Tropes Media Browse Indexes Forums Videos Ask The Tropers Trope Finder Media Finder Trope Launch Pad Tech Wishlist Reviews Tools
Cut List New Edits Edit Reasons Launches Images List Crowner Activity Un-typed Pages Recent Page Type Changes Changelog
Tips
Creating New Redirects Cross Wicking Tips for Editing Text Formatting Rules Glossary Edit Reasons Handling Spoilers Word Cruft Administrivia FAQ
Tropes HQ
About Us Contact Us Advertise DMCA Notice Privacy Policy Report Bug
Go Ad-Free Changelog
  • Show Spoilers
  • Night Vision
  • Sticky Header
  • Highlight Links
 

Follow TV Tropes

Following

WMG / Pokémon Future Films

Go To

Wild Mass Guessing specifically related to current and future seasons and films in Pokémon: The Series, as well as other possible animes. For past seasons, go here. For Pokemon Origins guesses, go here

For other Pokémon related WMGs, see Pokémon.

Please place entries within their respective folders.

    open/close all folders 

General Future Anime Theories:

    Future Captures and Evolutions 

When the series finally ends, Pikachu will evolve to Raichu.
He'll probably do it to help win the final battle standing between Ash and becoming champion. Nothing could signal the end of the series like that.
  • This troper and his friend actually had some fun with this idea. We imagined it being identical to the original Japanese version of the scene in Dragon Ball Z where Gohan goes Super Saiyan 2.
    • Wait, would this mean some poor Steel Pokemon gets their decapitated head stomped on by Deoxys or Mewtwo or somebody? That falls both into Squick and Rule of Cool at the same time...
      • Actually, we were thinking Giovanni crushes Dexter (Ash's original Pokedex). Who somehow got there.
      • Hmm, interesting... I like it. Sounds like the beginnings to a cool fanfiction.
    • So that would mean Pikachu would evolve entirely on his own, without a Thunder Stone. His rage causes his power to spike, and his body evolves out of necessity in order to accommodate it. Granted, that's happened before, but Pikachu was likely holding back the evolution. Or the evolution happens because his body has adapted to the situation after the first time. That. Would. Be. FRIGGIN. AWESOME.
    • Pikachu will defy the laws of Pokenature and evolve with out the use of a Thunder Stone. Wouldn't be the first time the anime series violated the game mechanics.
      • Considering contact with the Thunder Stone would be enough to evolve Pikachu, and that he's touched it before, perhaps the electricity that made Pikachu so powerful made him immune to the effects of the Thunder Stone, and when his power goes into overdrive it would release similar effects that would cause him to evolve.
  • What if Pikachu is given his own unique evolution? Ash's Pikachu is not a normal Pikachu it seems to me, he is very powerful and spunky. New evolutions are discovered all the time, and some species evolve when they meet mental-type requirements. I think Ash's Pikachu will be the first of his kind to take a wholly new form, probably similar enough to the pikachu model to not alienate fans impression of him, but still different.
  • A Whole-Plot Reference
    1. The Final Boss will be using a Porygon2 with an Eviolite. One of Ash's rivals will try to defeat it by using an evolutionary stone on their Pokemon but lose, followed by the boss explaining how he could force Porygon2 to evolve to Porygon-Z but it would be an inferior Pokemon.
    2. Ash Tobias will discover soul dew and a light ball and use those against the boss, who has hijacked the Pokemon league. Latios will run out of Luster Purge PP trying to beat Porygon 2 but the boss will be impressed and suggest Tobias use a full restore. Tobias will step down and give Ash and Pikachu a shot instead.
    3. Pikachu will lose and the boss will call Ash a joke, demanding Latios fight again, to which Tobias will lament Pikachu isn't showing the strength it did earlier. Intrigued, the boss will reveal he's broken Porygon's copy protection and summon a Porygon army to kill Ash and all the other trainers to see if that motivates Pikachu to fight better.
    4. It does, Pikachu evolves into a never before seen form, "faints" the Porygons and then makes sport of Porygon 2. Knowing he can't win the boss will have Porygon 2 unleash a barrage of missiles intended to give all viewers seizures but Latios will stop them by trapping itself and Poryon 2 within a "protect" move, causing them both to take heavy damage but saving the audience.
    5. Porygon 2's data will then be corrupted, causing it to take on an unexpected evolution itself and go on a rampage not even newchu will be able to stop. With the last of his strength Latios will use helping hand, giving newchu what's needed to win. After saving the league Ash with newchu will beat the Elite Four and become champion, the end.

  • Ultimately all jossed. When Ash and Pikachu were retired from the series, Pikachu remained Pikachu and there was no sign he was ever going to evolve.

Ash’s Z-Crystals will evolve
It would be odd for him not to get the two Z-Moves that are in a way, related to him (the promo cap Pikachu have Ash as OT, and his Rockruff evolved into the special Lycanroc that is the Ultra promo). As such, he will obtain Pikashunium-Z and Lycanium-Z, causing him to Discard and Draw Gigavolt Havoc and Continental Crush for 10,000,000 Volt Thunderbolt and Splintered Stormshards, respectively.
  • Half-confirmed. While they were in Ultra Deep Sea in SM054, Ash's Electrium-Z turned into a Pikachunium-Z, long enough for Ash and Pikachu to perform 10,000,000 Volt Thunderbolt, but it reverted to its Electrium-Z form afterward. It's since transformed and reverted a second time.
  • And Jossed on the Rockium-Z evolving - Ash got a separate Lycanium-Z for clearing the Ula'ula Island grand trial.

Pikachu will evolve, but not into Raichu
Pokemon have been established to have previously unseen evolutions. And When Pikachu does evolve, with how long it's been around, just becoming a Raichu would be sorta anticlimatic. No, When Pikachu finally evolves, it's going to be into some new form that has never been seen before. With stats on par with a legendary. And it will know judgement.

  • Jossed.

Potential evolutions for Ash's Pokémon:
Quilava into Typhlosion: It took FIVE HUNDRED AND FOUR EPISODES (a series record) for the damn thing to evolve, so it should be ready to evolve again soon, once it shows up in Isshu.
  • Jossed. Aside from Charizard's brief return at the end of Best Wishes, and future cameos, all of Ash's Pokémon from the end of Diamond and Pearl onwards would be treated as permanently retired with no further battles or evolutions.

Ash will use Primeape again
Look at this: http://www.filb.de/forum/showthread.php?p=461050#post461050. When it shows Ash's old Pokémon at Oaks, Primeape, Charizard and Squirtle are there.
  • Jossed. Primeape never returns to the main anime.

