Recent Pokemon Anime Episode Features Surprise Appearance by Ritchie and His Pikachu

gamerant.com:

Over the 25 years since the Pokemon anime first debuted, Ash and his friends have met a sprawling cast of colorful and unique characters throughout their adventures. Alongside the many Gym Leaders and other major game characters, the animated series has also introduced plenty of anime-original characters like Journeys' Goh and Team Rocket's iconic Jesse and James. Now, a recent episode of Pokemon Journeys featured a cameo appearance from one of Ash's earliest rivals from the anime's early days.

Ash and Goh's adventures around the Pokemon world inJourneys have already seen plenty of fan-favorite characters from Pokemon's past making appearances. Many of Ash's traveling partners like Misty, Dawn, and Lillie have made return appearances in Journeys, as well as beloved members of Pokemon Sword and Shield's cast like Marnie and Leon. Journeys' break from Pokemon's standard region-focused formula has brought back several of Ash's past companions with the most recent episode featuring a cameo from one of Ash's Kanto region rivals, Ritchie.

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The most recent episode of Pokemon Journeys features the continuation of the ongoing World Coronation Series tournament with Johto champion Lance squaring off against Kalos champion Diantha. One shot featuring a crowd watching the match being televised features the cameo appearance from both Ritchie and his Pikachu, Sparky. The surprise showing from Ritchie is the first time the character has appeared in Pokemon's main anime since the final season of Pokemon's Johto arc, Pokemon: Master Quest.

Ritchie's cameo appearance in Pokemon Journeys marks the character's first return to the franchise as a whole in over a decade. Ritchie's last anime appearance