I was in the middle of writing a completely different blog when I got this news. The Pokémon Franchise is going to retire Ash and Pikachu. This one hit me so hard that I had to drop everything and write about it. In a recent Pokémon Ultimate Journeys: The Series, Ash and Pikachu have earned enough badges and won enough battles to be crowned Pokémon Champion. After 25 years of chasing his dream he was finally able to achieve it.

Let me preclude this blog with, I still haven’t gone and watched the actual episode in question which is streaming on Netflix, I haven’t bought a Pokémon game since Pokémon: Yellow and I haven’t watched the series since Brock and Misty left. Well I did jump on the Pokemon Go game for the Mobile Device for a while. So needless to say I’ve been out of the Pokémon loop for years. Even though I haven’t been an avid watcher of the series or supporter of the franchise; Ash, Pikachu and the first 151 Pokemon have been staples in my life since high school. So this news is not only a milestone in the Pokémon world but also a milestone in my life and my life a gamer.

Some fond memories

I remember going to the theatre watching Pokémon: The First Movie and all the excitement surrounding it. It’s been a long time and I’m probably showing my age so I don’t know all the details of the movie itself but there was a song that came from the movie that was very touching to me at the time. It was called The Misty Song.

The Misty Song, was this whole idea that Misty wanted to tell Ash that she loved him. She imagined in the song that she had the courage to tell him and that he would say it back to her. Unfortunately she was never able to say it to him because she was written out of the series soon after. This song was so touching that when they decided to write her out of the series I stopped watching it. I heard they would reintroduce her as a guest character and she was showcased in a series that never made it to the U.S but for me she was a major part of the Ash and Pikachu story.

I remember when the movie came out they introduced Pokémon #151 Mew, which at the time was the strongest and most rare Pokémon. I was working at Walmart and saw this little guy for sale, I decided to pick him up. Now this was back in 1999, I decided to name him Pasqual and he would hang from my rearview mirror. Every car I had since then was named Pasqual. He was in a 97′ Mitsubishi Galant (PQ 1.0), a 98′ Chevy Cavalier (PQ 2.0), 04′ Scion XB (PQ 3.0) and now he’s in my current car which is a 11′ Scion XB RS8 Edition (PQ 4.0). So I’ve had him for 23 years, which would make him older than my oldest son. He no longer hangs off the mirror, he’s tucked in a little cubby on the dashboard. The wife thinks that this is crazy but he’ll be in every car I ever own till I’m gone.

The end of an era and the beginning of a new one

The Pokémon Company announced that Ash and Pikachu have come one step closer to being Pokémon Masters and will air the final chapter January 13th on Netflix and then will shift the focus on 2 new trainers in the new region from the Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Games: Paldea. Check out the announcement in the trailer right here.

Where did the time go…

I never really saw myself as getting older, I never really noticed it. It’s funny that it takes an announcement like this, a part of your youth is being retired, to really look around at everything. I’ve worked in that same place for 16 years now and have always felt like the new guy. I took a look around and started to see the wrinkles and grey hairs, my oldest son is now 18. I’m no longer the new guy at work, I’m now halfway to retirement myself. Where has the time gone? I’m so happy I was able to be there when Ash and Pikachu started their journey and ecstatic that they were able to entertain almost 3 generations of Pokémon fans. I always loved the messaging of the show, just watch the Indigo League theme song that introduced Ash and Pikachu…

Needless to say I’m happy and sad at the same time. Happy to see Ash’s dedication and Pikachu’s hard work finally pay off, Sad because something that defined my youth and the super hype around it is now being retired showing the passage of time. Congratulations to Veronica Taylor and Rica Matsumoto, the main voice actors behind the English and Japanese versions of the character and the whole Pokémon Team for bringing such a great character to life and for so long. I’ve since stopped watching and following the franchise but I will for sure catch up on the Ultimate Journey Series on Netflix and look to next year for final chapter of Ash and Pikachu.

What are some of your favorite moments of the Ash and Pikachu story?

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