At some point, Ash is going to get a Riolu or a Lucario
It hasn't happened yet, but given that he's befriended Riley, I wager Ash will either lose to Cynthia, and get either one of the above two or a Riolu egg from Riley, or beat Cynthia and get the egg from her. Then he'll take the egg with him when he goes to the next area and viola, he has a Riolu.
  • Confirmed as of JN020 , he now has a Riolu.

If Ash were to be able to catch legendary Pokemon
The first will be Raikou. Which will bond with his Pikachu.
  • Jossed. His first Legendary/Mythical was Meltan which evolved into Melmetal. It had a bond with Rowlet instead.

Iris will get a Mudkip
The female companion in Ash's team seems to have several running themes: the previous will cameo in the new series, the bike thing (minus Iris), and every girl from May onward got a starter from the previous two generations. May (III) got Bulbasaur (I) and Dawn (IV) got Cyndaquill (II). Iris (V) naturally should get Mudkip (III) because it would fit the grass/fire/water theme.
  • May also got Squirtle. In fact, Squirtle should be the one to count, as May got it at Oak's Lab. Which leads to Iris with Treecko who is a Psuedo-Dragonnote .
    • Oh my, that makes a lot more sense for her to end with Treecko instead. It's actually brilliant.
      • And it makes even more sense after Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire gave Sceptile Dragon as a secondary type when it Mega Evolves. May's Bulbasaur became a Venusaur by the time she returned for her cameo in DP, so why not Mega Sceptile?
  • Jossed.

Sooner or later, every move from the games will appear in the anime.
Self-explanatory. At the moment (between BW 92 and 93), 437 of the 559 moves have appeared in the anime. The remaining 122 (4 from G1, 16 from G2, 25 from G3 - not counting Shadow moves, 33 from G4 and 44 from G5) WILL appear at some point, the writers just haven't found a way to introduce them yet.

Some of those moves will include...
Older moves:
  • Snore - seriously, why have we NOT seen a Snorlax using this one yet?
    • Confirmed, a Snorlax is seen using it in the season 17 episode Awakening The Sleeping Giant.
  • Curse - James's Yamask will learn it.
  • Return - ANY of Ash's Pokémon will learn it. Seriously, why hasn't one of them done it sooner? They all like him enough, that's for sure.
    • Maybe the reason that this move hasn't been used yet is that, in the English series, when a trainer calls back their Pokémon, they say "(Pokémon name), return!" It would be too confusing for trainers to call that out and have the Pokémon attack rather than go back in its ball. Though I guess they could just say "Use Return attack!" every time...
  • Nature Power - a Deerling or Sawsbuck will be shown using this.
  • Blast Burn - one of Ash's Fire starters will learn it.
    • Jossed, Ash's Charizard or Infernape hasn't learned it yet. However, Alain from the Mega Evolution specials, has taught his Charizard to use it.
  • Dragon Dance - Iris's Dragonite and/or Axew will learn it.
    • Jossed, not any of Iris's dragon types (not even Gible) learned it. However a Dragonair belonging to a COTD in the episode "Master Class Choices" knew it instead.
    • The above troper is half correct - while Dragon Dance does appear in the anime and os performed by a Dragonite, it's not performed by Iris's, instead it is performed by Ash's.
  • Roost - Ash's Unfezant will learn it.
  • Wring Out - Trip's Serperior or Frillish will know it.
  • Avalanche - Georgia's Vanilluxe will be revealed to know it.
    • Jossed, neither one of Georgia's Ice types knew it, however Wulfric has his Avalugg use it during Ash's 8th Kalos gym battle (and the rematch).

G5 moves:

  • Sludge Wave - Ash's Muk will be revealed to have learned this move offscreen when it reappears (probably during the Unova League arc).
    • Jossed, Palpitoad used it in his battle with Stephan's Zebstrika instead.
  • Foul Play - Ash's Krookodile will learn this one soon.
    • Jossed, the Inkay that James of Team Rocket caught in Kalos knows it instead.
  • Echoed Voice - Meloetta will be revealed to know this move.
  • Water Pledge and Grass Pledge - Ash's Oshawott and Snivy will learn these, respectively.
  • Bulldoze - Ash's Donphan will be revealed to have learned this move offscreen when it reappears.
    • Jossed, Clemont's Heliolisk knows this move, and used it against it's master's Bunnelby.
  • Dual Chop - Ash's Gible will evolve after it reappears, and learn this move in the process. Axew will in turn be inspired to learn it as well.
    • Jossed, Gible doesn't know it, and it hasn't evolved yet. While Iris's Axew didn't learn it, a Fraxure she used in a practice battle in her Backstory knew it instead. A Garchomp that appears during the Kalos league tournament also knows it.
  • Heart Stamp - Jessie's Woobat will learn this one at some point.
    • Jossed, Woobat never learned it, but a recurring trainer named Nini, owns a Smoochum that knows it.
  • Psystrike - Mewtwo will know it when he inevitably returns.
  • Tail Slap - Bianca's Minccino will know it when it reappears.
    • Jossed, a Cinccino that belonged to a character of the day in the episode "Beauties Battling For Pride And Prestige" knew it instead.

One of Ash's reserves will gain mega-evolution in the Kanto Sun & Moon two-parter.
Most likely Charizard or Sceptile. Evidence? Misty's Gyarados and Brock's Steelix have been confirmed to have gotten mega-stones in the episodes, and with all of Ash's Pokemon directly available to him, why not complete the trio?
  • I think its more likely that Ash will show off his new Z-moves during the battle, since Z-moves are the hot new game mechanic of Sun and Moon. Also where is Ash going to get Mega Stones and more importantly, a Key Stone? Or even have the time to master Mega Evolution?
  • Jossed. Ash still doesn't have any Mega Stones.
    • However, he does obtain Mega Evolution for his Lucario in Journeys.

Ash will win the next proper league he's in.
Considering it cost much of the Periphery Demographic they'd regained during the XY series to leave and even made Nintendo's stock drop, I doubt they'd want to risk such a fallout again. Nintendo might even tell them Ash has to win. He'd likely still get his butt kicked during the Champion League, though.
  • Confirmed. He won the Alola League.

Pikachu will Evolve but his Evolution will be a surprise.
It won't be a Raichu, it would be Alolan Raichu. Pikachu's personality and power scale from the first episode is due having been raise in Alola. Somehow, Pikachu got to Kanto and was captured by Oak. It refuses Ash because having been raised in Alola, it develops a laid back attitude and his power is tied to his emotions hence the change in power scale.
  • Jossed.

