The Pokémon anime is preparing for Ash’s farewell next week and Japan is already promoting it, causing tears worldwide. With new protagonists coming to promote Scarlet and Violet’s world, fans everywhere will dearly miss Ash after over two decades of him being the lead.
A post from Anipoke Fandom reveals how Japan is getting ready for the final Ash episode. The Twitter user points out that a 90-second montage of Ash’s 25-year Pokémon journey has been released, getting us teary-eyed.
The beautiful montage has been placed everywhere in Japan, showing the public just how far Ash has come. From waking up late in Kanto to winning the World Championship, the Pokémon Master has won over millions of hearts.
It’s kind of funny seeing Japan get ready for this already since there’s still an episode coming out this week. That’s just how marketing works and we can’t say it’s not effective. Fans shouldn’t be too surprised if the finale ends up getting a huge rating when all is said and done.
On its part, the anime has been doing everything to make Ash’s last few episodes as emotional as possible. Brock and Misty were brought back recently, Butterfree returned to Ash with his shiny mate, even Team Rocket had the chance to say goodbye. Ash might not be the best anime protagonist ever but his successors have massive shoes to fill.
Despite Ash leaving the Pokémon anime soon, the franchise is doing just fine without him. The new anime is already going to have a new Pikachu, complete with a silly little hat. Pokémon Detective Pikachu 2 has found its Director, though we’re wondering how a sequel is even possible.
Video games are also doing pretty well, despite the rough shape some of them are in. Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are the fastest-selling exclusives on the Nintendo Switch, with both titles still selling well. DLC for both games was also announced, giving players new areas to explore and brand-new critters to catch.
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Fans will be able to catch (get it?) Ash’s final episode on Pokémon via a number of ways, including the Pokémon TV app. Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are readily available on Nintendo Switch.