It has been 27 years since the first episode of Pokémon aired in Japan; Ash Ketchum retained his 10-year-old appearance despite traveling through countless regions and battling in multiple leagues.
Many fans are fascinated by the timeless world he lived in where aging didn’t apply to anyone seemingly. However, after a long time, Pokémon Horizons is now changing things by introducing a three-year time skip, with actual changes in the characters.
It is aging up its new protagonists, Liko and Roy. If they’ve grown, does this mean somewhere in the same world, Ash Ketchum might have too?
What the time skip means for Ash and the Pokémon universe
The Mega Voltage arc of Pokémon Horizons will mark a new phase in the series, with Liko and Roy appearing older and more mature. This means that Pokémon is finally shedding its embedded identity of never-aging children and is moving towards actual growth with time being a perspective they consider.
Time skips are not common in the Pokémon anime, this is so the viewers are not overtly aware that the time within is passing and the characters should be older.
This is what makes Liko and Roy growing up a very big deal. If time moved forward for Liko and Roy, then logically, considering that the Pokémon world is the same, somewhere, Ash Ketchum and his many friends must have aged as well.
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This has led to intense speculation among fans, the kids that have grown up watching Pokémon now realize that their childhood icon has not aged at all. But seeing that there is scope for growth in the current Pokémon franchise gives us some hope that we see the favorite characters from our childhood grow up and mature.
Although there is a certain innocence to the adventures of kids, traveling alone without their parents, enjoying the sights of the world, and exploring the mysteries, making it a bit more mature could be what the franchise needs.
Pokémon might be targeted at kids, but there is no doubt that fans of all ages watch Pokémon, including a lot of veteran adult fans. At the same time, Pokémon Horizons has focused on its new characters, and the possibility of reintroducing Ash at a later stage, perhaps one that has finally grown up, still remains quite large.
The dark theory that explains Ash’s agelessness
Some fans have long believed that Ash’s journey was leading to something bigger. There might be some hidden reason that Ash keeps moving from place to place, exploring, challenging himself, and training with new Pokémon.
He never ages and does not stay in a place too long, always wandering around. The fans have a dark theory that might ruin Pokémon for fans. Many believe that Ash Ketchum is in a coma and has been imagining himself traveling and exploring, training Pokémon, and meeting new companions.
This is why the season in the Pokémon series does not change; it is always early summer. The locations might change the temperature, but Ash being in a coma explains why he is stuck on an early summer day.
But with Pokémon opening up an opportunity to showcase grown character, it could be that he has truly aged, it could open the door for a future season featuring him as an experienced trainer.
Pokémon is anonymous with Ash Ketchum, so his returning official might be what is needed to bolster the fame of the series once again.
Pokémon is available to stream on Crunchyroll.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