Ash will catch a Kangaskhan, and it will be Pikachu's sister.
In SS001, Pikachu's origin story, we learn he grew up fostered by a Kangaskhan, raised with her baby. What if that baby is later caught by Ash as a full-grown Kangaskhan?
  • Jossed. The Kangaskhan are never mentioned again.

    Sword and Shield/Galar anime 

The Sword and Shield will have the male player characters helping Ash

One of his classmates from Alola will accompany him to Galar
Though Lillie is the obvious choice for this potential scenario—for shipping reasons, and for practical reasons since she's rich—it doesn’t necessarily have to be her if they decide to choose one of the Pokémon School kids to go with Ash.

The others possibly taking their game roles as trial captains means nothing in relation to this possibility, since gym leaders have travelled with Ash in the past.

But depending on the badge format in Sword and Shield, it's highly unlikely more than two join him, especially if the anime returns to the old format of Ash traveling Galar.

Jennies are replaced with Bobbies in Galar.

Serena will return full-time.
Frustrated that Contests are completely different from Showcases, Serena ragequits after having an Epic Fail in the Rustboro City Contest (a fail that will never be properly explained), and decides to just be a regular trainer. Not wanting to slog through Kalos again and be reminded of her failures as not only a Coordinator, but also a Performer and a Rhyhorn Racer, she decides to go to neighboring Galar to challenge their gyms. While on the ferry to Galar, she heavily trains Braixen, Pancham, and Sylveon to get them up to speed, even resorting to borrowing a fishing rod to fish for Magikarp to beat up, once even throwing a Pokeball at one just for fun and accidentily capturing it (she was going to release it, but then she realized she could evolve it into Gyarados and thus add some badly-needed punching power to her line-up).

Upon arrival in Galar, Serena eventually finds herself tangled up in whatever crisis Ash is involved in, making her first onscreen appearance in the series (to the surprise of Ash, and the semi-surprise of us). After the opening mini-arc, Ash and Serena decide to travel together again, this time...

As an Official Couple.

This time, Ash is the companion. Goh is the actual star.
Just look at the characterization in the announcement: Go had an early run-in with Mew. He wants to catch every Pokémon and become a Pokémon Master. He's being characterized just like Ash.

With the anime going around the Pokémon world, Ash will introduce Go to all his old friends.
Go will get to meet all of Ash's anime acquaintances in the various regions. Misty and Brock in Kanto and Johto; May and Max in Hoenn; Dawn in Sinnoh; Iris and Cilan in Unova; Serena, Clemont, and Bonnie in Kalos; and all his friends at the Pokémon School in Alola.

We might even finally get that promised match between Ash and Max.

Chloe's backstory will be revealed
Chloe has established that she doesn't like Pokemon (though at least, she's now opened up to her Yamper). Go mentioned that she wasn't always like that, so something must've happened that caused her to become indifferent.
  • Confirmed.

Yamper, if it evolves, will disobey Chloe
Yamper acts loyal only to Chloe, to the point where it only accepts food and battle commands from her, even though she's the most cold and indifferent to it. Perhaps, she will eventually come around to liking Pokemon, but then, in a cruel ironic twist, Yamper evolves into Boltund and loses its and loyalty and respect for her. It would make for an interesting plot of Chloe realizing that her previous attitude towards Pokemon has consequences and resolve to gain back her Pokemon's trust.

Possible Galar Pokemon for Ash

With Pokémon Sword and Shield coming, and the Anime will be going to Galar (Even partially), I've considered the following Galar Pokemon Ash should get and the reasons for having these.

  • Sobble - Drizzile - Inteleon : Throughout most of Ash's journeys excluding Alola, Ash has had a water Pokemon on his team. It would be good for Ash to have one of these. And he should fully evolve it.
    • Sobble was caught by Goh instead, so Jossed.
  • Grookey - Thwackey - Rillaboom: Grass-type starters and Ash are quite common.
    • Jossed. Grookey was caught by Goh instead.
  • Rookidee - Corvisquire - Corviknight: Considering Ash caught his first Steel Type in Alola, and the fact that he didn't catch the regional bird in Alola, it would be nice for Ash to catch this one, It looks very cool.
  • Chewtle - Drednaw: Ash has had multiple Turtle Pokemon in the past, Squirtle, Torkoal, Torterra. It just seems right for him.
    • Jossed on the Chewtle, who has been captured by Team Rocket.
  • G-Farfetch'd - Sirfetch'd: Ash didn't catch an Alolan Form pokemon, so why not a Galar Form Farfetch'd? Of course evolve it into the pokemon I mentioned.
    • Galarian Farfetch'd confirmed as of JN027
  • Duraludon: In every region since Sinnoh (Excluding Unova), Ash has had a Dragon Pokemon. Duraludon looks cool.
  • Applin - Flapple: Ash's last Pokemon that evolved via an item was Gliscor, so why not have a Applin, which evolves into an Flapple through a Tart Apple?
  • Dracovish: Ash has never obtained a fossil Pokemon, so it would be quite interesting to see Ash finally get one. And really, who wouldn't want to see Mr. Fish on Ash's team?
    • Confirmed as of JN050

Goh's and Chloe's first Pokemon will be a Kanto starter.
Goh's first Pokemon will be a Bulbasaur, and Chloe's will be a Charmander. They receive the Pokemon on the day that Ash and Gary got their first Pokemon. However they decided to stop their journey because they were not ready for the life of a trainer yet.

  • Actually, Defied in Goh's case. In JN002 Go specifically turns down a Kanto starter because he wants Mew to be his starter. He eventually gets a Scorbunny first. For Chloe, it's merely Jossed; she already has a Yamper in the present day, and as of JN049 has acquired an Eevee.

Chloe is jealous of Ash
Pretty much all of the times we’ve seen Ash and Chloe interact with each other, she either ignores him or is just straight-up rude to him, despite him making efforts to be her friend and even inviting her to join his and Goh’s journeys. Also, she at most seems supportive of Goh’s goal to a catch all Pokemon, yet whenever Ash tells her his goals she blows him off. But let’s think for a second: Chloe was Goh’s Only Friend during their childhood, and while she often tried to push him to make other friends, Goh himself at the time stated he didn’t want any other friends besides her. That probably made Chloe feel special and as if that was the only thing she had to go by. Later on, however, when Goh started becoming obsessed with catching Mew and actually gained a new friend in the form of Ash, Chloe felt like she wasn’t important to Goh anymore, and believes that Ash is trying to steal him away from her.
  • Seems jossed as of late. Later episodes show the two on good terms with one another.

Possible Galar Pokemon for Team Rocket
Naturally the duo will have to get some new Pokemon while they pursue Ash and the twerps.
  • As of JN013, they've acquired a Chewtle.

