Returning?
My friend, he’s the main character of the next series.
The signs are already there.
Goh is going to be nowhere close to catching all 1000+ Pokemon within around 35 weeks. But Ash is in the Ultra Class and is facing the strongest of the strong.
Will he beat Leon? Who knows, but there’s certainly going to be a battle between the two within around 35 weeks. Regardless of the outcome, Ash is set to be sunset as the main character. He’s already done it all. His “journey” to become a Pokemon Master will literally never end, because there is always something new in the world of Pokemon. But for now, he’s a battling master. He’s the Champion of Alola and by the time he gets to Leon he’ll have blown through every single Galar Gym Leader as well, and they’re considered the strongest in the entire world in the anime. There’s no going back from that. Why would he then have any difficulty against NotSpain’s Gym Leaders when they’re canonically weaker trainers?
It’s over. Ash will say goodbye to Goh, return to Pallet Town to plot his next adventure, and Goh and Chloe will be Cerise’s research fellows, while Goh also aids Project Mew. Either his next task will be to catch every Pokemon in NotSpain, or the format will continue as it was before, but without Ash.
>but Ash has been there forever! He’s the moneymaker!
He was also constantly losing just to keep the plot going. At this point it’s much easier to drop him. Maybe he’ll return occasionally.
