>>50502665It's pretty obvious that the show's success was its own downfall.
The original plan was for Ash to lose Indigo and win Johto, most likely with a rematch against Ritchie, and that'd be the end of the show, much like how Gold and Silver were conceived as the last Pokemon games.
It's pretty obvious when you look at how they handle his loss in Indigo vs every other time, there's a whole episode dedicated to him being depressed and losing motivation over it which Ritchie has to snap him out of, it's clear that it was meant to be a turning point in his arc that would eventually lead to his victory in the following league.
Plus, of course, the fact that Kanto > Johto was the only time where they didn't make any radical changes to the overall structure of the show.
Then, of course, plans changed.
Pokemon would go on to continue indefinitely and this meant that the anime could no longer conclude with Ash's win in the Silver Conference, nor would he ever have his rematch against Ritchie, a rival created to literally mirror him.