James:

  • Mr. Mime: James' Mime Jr. will return from Rocket HQ and evolve into a Galarian Mr. Mime when they reach the region, and possibly even get up to Mr. Rime.
  • Cramorant: There has been a lot of fanart showing Cramorant trying to eat James, much like his past Pokemon. It'd be pretty fitting!

Jessie:

  • Silicobra: She's had snake pokemon before, so it would make sense.
  • Sinistea: Considering she had a Ghost type in both Kalos and Alola, I think she would have one of those. Provided of course it can evolve into Polteageist.

  • In SS003, Team Rocket were given rental Pokemon by the boss. While this doesn't exclude Galar captures, given that the series isn't exclusively going to be in Galar, it's possible that this is going to be their new gimmick and they don't capture any new Pokemon.

James will have a Hattena or its evolutions; Jessie will have an Impidimp or its evolutions.
The evolutionary lines are Distaff Counterparts so it would be an interesting gimmick for both members of Team Rocket to catch them, though not necessarily corresponding to their genders (which would also fit their classic habit of crossdressing). Hatenna fits alongside some of James' cute Pokémon like Mime Jr., its empathetic nature fits James' gentle nature towards his Pokémon, and its "hair" color is vaguely similar to his. Impidimp is a mischievous Pokémon, whose magenta coloring matches Jessie's hair, and the gimmick with Morgrem's pointy hair could compliment her famous Anime Hair.

Pikachu and Meowth are capable of Gigantamaxing
Fat Pikachu vs. Longmeowth showdown!
  • Confirmed with Pikachu, and confirmed for Meowth as of JN 044.

The Generation VIII anime will end with a journey to the region for Generation IX
Since it's not focused on Galar, it's certainly possible that the anime could be used to preview the next region in even more detail than previous runs. Prior to Gens 6 and 7, which had minimal to no previews for the next region within, we usually began to see new Pokémon from the next region in the last few episodes of the current region anime (from Marill in Kanto/Orange Islands, to Helioptile and Gogoat in Unova/Decalore).

Evolution does not exist, as part of the "reboot" scheme for the anime
This explains why Go captures the exact number of all Kanto Bug-types in Poke Balls during SS 006, rather than just capture their first forms and befriend them until their evolve into their final forms.
  • Also, does this mean objects used for evaluation (like stones) do not exist?
  • Jossed. Go's Scorbunny evolved into Raboot.

Go will capture Porygon and/or its evolutions off-screen.
This would avoid conflict between his goal to capture every known Pokémon, and the anime choosing not to feature the Porygon line.

Ash's Gengar evolved from the Haunter he'd befriended back in the Kanto season.

At some point, Ash and Goh will go their separate ways.
Ash wants to travel Galar, but Goh wants to keep travelling the world. So, they part ways, and a new episode structure is set:
  • Odd-numbered episodes will have Ash challenge the Galar League, travelling with Hop and Serena.
  • Even-numbered episodes will have Goh and Chloe going hither and yon around the world, even to regions from side games like Orre and Almia.

Chloe's Eevee is capable of Gigantamaxing
In its debut episode, it's not reacting to the presence of a Fire Stone nor Thunder Stone, which could be an allusion to Let's Go's Partner Eevee. Building on this, when Chloe arrives in Galar and for some reason battles near a power spot, it will be revealed that it has the Gigantamax factor.

The final identities of the Masters Eight + Who Ash battles to get into the Masters Eight
We all know currently as of the most recent World Coronation Series battle that Ash is at the cusp of entering the Masters Eight, however, who is going to be the opponent that pushes Ash into the Master's Eight. As far as we know according to what has been shown in the anime so far, the Masters Eight consists of 1. Leon, 2. Lance, 3. UNKNOWN, 4. UNKNOWN, 5. UNKNOWN, 6. UNKNOWN, 7. UNKNOWN, 8. Raihan, with Cynthia and Flint's ranks being currently unknown (as of Episode 107 of Journeys) at the time. We have three undetermined spots, with some of the most likely candidates being:
  • Lt. Surge: Ash in all of the beginning matches for a new rank have always been against an Electric Type user (Visquez, Tony, and Volkner), and Visquez did state in her episode that she did have to report to Lt. Surge when he returns that she lost to Ash
  • Steven Stone: In the most recent episode aired, Wallace is still referred to as the former Hoenn Champion, and it is still implied that Steven is the strongest trainer from the Hoenn region.
  • Alain: Very unlikely, but after his battle with Ash in the Kalos League Finals, he was inspired to keep honing skills and caught wind of the World Coronation Series to further his training.
  • Alder: Also very unlikely, but considering he is a former champion, and Iris was shown to be lower in the rankings, it wouldn't be out of place to have a representative of Unova in the Masters Eight
  • Diantha: Unlikely, however, being the champion of the Kalos Region, it would not be out of place for her to possibly be in the Masters Eight
  • Unknown Generation IX Character to be revealed: Having someone who will appear in Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet as an unknown variable for Ash's entrance into the Masters Eight would be likely, and considering how towards the end of a season of anime they usually show off some of the new Pokémon and locations, it would be perfect marketing for the next generation of games.
    • Currently jossed, as Raihan is revealed to be Ash's challenger for entry into the Masters Eight, revealing that Flint's rank is now unknown, however, no other Masters Eight members have been revealed currently.
    • Partially Confirmed and Jossed as of Episode 109 of Journeys after Ash's victory over Raihan, with the (as of Episode 109) rankings being
      • 1. Leon
      • 2. Cynthia
      • 3. Steven Stone
      • 4. Lance
      • 5. Diantha
      • 6. Alain
      • 7. Iris
      • 8. Ash

Project Mew will turn out to be less than altrustic.

Something about Project Mew doesn't feel right, considering that their primary chasers use powerful Pokemon (both having an Urshifu each), almost as if Project Mew wants not just to study Mew, but ctach it and use it for some twisted ambition.

Paul will become Viridian City's new Ground-type Gym Leader
In the 114th Journeys episode, Paul says he's going to become a Gym Leader, but doesn't say which city he's going to be the Gym Leader for. It's pretty easy to guess, though, considering there are only a few Gyms with vacancies, and even fewer that seem to be strong enough that Paul would make a good Leader. In fact, the only one that fits both criteria is the Viridian Gym, formerly led by Giovanni. If Paul is indeed taking up Giovanni's mantle, he might very well also be sharing Giovanni's status as a Ground-type expert. His strongest known Pokemon, after all, is his Torterra, and he also has a Garchomp, a Nidoking, a Gastrodon, and a Gliscor.

