>>37974821The anime uses a floating timeline.
>A floating timeline (also known as a sliding timescale) is a device used in fiction, particularly in comics and animation, to explain why characters age little or not at all over a period of time – despite real-world markers like notable events, people and technology appearing in the works and correlating with the real world. A floating timeline is a subtle form of retroactive continuity. This is seen most clearly in the case of comic book characters who debuted as teens in the 1940s or the 1960s but who are still relatively young in current comics. Events from the characters' pasts are alluded to, but they are changed from having taken place years ago to having taken place more recently.If we assume that the anime takes place in the current year, then we just move Ash's year of birth up every year.
I.E. in 1997 when the show began airing, his year of birth would have been 1987, but now his year of birth would be 2009.
Shit that happened in the past is retconned to have happened more recently, keeping anyone from aging
