Pokémon Anime Finally Bidding Farewell to Ash & Pikachu 2023; New Dual Protagonists & Series Announced

The Pokémon Company has announced a genuinely shocking development; the anime series will be bidding farewell to Ash and his Pikachu as the leading characters in 2023. After 25 years, fans, new and old, will be seeing Ash’s and Pikachu’s final 11 episodes starting on January 13, 2023.

Then, in April 2023, a brand new anime series will begin, starring two new dual protagonists in the Paldea region, Liko and Roy. The new starters from the region are shown alongside them, signaling a fresh beginning for the series.

In all honesty, even as someone who stopped following the show around a decade ago, it feels indescribably surreal to see Ash leaving as the main character, simply considering how it’s been close to three decades. Still, all things end eventually. So I’m curious to see how the show will handle these new protagonists and whether they’ll be any connections to the past. Regardless, it’s an exciting time.

You can view the official video announcing the changes coming to the anime series below:

Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet are currently available for Nintendo Switch.

Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet are the titles debuting the franchise’s ninth generation alongside a brand new locale, the Paldea region.

Taking inspiration from the last console release, Pokémon Legends: Arceus, players can look forward to exploring an ambitious open world where there is no set story order for gym progression. There are also three story paths comprising the ever-familiar Gym challenge alongside the new Starfall Street and Herba Mystica routes.