The reason returning companions and reserve Pokémon were treated as afterthoughts...
...is because in some cases those captures go back over 20 years, and the anime's target audience is too young to know who these characters are.

    Scarlet and Violet/Paldea anime 
Ash's companions will be Penny and Arven.
Ash looks like he'd fit right in with them. In addition, they'll both be foils to Ash, though in different ways: Penny is shy and reserved to contrast Ash's extroverted, energetic personality; while Arven not being too good at Pokémon battles to contrast with Ash's great skill. In addition, Arven is good at cooking, making him a suitable counterpart to Brock. Nemona would instead be a recurring character, encountering Ash every now and then, particularly when he reaches a town with a Gym.
  • From the trailers of the new Pokemon Anime, this has been Jossed.

Ash won't take on the gym challenge
Because after becoming the World Champ, going back to regular gym battles just feels underwhelming. Instead, he'll take on the Treasure Hunt, and one of his companions will undertake the gym challenge with his guidance.

Ash will take the roll of Arven in the Scarlet/Violet anime
Ash will be asked explore Area Zero at the beginning of the anime & Pikachu will be sevearly injured. Finding the Scarlett/Violet book he'll learn of the herba mystica and search for them to heal Pikachu when the Pokecenter can't. Pikachu, like the box legendary will be the 7th pokemon on Ashs team allowing him to have a full team of new pokemon.
  • Does this mean Turo is his dad?
    • Absolutely!
  • From the trailers of the new Pokemon Anime, this has been Jossed.

Arven will be the son of both Professors
Its already speculated that the other professor is the Missing Mom or Missing dad in the game universe, and he looks like he could be their son.

The Scarlet and Violet anime will take place after a few year Time Skip from the previous seasons.
Furthermore, a now 10-year-old Max will make a guest appearance at one point with Ralts as his Starter Pokemon. A teenage Ash along with Pikachu may also make guest appearances.

    The fate of Team Rocket 
Sooner or later, Team Rocket will resort to KILLING Ash to get Pikachu.
I mean, come on. They've sometimes taken him along with his Pokemon. And some of the mecha that the trio uses were proven to have nearly killed the boy.
  • They've already tried using lethal force before. Just look at the episode with Snap, Ash and he were hanging over a significant drop and James was chucking bombs at them and laughing the whole time. Killing just isn't their priority, they're perfectly fine with attempting it.
    • Unless they know he's the protagonist and therefore can't die, so they can be as violent as they want with no repercussions.
    • Not necessarily. In that example, their "bombs" were seriously under-powered, and James's purpose may have been not to kill Ash, but to force him to let go and drop into the water below. That wouldn't be lethal (anime physics + he can swim, AND he has a Squirtle), but which would prevent him from going after them until they got clean away. By "missing" Ash and talking loudly about his aim getting nearer, James was telegraphing things pretty blatantly, even for Team Rocket.
      • They're TEAM ROCKET. They were disgusted when Hunter J tried that. I don't think they could go through with it
      • They did try and burn him alive with the giant flame in the Pokemon League. I mean, yeah, he was perfectly fine because of Moltres, but they didn't know that.
      • In fairness the heroes often use the same level brutality or worse on the three and all they suffer from it is Amusing Injuries. Ash and co would have killed Team Rocket via terminal velocity a million times over if it wasn't for Toon Physics.

Meowth will get some Laser-Guided Karma for what he did in BW047 and BW048.
What he did in those episodes was probably the worst thing he's ever done in the entire anime. You could tell from the look on Pikachu's face. I mean, I don't think I've ever seen him this mad before. There is no doubt Meowth will get some sort of comeuppance for that Fake Defector trick he pulled on the gang and it will probably be worse then any of the past TR blast offs ever.

Meowth will eventually perform a real Heel–Face Turn
As opposed to his Fake Defector routine back in Best Wishes.
  • It would have to come with the rest of the trio, they're inseparable. Not saying it won't happen, just that it wouldn't be just Meowth.

James will join Ash & co.
But unlike Meowth, his leaving Team Rocket will be legitimate. Or maybe Team Rocket finally goes under, and James chooses to adventure with Ash rather than going back home.

Ash and co. will kill Team Rocket.
For the lulz.

Ash and co. will provoke Team Rocket into a Did You Think I Can't Feel? moment.
Team Rocket have always gotten a raw deal, even when they hardly do anything evil as Ash makes them out to be (in Ash's many exposition explanations to characters of the day). He will one day go too far.
  • Implying that Ash is hurting their feelings by calling them bad guys when they frequently play up the Card-Carrying Villain role most times they run into him, regardless of whether or not we the audience know they're actually good people just trying to please the wrong crowd?
  • Counter theory: If Team Rocket attempts something like this, Ash and Pikachu will throw it back at them, suspecting it's just a ploy to invoke sympathy only to stab them in the back at the end and noting that it wouldn't be the first time. They ask if Team Rocket ever considers how much it hurts them when they lead them into thinking they can move on from their past and be friends only to turn around and reveal it's all a lie.

Team Rocket will disband from Team Rocket and become spies for Looker
Giovanni doesn't have any long-term respect for them, and it wouldn't be long before he carves out another Big Bad role, and because they are Harmless Villains, Team Rocket may be put in a position consisting of Moral Event Horizon, Even Evil Has Standards, Kick the Dog, You Have Outlived Your Usefulness, and Heel–Face Turn.

Jessie, James, and Meowth will die in the finale
Most likely in a Heroic Sacrifice or Taking You with Me during the final battle with Ghetsis. The trio's sudden leap in competence was just a last hurrah by the writers before Team Rocket gets offed.

We will soon have our long awaited Ash n' Co vs Team Rocket arc.
Why do I say this? Consider how much the status quo has been crushed. Brock is no longer part of the team, Ash is balancing all members of his party, Jessie and James got promoted and Giovanni is active. It's very possible that, after the Team Plasma arc, a true Team Rocket arc is possible.
  • We did have a confrontation in the latter half of Best Wishes over Meloetta and the Forces of Nature. However, as Giovanni is still active and there have been no episodes in Silph Co., this theory is still active.

Meowth will somehow learn Pay Day for the finale.
Thus providing a fortune for the three and letting them retire to a legitimate lifestyle.

At some point in the upcoming Aim to Be a Pokemon Master series, Ash will finally just just how badly the boss of Team Rocket disrespects the trio and call him out on it.
Seeing the twerp they've tormented for so long actually care enough to speak up on their behalf will be enough to prompt a genuine Heel–Face Turn.

