Right In The Childhood: Ash & Pikachu Will No Longer Feature In The Pokémon Animated Series

Ash and Pikachu Pokémon

In news that will hit you right in the childhood, fan-favourites Ash and Pikachu will no longer be appearing in the Pokémon anime. The announcement comes after 25 years of the dynamic duo playing the series’ protagonists. Big sads.

A quick warning: this article contains spoilers for the most recent season of Pokémon.

After the story broke, voice actor Sarah Natochenny who voiced Ash in the English language version of the show for 17 years published a heartfelt message to Pokémon fans across the world thanking them for their support.

So, where does this leave the narrative arc of the series?

Well, in the most recent season of Pokémon, Ash achieved his lifelong goal of becoming world champion. We simply must stan this absolute king.

After defeating Galar Champion Leon in the Masters Eight tournament, our hero could finally call himself the best there ever was as per the OG theme song.

Ash and Pikachu will conclude their time on the show with a run of 11 special episodes that will begin airing on January 13 as per Kotaku.

According to the publication, it’ll be a nostalgia-filled romp that will see the return of familiar faces such as Brock and Misty which we absolutely love.

As for the show’s future, the show’s creators have hinted there’ll be two new protagonists. Their names in the Japanese version of the show are rumoured to be Liko and Roy, however their English names are yet to be confirmed.

The only thing that has been posted to the official Pokémon social media accounts regarding the new characters is a few seconds of footage at the end of the farewell announcement for Ash and Pikachu. See below.

Lots to ponder. Lots to speculate about.

If you feel like you still haven’t had your nostalgia fix for the day, here’s the clip of Ash and Pikachu meeting for the very first time back in the Kanto region.

I’m not crying, you’re crying.

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