Pokemon Originally Wanted to Change Characters Every Few Years

The original Pokemon anime is something every kids from the '90s seems to know about. The franchise reached its peak during that time and wowed fans with its colorful monsters and Ash's adventures. But over in Japan, the show's original writer was left wondering how long the hero could last. As it turns out, Takeshi Shudo did not think Ash could cut it for long, and he hoped Pokemon would swap out main characters every few years.

Shudo wrote about those desires himself years ago on his personal blog. The writer maintained a well-known blog documenting his thoughts on Pokemon, and he recorded his thoughts on the anime's future before his death. Thanks to Dr. Lava, the Pokemon writer has had several entries translated into English, and one of them speaks to Shudo's interest in changing out leads.

"Everything I'm writing here now, they're just my own simple thoughts. After 3 or 4 years, a new Pokemon adventure with a new main hero should begin. With its own topics -- this new Pokemon should adapt to its times," Shudo explained.

"Ten years ago, there was some kid watching Pokemon. That kid's tastes will change as he gets older, and someday he'll be an adult bringing his own children to the cinema. Hopefully he'll watch Pokemon and consider it a movie fit for adults — that would make me very happy."

As you can see, Shudo was very interested in making Pokemon an anime which grew with fans. That is not what the show ended up being as Ash is still a young boy after more than 20 years on air. But if the show ever wanted to adopt this strategy, there are certainly fans who would be interested in seeing Ash as an older trainer!

These days, Ash has grown up quite a bit despite him being stuck in the body of a young teenager. The anime has moved to Pokemon Journeys, and this new series hopes to reinvent the anime. Ash is traveling with a single companion this time around, and the pair are going around to all sorts regions rather than just the Galar region. So far, fans are loving the show, and they are excited for its debut in the U.S. on Netflix starting this June.

Do you wish this plan had been approved...? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!