>>27141518Well one big pattern with Ash is that he always has a starter that has a tragic background whether it be being abandoned or just not being accepted. 3 out of 6 times he's had the Fire starter with it being abandoned by its trainer, and I'm not so sure about his Cyndaquil but I believe it was being hunted because it was rare.
Another thing I've noticed is that the Gen 5 and 6 sagas have had a lot of throwbacks to the first three sagas. Gen 1 and 2 he traveled with two gym leaders and got all three starters, only one of them evolving. With the Gen 5 anime he traveled with two gym leaders (sort of, Iris wasn't a gym leader in the anime) and he had all three starters with only one evolving.
Then with the Gen 3 anime he traveled with a gym leader, the female protagonist, and a child not old enough to catch Pokemon, Ash and his companions having one starter, him getting his starter fully evolved.
Now with the Gen 6 anime it's the same situation, female companion, gym leader, and a child with each getting a starter and Ash getting his fully evolved.
So it could be possible that the Gen 7 anime will mimic the Gen 4 anime, him having two companions, one a gym leader and the other the female protagonist, Ash getting two starters and fully evolving them and the female protagonist getting one which doesn't evolve at all but is used as comic relief.
So since Popplio is seen as a clown it could be the Piplup of this Gen with Ash getting Litten and Rowlet. One of them being abandoned by its trainer.
