Pokémon show is moving away from Ash and Pikachu!

[Uncrowned Guard]

After a generation worth of shows, movies, and games, the series is moving away from the main protagonists of Ash and Pikachu that have become a true stable of the series.  Recently Pokémon made headlines when Ash finally won the World Series after decades of defeats.

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The Pokémon Company has just announced its next Pokémon anime series, and for the first time in 25 years, the main anime storyline won't feature Ash and Pikachu.

The new series, which premieres in 2023 following Pokémon Ultimate Journeys: The Series, will instead star dual protagonists named Liko and Roy (in the Japanese version). We'll also see featured the three Paldea starter Pokémon: Sprigatito, Fuecoco, and Quaxly.

From: https://www.ign.com/articles/the-pokemon-animes-next-series-ditches-ash-for-two-new-protagonists

Overall, I do think a change is needed as Ash has been the headline for 25 years now and a refresh would likely do more good than harm at this point.  Of course it may not overcome other issues facing the franchise as of late, but it different seeing a new face on the franchise.

[Kyng]

I think it's risky, since a lot of fans are likely to be very emotionally invested in Ash. But now that he's World Champion, there's nowhere for his his story to go from here.

Let's hope the new protagonists are good!

[Uncrowned Guard]

35 minutes ago, Kyng said:

Let's hope the new protagonists are good!

it does appear that they are doing a lot of nostalgic send offs and fan service based promotions for ending the era of Ash and moving on. So it sounds like the creators are well aware of how important Ash has become and at least are not just "throwing him off to the side".

[Heatman]

No matter what they do with the Pokémon franchise, Ash and Pikachu will always be my number one characters. I've been invested in them more than any other characters in Pokémon, so I can't simply wake up once day and have them replaced.