Pokemon is preparing to say goodbye to Ash Ketchum and say hello to two new anime trainers named Liko and Roy. While anime fans have seen the new characters, their Pokemon, and their allies previewed, there are still plenty of questions that are surrounding Ash’s replacements. While the time structure for the next season will take place once Pokemon: Aim To Be A Pokemon Master ends, we think that it’s time that the anime sees a time skip in its future.
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Time skips are nothing new to the anime world, with series like One Piece, Naruto, Dragon Ball, and countless others seeing their characters often age. Such is not the case for Ash Ketchum and his friends, as Pokemon has seen the main trainer remain an eternal ten-year-old for the entirety of his career so far. With Ash leaving the series, the executives have stated in the past that Ketchum might not be away from the series forever, and seeing Ketchum as either a teenager or a full-blown adult might make for the perfect way to see him re-introduced. This would also allow for allies and enemies to come back with brand new looks, and introduce plenty of new story elements and questions as to what they’ve been up to in previous years.
Ash’s World Champion Years
Of course, another major selling point to the idea of a time skip is being able to glimpse into how Ash’s career has been since becoming the Pokemon World Champion, thanks to his victory at the Masters 8 Tournament. We have only really witnessed a fraction of the possibilities as a part of Aim To Be A Pokemon Master, with the current season mostly focusing on Ash reuniting with both human and Pokemon friends from the past. How long could Ash remain world champion? If he loses the title, who would be able to defeat him, and which Pokemon would Ketchum add to his roster?
The running theory has been that should a time skip take place, Liko might in fact be Ash’s daughter, as the two seem to be connected thanks to a symbol they both wear on different pieces of attire. Whether this is the case or not, seeing Ash as a father would certainly add a new layer to the character that has headed up the series for over twenty years at this point. The story possibilities are endless when it comes to the idea of a Pokemon time skip and we’re crossing our fingers that this change is nigh.
