It's hard to imagine a world without Pokemon on TV, especially considering it's one of the longest-running anime around, clocking in at over one thousand episodes. However, perhaps in an alternate timeline, it was entirely possible that the series might have come to a permanent end. It wouldn't have been a fluffy light kind of ending either, but something far darker.
The main writer of the anime, Takeshi Shudo, once discussed in a blog post two separate endings that he had considered for the anime. He also discussed his heavy use of drugs and alcohol to help him get creative and come up with ideas for the show and movies, which may have inspired why he wanted to take on much darker themes. Since Shudo eventually died of a subarachnoid hemorrhage ten months after he shared his potential endings, fans will never know more about what might have become of the Pokemon anime. Fans can only read about what he had in mind and imagine how different the world might have been had things gone his way.
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By far the lighter of the two potential endings that Shudo had in mind, it still is one that is quite existential and thought-provoking. It seems that Shudo had anticipated the series ending and thought that the movie might be a perfect time to do so. In hopes that he could have Ash grow as a character and be able to look back on his adventures fondly with nostalgia, just like the audiences watching the anime, he came up with a unique solution.
The movie would have shown Ash as an old man, remembering his childhood days fondly. While he may not have been able to experience such epic adventures later in his life, his time with Pikachu, Misty, Brock, and even Team Rocket while out on
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