter brown irises. Then his design was changed even more dramatically with the Sun and Moon iteration of the anime.

Pokemon Sun and Moon‘s anime initially drew a lot of criticism from fans as it offered a much looser take on the anime franchise, and many fans did not like its take on Ash himself. But it turned out this would be Ash’s best outing yet as he eventually went on to win his very first Pokemon League Championship. Then there’s the two recent Pokemon films which offered both a more nostalgic take on Ash and a dramatically different one as well.

But Ash’s new design will debut with Pokemon: The Series on November 17th. Tightening up Ash’s presentation overall while still offering a fresh take on the character, this new Ash look just might be a big hit. This groundbreaking shake-up for the series will not only feature the Galar region from Pokemon Sword and Shield, but will see Ash journey through previous regions in the franchise once more.

But for those who might have wanted this new series to move beyond Ash, they’ll sort of get their wish as the next series will be featuring dual protagonists. The new series will introduce Gou, designed by Pokemon character designer Ken Sugimori, who has a Scorbunny as his partner Pokemon and is also out to catch ’em all.