The Pokemon anime will still feature Ash, despite theories suggesting his arc was ending

Pokemon anime Ash and Pikachu
(Image credit: The Pokemon Company)

Ash's story will continue in the Pokemon anime, despite the fact it was thought his arc was done following recent world champion win. 

As reported by Anime Hunch, the general manager of the animation business at TV Tokyo, Toshiyuki Hiroaka, as well as the president of TV Tokyo, Ichiro Ishikawa, has said that Ash Ketchum will stay play a part in the Pokemon anime, regardless of his arc seemingly coming to an end after winning the Pokemon world championships a few weeks ago. 

"It has taken 25 years for Satoshi [Ash] to become the world champion, so it will be interesting to see what the future holds for him," said Hiroaka. "The adventures will continue, and we will be providing information on how Satoshi’s future story will unfold in the upcoming TV anime, so I hope you will enjoy it," the general manager revealed.

"I heard that fans from all over the world congratulated Satoshi for winning the championship this time," Ishikawa said. "We are very happy to see Satoshi’s achievement, and we would like to congratulate him as well," the Tokyo TV head added. 

If this is news to you, last month Ash Ketchum finally won his first Pokemon World Championship in the Pokemon Journeys: The Series anime. The win was heard around the world with several people cheering the fictional character on as the episode aired in Japan. Several fans got emotional over the win, partly because it took the 10-year-old kid 25 years to achieve his dream but also because it reminded many of their childhoods, especially when Ash's original team reunited in the episode.  

Speaking of the anime, this three-hour (unofficial) Pokemon Red anime has gone viral for good reason.

Hope Bellingham
News Writer

After studying Film Studies and Creative Writing at university, I was lucky enough to land a job as an intern at Player Two PR where I helped to release a number of indie titles. I then got even luckier when I became a Trainee News Writer at 12DOVE before being promoted to a fully-fledged News Writer after a year and a half of training.  My expertise lies in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, cozy indies, and The Last of Us, but especially in the Kingdom Hearts series. I'm also known to write about the odd Korean drama for the Entertainment team every now and then.