While growing up, the Pokemon anime was something
that was close to many of our hearts and for
many of us, the anime is what served as the
entry point to the rest of the franchise.
To this day the Pokemon anime continues to
live on, and while it may not be the way it
was 20 years ago, it’s still close to the
hearts of many Pokemon fans today, old and
young.
As simple as the show may be, in it’s own
unique way it taught us various life lessons,
mainly about friendship and coexistence, and
while the anime continues to teach people
the true value of friendship, the anime was
once planned to end in a very unexpected way.
It was an ending that symbolized the heart
of the Pokemon anime, all the while revealing
the dark truth of Ash’s Pokemon journey.
What’s going on guys?!
HybridHero here!
Yes, you heard right.
At one point, the Pokemon anime was in fact
going to end, as chief writer of the Pokemon
anime, the late Takeshi Shudo, had come up
with a plan for the ending.
Most of you will know that the Pokemon franchise
was actually supposed to conclude as a whole
after Pokemon Gold and Silver and everything
that happened in the Johto region.
In fact if you seen the first ever japanese
teaser trailer for the first Pokemon movie
Mewtwo Strikes Back, you’d know that it
looked as if an ending was planned for the
series all the way back then.
As the teaser trailer shows an adult Misty
and another woman taking a little girl who
is presumably the daughter of Ash and Misty.
And considering that Mewtwo Strikes Back introduced
a bunch of new Johto Pokemon in the movie
and that we’ve never seen an adult version
of Misty before…
It definitely looked like this trailer hinted
at the future ending of the series which presumably
would’ve had Ash and Misty end up as a couple,
have a daughter together, and end of the series
with that.
But thanks to the popularity of the franchise,
the games and anime continue to live on today.
For various different reasons however, Takeshi
Shudo decided to step down from being the
cheif writer of the anime series after the
conclusion of the Johto arc, so for those
of you that argue that our adventures with
Ash, Misty, and Brock, only seem so great
cause of nostalgia might want to reconsider
things as it may have just been Takeshi Shudo’s
writing which caused us to love that part
of the anime so much.
In fact the episodes that were written by
him are some of my personal favorites.
The only connections that I can find with
Shudo’s episodes in comparison to the rest
of the episodes are that Shudo just tends
to make more darker and emotional Pokemon
episodes.
All of the episodes written by him have at
least one very memorable and emotional moment
and thats all because of the darker tone used
in parts of the episode, or the episode as
a whole.
Something that we never really saw in a kid’s
show back then, but it was something that
helped us empathize with all our favorite
characters, and even learn certain life lessons
from the events that they went through.
In Shudo’s online blogs he revealed the
final episode that he had planned for the
series even had what is essentially the plot
of Pokemon Black and White ready in anime
form, as a bunch of captured Pokemon had rebelled
against their trainers, as they believed that
they were being enslaved by them.
And the leader of this group was none other
than Pikachu who would’ve had to end up
fighting Ash, and Meowth would’ve helped
save the day as he would’ve served as the
bridge between both humans and Pokemon since
he can speak both of their languages.
Again, this episode would’ve addressed a
question that many parents and kids all had
regarding animal cruelty and slavery within
the franchise, which would later be answered
with Pokemon Black and White.
I imagine that if this episode was completed
and approved of, the episode would’ve shown
that being a Pokemon trainer isn’t about
enslaving Pokemon and using them as tools
or weapons, but a way of coexisting and forming
friendships between humans and Pokemon.
A way that show how they can both live together,
love each other, and help one another.
While this would’ve been cool for a final
episode, Takeshi Shudo had a completely different
plan for the ending of this same episode,
and as a result…
For the anime as a whole.
It IS an ending that emphasized friendship
and coexistence, but in a much more darker
tone.
In 0
fact…
It’s one that’s actually somewhat similar
to the famous Ash’s coma theory...
“Months and years having passed, Satoshi,
who has become an old man, suddenly remembers
the old days.
It is an embellished memory of childhood.
