>>52711152I ship Ash and Misty and I'm ~95% sure you're right. Giving him a definitive love interest would piss a lot of fans off for no good reason after so many seasons of having him show no interest in romance, going so far as to completely shut down that angle in interviews.
Going back on that at the last second would be bizarre and invite pointless controversy into what you probably want to be a feel-good sendoff for everybody.
That said I hope Ash and Misty get some cute moments like they used to (doubtful).