    Recycling old characters/settings 
3rd Generation Remake-Related
We're going back to Hoenn.
It's already been established that Black and White is going to be a shorter arc than normal. If we get Ruby and Sapphire remakes, Ash may return to Hoenn and bring Iris and Cilan with him, creating a five-member traveling party for the first time.
  • Jossed as far as Best Wishes is concerned, but still under "Future" pending Omega/Alpha
    • Probably Jossed, at best Zig-Zagged. Blaziken has a role from the start of the XY anime (being a Mega-evolvable form possessed by Clemont's father), and a character is later added from the Hoenn region (Sawyer), but they don't go to Hoenn.
  • The Sword and Shield anime is returning to older regions. Hoenn hasn't been explicitly confirmed yet, but pretty much everywhere else has, so pending confirmation.
    • It's been confirmed,but no arcs occur there.

If a third generation remake is made...
Ash will switch some of his current pokemon with some of his Hoenn region pokemon. When FireRed and LeafGreen were released the characters got some generation 1 pokemon and when HeartGold and SoulSilver were released the characters got some generation 2 pokemon. Since it is unlikely that anyone will be able to catch Hoenn pokemon in Unova, this is only way a character can have Hoenn region pokemon.
  • Considering that previous seasons used the switching to allow a Pokemon to evolve as well (Phanpy/Donphan in the 3rd generation, Cyndaquil/Quilava in the 4th), perhaps Corphish could finally evolve as well. They already proved that they had no problem giving Ash a Dark type with Scraggy, and it's the only one of his Hoenn Pokemon to be unevolved.
  • This troper think that it is possible that Bulbasaur will end up evolving into Ivysaur, thus making Ash have the same Pokemon as Pokemon Trainer in Super Smash Brothers Brawl.
    • Bulbasaur had the chance to evolve and turned it down, remember? It's probably one of the least likely options to evolve.
  • Not to mention Unova Pokemon after getting the National Dex.
  • Much of the original guess has been deprecated due to Ash leaving Unova, but the general idea is still in play, especially considering the small number of additions in Kalos.
  • And I further have the feeling that this will be the extent of acknowledging the Omega/Alpha remakes. At least in this series.
  • Alternatively, rather than bringing back a Gen III Pokémon for a regular evolution, one of Ash's Mega-Evolution-capable Pokémon from Gen III will return and will be given its Mega Stone. (Sceptile's the obvious choice, since it was a fan favorite, but given how little attention it got before and the fact that its Mega Evolution appeared in the OR/AS demo, it could just as easily be Glalie.)

There will be a japanese Pokerap for the Gen 3 Pokemon
It is to promote the Ruby and Sapphire remakes.

Return of the Forgotten Characters!

Paul will return, and pull a Big Damn Heroes moment
Most likely during Ash's first, second, or final battle with N, Ash will be losing in manners most horrendous. When it looks like he's pretty much shafted, Paul returns just in time to save his ass. It makes sense. Paul explored every other region, getting their badges. Why wouldn't he be in Unova?

If Paul is introduced in a film, he would either...
1.Still have the whole Buddy, Buddy with Ash, and one adventure later, learn the troubles he caused by a bigger monster, and FINALLY be treated well with the fanbase.2.Get sent back to square 1 as a jerk, team up with the big bad, and get his just deserts.3.My personal favorite. GET RIPPED APART BY A LEGENDARY POKEMON, YEAH!!!

Bonnie will form a rivalry against Vivi Winstrate
This is material for Max x Bonnie shipping purposes.

The writers will give Tobias Character Development.
The new season reeks of pandering to the fanbase. What better way than giving Tobias purpose? It would serve as an apology of sorts by the writers. My thoughts are this: it will be revealed the Tobias serves as a group of legendary trainers/Aura Guardians dedicated to defending Unova. Tobias serves as a successful member, and The Powers That Be foresaw they would need the help of a fellow Aura user: Ash Ketchum. So they gave him a bred Latios and Darkrai to serve as a test to find strong enough Aura Guardians. Thus, his appearance in the Sinnoh Leauge was a Batman Gambit: to find an Aura Guardian. The defeat of the two legendaries proved Ash was the one.
  • I seriously doubt Tobias will make an appearance. Noone else from the leagues does.
  • Bonus point for this idea: Journeys already had episodes in which Goh met Mewtwo and Suicune, and at minimum made attempts to capture both. Darkrai's the only one left if they want all the playable legendaries from Pokkén Tournament!

Every filler really is important.
They will all be referenced in a future episode in which Ash gets help from all of the people and Pokémon that he has met.

At some point during Iris's Guest-Star Party Member role in the XY series (which, in itself, is inevitable), her Axew will evolve.
Because it would be awesome. (And not to mention that was her plan for him in the first place.)
  • Jossed for the XY part, confirmed for the evolution part.

May's coming back.
Since Ruby and Sapphire's getting a remake having her make at least a brief return seems inevitable, if not having her stick around from her return to the end of the season.
  • And she'll be able to use Mega Evolution. Even with her team being as small as it was, she already had two Mega Evolution-capable Pokémon, plus one that would become capable if it evolved again.
    • Zig-zagged. She does not meet Ash again, but she appears watching Ash's battle against Leon.

Crossovers and other Plots

If Red were to appear in the Pokemon anime, he would be an in-universe expy of Takumi Fujiwara, complete with a Sugar-and-Ice Personality
Nothing would more fitting for a trainer who went from rookie to master of all the original 150 (excluding legendaries) Pokemon.

We will get a flashback of how Prof. Oak first obtained Ash's Pikachu
Pikachu is Ash's OLDEST Pokemon and has received main character status. It is long overdue for a backstory.

  • Partially confirmed. The first episode of the 2019 series concerns itself with Pikachu's backstory, although it doesn't cover as far as being caught by Professor Oak.

Soon, there's going to be a giant flood, and they will get 2 of every Pokémon and put them on a giant ark.
Why not?

Ash will be accompanied by Prof. Oak's Rotom in the anime series associated with Pokémon Sun and Moon.
With the whole Rotom Dex being a thing now, it's a possibility. It could become the Max/Bonnie of the new gen anime being Ash's 4th companion.
  • Jossed.

Ash will be returning to Kanto to promote Pokemon Go.
It would certainly bring a lot of lapsed fans back. When he arrives he'll learn that Team Valor, Team Mystic, and Team Instinct have come to dominate the local trainer community (they'll be portrayed as mostly decent people driven to conflict by loyalty to their own teams). He'll get three companions, one from each team, and over the course of the season they'll learn to cooperate. The season will end with the three teams coming together to fight Giovanni.

