>>58191273>ey got hit with the backlash so hard after XY that it made them change the formulaSpecifically, it was actually younger staff members that got really frustrated with this according to meeting transcriptions that got leaked during the Tera Leak.
Kunihiko Yuyama wanted to "retain" Takeshi Shudo's (the original showrunner) vision by keeping Ash on but younger members of staff and even Game Freak representatives had already long since grown fatigued with his mindset as well as the limitations placed on them by having to keep Ash around.
He didn't win the Sun and Moon league because suddenly Yuyama had a change of heart, believe it or not, Yuyama STILL wanted Ash to lose that league. It was only due to a massive amount of pushback from other staff members that Ash managed to get the win.
It's why the current anime features stuff like an actual timeskip a plot largely untethered to the games outside of the odd mini-arc.
The most ironic part about it all is that in trying to supposedly preserve Shudo's vision, Yuyama was ironically going against it. Shudo HATED Ash and wanted to have him win the first league and ditch him afterwards. Between that and many people wanting the anime to adhere to a specific formula to keep marketing the games as well as other decisions that went against his artistic vision (Lugia) he ultimately left the anime partway through Johto and spent most of his days in a deep depression.
