>>53452407>I'm sorry but if you seriously think it was explicitly brought up by the writers again like it was just for it to not get an ending, then you don't understand how the show works or narrative structure in general.We're talking about a show that jettisons main characters each generation to pitch the next video game - narrative structure is a secondary consideration in the Pokemon anime lol
That being said, we are at the end of the line for Ash's time as the protagonist, which would in theory free them up to actually deliver on Pokeshipping. But it certainly hasn't felt like they're building towards it. Ep 2 had blatant overt hints (with future implications to boot), but it's been all schizo stuff since then (adult Misty with the Ash lookalike), or really subtle stuff (mirror imagery that implies they're part of a matched set).
Brockschizo said it before in one of his breakdowns - the hints are definitely they're, but they're so weak that you can't really draw conclusions based on them.