  • Partially confirmed. The Sword and Shield series is based out of Kanto, but involves travelling to the other regions as well. No word of any teams has been mentioned. (Though his sidekick character is named "Go" and the words "Let's Go" are said a lot...)

    Movie-related guesses 
The 20th movie will be a Crisis Crossover with past movie characters at a rate of 1 character/4-5 movies
As a way to celebrate the anime's long-livedness, and to push forth the idea Pokemon X and Y had of bringing species from every region together on one new region. As to guess the most likely candidates, and as a form of sportsmanship so I can be wrong...

As an amendment to the 20th movie being a Crisis Crossover, all of Ash's companions will return
Misty, Brock, May, Max, Dawn, Cilan and Champion Iris will appear in the 20th movie with relatively major roles, for the same reason as the aforementioned WMG.
  • Jossed.

The very last Anime episode/movie will involve bringing together every protagonist and every single Pokemon they've ever had
Because this long-running Anime needs to go out with a BANG!

Mewtwo will wait for eight more movies to pass before making its next appearance the year afterward
This theory requires nothing more than knowledge of square numbers. Mewtwo appeared in the first movie, then in a special before the fourth movie, then in a special before the ninth movie, then in the sixteenth movie...
  • I feel like this is Jossed because Mewtwo Strikes back got made and that was the 22nd movie made, which was 6 away from it's previous appearance.

A movie will feature Pokemorphs
The genetic fusion of human and Pokemon DNA is a rather popular fan concept, and with all the genetic experimentation done multiple times in movies, and the gradual radicalization of the enemy teams (Admit it, ever since Aqua and Magma the teams have gotten more and more dark.) will appear to create a movie capable of capturing the best elements of the nostalgic dark films (Mewtwo) and the popularity of character driven ones (Lucario, Keldeo)

A movie will explain why Ash never mentions events of movies.
This goes with the "Ash is a Time Lord" theory. There will eventually be a movie in which Ash finds out that he is a Time Lord and has to go back in time to participate in the events of previous films (excluding the first movie, in which Mewtwo erased his memory of the story's events), meaning that there is more than one Ash Ketchum in each movie. Future Ash goes back in time to the events of each movie, wearing the same outfit his past self wears in the movie. In multi-Doctor stories like "The Five Doctors" and "The Day of the Doctor," the earlier incarnations of The Doctor do not remember their encounters with later incarnations after the story ends. Past Ash does not mention events of the movies within the anime because encounters with his future self hinder him from remembering.

There will be a CGI Pokemon movie.
It's possible.
  • No. Just NO.
    • Confirmed due to Mewtwo Strikes Back Evolution which is a CGI Remake of Mewtwo Strikes Back.

From now on, all movies will feature shiny Pokemon distributions.
First it was the Beasts with Zoroark's movie, and now it's Hydreigon and Golurk with Victini's movie. The producers have realized giving out incredibly rare versions of Pokemon helps generate interest.

The new movie is canon with the anime, and foreshadows the relation of Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon to Sun and Moon.
It seems slightly strange that, for the film celebrating the series' twentieth anniversary, we would get a borderline continuity reboot; but consider what else is using a similar theme: Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. Like this movie, the games are described as an Alternate Universe to the previous Generation VII games...but what if that's not just a figure of speech? After all, Generation VI confirmed the existence of parallel universes within the franchise; and how the plot of Sun and Moon revolves heavily around alternate dimensions, it's possible that the protagonist of Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon will get to meet up with their counterpart from Sun and Moon. In short, the twentieth movie shows a version of Ash from an alternate universe- one which will come into contact with the main anime universe later in the Sun and Moon arc, leading to Ash teaming up with his alternate self to take down Lusamine (or whoever the ultimate Big Bad of the arc ends up being in the anime).

The 21st movie will not feature a new mythical Pokemon or will feature an older one
Needless math time again! Which movies do not introduce a previously unseen mythical Pokemon? The second one, the third one, the fifth one, the eighth one (Mew was established by then), and the thirteenth one (once again, Celebi was established). Therefore, going by the Fibonacci sequence...

The Mewtwo from Mewtwo Strikes Back Evolution is the same Mewtwo from Genesect & The Legend Awakened.

In light of Celebi’s involvement, the villain from Pokemon Koko will have the following traits.
They’ll be a human, they’ll be just as evil as Iron Masked Marauder and Kodai (potentially eviler than both of them combined, to make things interesting), they’ll choke Celebi even if it doesn’t factor into their plan, either they or their minion will use Scizor, and their actions will almost kill either Celebi or the spotlighted Pokemon (Zarude, in this case). The guess is based on how this happens every time Celebi shows up in a Pokemon movie.

The villain of Pokemon Koko is a past movie villain.
The trailers have suspiciously avoided showing the villain. One possible explanation is it’s a past Pokemon movie villain, and their reveal is a huge twist. It might even be Iron Masked Marauder again.
  • Jossed.

The 24th movie will return to the trend of focusing on the continuity of the active series rather than an AU.
And right now the active series is Horizons.
  • They've pretty much got a blank slate to work with as far as the baggage of all previous movies go if they do this, and could begin a trend of setting movies after or between series to avoid placement issues, so why not?

As an addition to the above, a movie after the 24th will be a generational crossover.
If Liko and Roy's presence - like Ash's - extends beyond one generation's series, and they appear in multiple movies, one will eventually feature a crisis crossover featuring both them and Ash as main characters. This would be regardless of whether the means of this happening are multiversal or just sees them crossing paths in the same continuity.
  • In this way, the landmine of having Ash steal the spotlight in a series would also be avoided by making it a movie event where that's less of a problem.
  • And hey, the 30th anniversary of Pokemon is coming in 2026, and the anime's 30th is a year later in 2027. Crossover or not, thse would both be ideal times for the franchise to have some kind of movie or anime event.

The next film trilogy will be feature a Time Skip of the continuity of Ash's journey after Journeys, featuring an older Ash, Pikachu and all the characters of the over the years, as an Epilogue.

  • The next three films will take place a few years after the end of Pokémon: To Be a Pokémon Master, likely when Ash is 18 years old. It will be a movie series to help wrap up some unresolved plot points from the main series. This movie series will include:

    • Team Rocket and the Rainbow Team Rocket arc ending in the true end of Team Rocket,
    • Who will truly end up being Mrs. Ketchum?
    • Ash's progress towards his dream and what he is doing to achieve it.
    • All old friends and rivals meet in one place at an event in Ash's honor.
    • Settling old scores for old defeats like Alain and Tobias.
    • Ash and Pikachu facing Ho-oh in battle.

