>>53675351I mean Ash couldn't be milked anymore as a main protagonist. It was obvious in PM and befopre that. Friede is an Ash replacement for those looking for an action bastard vibe the Pallet Town kid had. And about the "lack" of hype: Xy also started relatively slowly to then gain insane momenturn later on. I mean I think HZ will not reach XY levels due to worse animation/softer artstyle but I have my hopes up. Definitely an improvement compared to PM.