Ash Ketchum is gone, but Pokémon animation is going stronger than ever
The world of Pokémon animation, for a long time, always seemed to have two different directives in the wider scheme of the franchise — it constantly needed to be both an introduction and an alternative. It had served as a sort of Pikachu-filled warmup in the most literal sense, debuting a few weeks before the Pokémon games did in the United States as a teaser taste for the “Pokémania” to come. And from then on, with a more obvious focus at younger audiences, it would always be a great way for youngsters to get their feet wet before they jumped into actually taking a role themselves.
Meanwhile, even while serving as a loose adaptation of the games, the journey of Ash Ketchum was filtered through the eternal fourth grader. Even as he served to represent every new kid getting into Pokémon for the first time, it was still his story and his lessons to learn. Ash was inextricably tied to Pokémon’s animation output.
However, a lot has changed over the past few years, and the evolution and expansion of Pokémon’s animation output has led to it becoming perhaps the most consistently surefooted and diverse pillar of the franchise. Pokémon animation has never just been Ash, and a glance over its 25-year existence reveals a smorgasbord of cartoon pocket monsters, many drawn in service of blatant advertising — things like teasers for video games or this oddly well-animated commercial for Chef Boyardee. That’s no longer the case, though, and just by looking at the recent series Paldean Winds, we see a company taking full advantage of a medium’s potential and the many sections of its ravenous fan base.
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