>>36743755Great idea from the perspective of making a good show, but probably wouldn't go over too well with the target demographic of super young kids. When I think of other children's shows that try a schtick like that, they tend to at least lose considerable steam after the iconic original cast takes off. I'm thinking of stuff like Power Rangers, Yu-Gi-Oh, and Digimon in particular. Although maybe Japanese kids don't react quite the same way, because I know Super Sentai and Kamen Rider have stayed pretty consistently popular for decades now.
Personally though, I can't tell you how much I would've loved it (even as a little babby) if Ash had grown in skill and knowledge over the course of the Indigo League, legitimately won every badge after Brock, and became the Kanto champion before handing the reigns off to Jimmy/Kenta or whatever they decided to name him. Hell, when I was first watching the show way back when, I was seriously looking forward to Ash evolving his Pokemon and building a powerful team just like in the games.