A fantasy...The imaginary creatures, Pokémon,
and their adventure.
Friendship.
Coexistence.
That is, in the real human world, something
Satoshi could not possibly encounter.
However, somewhere in childhood, surely Pikachu
and the other Pokémon are there, Musashi
and Kojirou are there, Mewtwo is there...
Not just that; everyone Satoshi encountered
on his childhood adventure can be seen in
the elderly Satoshi’s eyes.
Satoshi hears his mother’s voice in his
ear.
“Come along, hurry to bed.
You set off on your journey in the morning,
don’t you?”
The next morning, woken up by his mother,
Satoshi, once again in the form of a young
boy, energetically rushes out of the house.
This is a search “Not to catch Pokémon,
not a journey to become a Pokémon Master,
but to discover what I am”, a journey with
the goal of coexisting with others.”
Man…
I always knew that Pokemon touched on some
deeper and darker topics, but if they went
this route, this ending would’ve taken the
crown.
A long awaited ending to our favorite childhood
journey, only to find out that the journey
was never real in the first place.
Can you imagine what it would’ve been like?
Watching all those episodes as kid, caring
about all your favorite characters and creatures,
going on this journey with them…
Only to find out that it was just an old mans
way of learning who he is and how to live
alongside other people?
I mean sure, the journey NEVER really was
real to begin with as it IS just a tv show.
But as a child, there were times where the
Pokemon anime felt more real, than real!
We were so invested with all these characters
and the story as a whole, that at one point,
the journey started to become our own journey.
The story felt so relatable, and taught us
so much, that it was almost as if we were
growing alongside the story.
And that’s why despite how dark it may be…
I think this would’ve been a great, maybe
even perfect ending to the Pokemon anime.
Like I said, the journey pretty much became
our own journey.
A journey that taught us the meaning of friendship,
and co-existence.
And if you really think about it…
This is an ending that's made to be completely
relatable to any fan of the show.
A major part of the appeal of the show is
how well everyone is able to coexist with
one another.
Seeing Ash and his friends work alongside
other people and Pokemon is always a primary
focus of the show.
These characters always tried to understand
one another before looking to be understood,
and because of that they were able to make
bonds so easily, and were able to work with
everyone the met so effortlessly.
And regardless of your social capabilities,
at one point or another, this show without
doubt inspired you to make some kind of connection
to the people around you.
And for some of you…
It may have actually been the reason as to
why you have some of the friends you do right
now.
Because ultimately thats what the Pokemon
series as a whole is all about!
Pokemon was never about catching monsters
and using them for battle.
The series at it’s core was always about
friendship and meeting new people!
That’s why we have all these communication
features.
We have two different versions of the games
so that we can go outside and make a new friend
on the playground.
We have the GTS so that we’re able to create
bonds all over the world, and help each other
across the globe.
We have the Pokemon Community so that we can
all come together and share our experiences
of a franchise we love and support each other
while doing so.
This series IS about friendship and coexistence,
not just the anime.
But this ending for the anime would’ve encapsulated
our longing to discover who we are and how
to exist joyfully among one another perfectly,
because fundamentally that's all we’re really
looking for.
Maybe the concept would’ve been too hard
for us to understand as kids and we all just
would’ve been sad once we’ve seen it,
or maybe this ending would’ve fueled our
longing for these answers so that we decide
to look for them before the time we reach
Ash’s old age.
I wouldn’t be surprised if that was what
Takeshi Shudo was trying to do with the ending,
but since we never got it we will never know
how we would’ve felt all those years ago.
But that doesn’t mean that we don’t need
to know the answers to the questions of who
were are and how to live joyfully among others.
If we just carry the essence of the Pokemon
franchise with us and always remember….
Then the journey doesn’t need to end with
the anime, because the journey will live on
within you.
As you live out the journey and continue to
touch the lives of others and make a difference
to the people and world around you, the Pokemon
anime will live on as well……….
Thanks for watching guys!
I hope you enjoyed!
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