    In the end... 
Ash will eventually become a Pokemon Master... and it has nothing to do with the Pokemon League.
How many times do we hear him go on a lengthy speech about how his Pokemon are his friends? How many times does he release one of his Pokemon into the wild as soon as they reach a level of understanding with him? And isn't it clear by now that he is more interested in becoming accomplished through winning badges than being considered the best?

There's a reason for this. It's all part of an ingenious plan that he may not even realize yet. He only releases Pokemon once they have proven their strength and respect him. They will reintegrate themselves into the wild. Due to their effective upbringing, they will become leaders among their kind. And they will spread the word of his name.

His tendency to get personally involved with practically every legendary in existence won't hurt, either.

Now consider the situation a few decades from now. Ash's name will be known far and wide among the Pokemon. Stories of Ash will be told to the newly hatched. Every Pokemon worth their salt will respect him. And if he ever comes around, they will do everything in their power to gain his favor.

In other words, all Pokemon will essentially be at his call. Without Poke Balls. Without drawing circles around them. When he speaks, the Pokemon will obey. All Pokemon. And that is what being a Pokemon Master truly means.

  • So, Ash is Obfuscating Stupidity personified? Hard to believe, but...
    • He might not be conscious of it. If, as has been speculated elsewhere on this page, Ash is the Pokessiah, it could just be an instinct brought on by his divine nature as opposed to a consciously thought out long-term plan. If this is so, then Ash will become the Pokemon Master in this sense not because he plans to or is putting on an act, but because it's a fundamental part of his nature.
    • Basically, aiming to be a Friend to All Living Things among Pokemon... now that's kind of a scary thought.
    • Possibly? Ash seems to be of the mind that winning the Alola League championship doesn't necessarily make him a Pokemon Master, nor does winning the Monarch title in the World Coronation series. Perhaps we'll see what does make him a Pokemon Master by the end of the appropriately titled "Aim To Be A Pokemon Master" specials.

When the show does eventually end...
We'll get an epilogue episode that takes place 3 years later showing a new trainer (Gold, probably) fighting his way to the top. He'll have some big montage showing his biggest, most important battles, and finally climb to the top of Mt. Silver. And Ash will be there, a total badass, and will completely thrash him. It would be awesome.

The show will end in two seasons, in which Ash will defeat the Pokemon league and end up facing either his long lost father, who has become Champion, or a final showdown with an as-of-yet unknown evil character who's been pulling the strings all this time/reveal a conspiracy about Ash and his father.
He'll use his strongest Pokemon from each land (Pikachu, Heracross/Donphan, Sceptile, and so on.). He may also face one or more of his friends, such as Ritchie or Gary. Maybe Paul will show up post-Heel–Face Turn. (You know that's going to happen. Don't deny it...)

The last season of Pokemon will star the protagonists of Gold and Silver going through their storyline.
Think about it. This whole time we've been watching Red's counterpart, Ash. The Second to last season will end with Ash becoming champion. Then, a new season starts. We see the new protagonists, Gold and Lyra or whatever they're named then. They decide to journey together. Along the way, they talk to people we've seen before and maybe even catch legendaries as you do in the games. And they keep hearing about some kid who was there before them and his awesome Pikachu. Finally, they get to Kanto. Maybe a little change in animation back to the original quality. They fight through the Kanto gyms too. Soon, they get to Pallet. They end up talking to Delia Ketchum (because you know you talked to Red's mom, too), who tells them the wonderful boy they've been hearing about is her son, and that she hasn't seen him in years. They get the other region's starters, train them, and soon, they're ready to challenge Mt. Silver. They spend at least 2 episodes getting to the top.

Then, the final episode. No music. Silence except for the sound of wind blowing and footsteps as they come up the stairs. The screen goes white. And then you see him sitting there, at least a few years older, with Pikachu on his shoulder. Ash, grinning at us, in his original outfit, with his Charizard, a Blastoise with sunglasses, and a determined Venusaur are behind him. The screen cuts to black.

Instead of the usual credits, you hear something that gives you chills. It fades back in to show Ash, Brock, Misty, May, Max, Iris, Tracy, Cilan, Dawn, Serena, Clemont, Bonnie, Goh, the whole Alola gang and the new guys singing Karaoke. The song? The original opening. It shows an after party. Either Lyra or Gold tearfully ask if it's over. Ash grins. Cut to black.

That, my friends is how it will end. Around 20 years from now.

  • Gold/Ethan has two counterparts in the anime, Jimmy from The Legend of Thunder and an unnamed counterpart from Pokémon: Zoroark: Master of Illusions. Lyra appeared in DP, and Kris has a counterpart in Marina from Legend of Thunder. I'd say, despite TLoT being badly dubbed by 4kids, that Jimmy and Marina are the most likely pairing for this, with Lyra as the Brock, so to speak. Whether TPCi would keep the 4kids names remains to be seen. Then again, Ash isn't leaving the lead role so this isn't going to happen. And what's with all your typos?
    • I hadn't seen Legend of Thunder. Did it ever come on TV? I must have missed that episode of DP, too. I wrote this at school without a lot of time to read over it, so I guess I must have messed up in a few places. Did God say that Ash would never leave, or that he'd never leave for the foreseeable future?
      • Well, the new trailer implies that Ash will be leaving the anime as a main character.

When Ash finally goes to fight the elite 4, all of his traveling companions will appear to cheer him on.
Basically, everyone who has ever traveled with ash will appear when he finally goes to fight the elite four.

The show will never, ever, end EVER!!!
So long as someone can keep creating ridiculous names for the Pokémon, The Show Must Go On.

The show will end with the Pokémon world being destroyed.
And Ash is the one who destroys it. In his final battle with Giovanni. By accident. By not realizing how much destruction he'd cause by saying "Pikachu, use Return!"

By the end of the show, Ash and Team Rocket will be the Master of All...except in their life goals.
It's a recurring formula that both sides continue working on their life dream (becoming a Pokemon Master and catching Pikachu respectively) and in their failure to get any further with it, they manage to become accomplished in multiple other areas. By the time of XY, Ash is pretty much regarded as The Ace by his team mates due to his almost superhuman will and competence, while Team Rocket have gained a very palpable degree of obscure intellect and keep picking up on so many side hobbies and talents along the way that whenever they do things legitimate they tend to be very successful. It is their purpose in life to keep roaming around the world chasing a pipe dream, all the while bulking up in every other regard and usually assisting millions of others with their own dilemmas and life goals along the way.

The series finale will take place in Johto
Most of Ash's friends are in Johto right now (Brock, May, Dawn, Iris, and Cilan), during this finale Ash will return to Johto and reunite with most of his old friends. The final battle would involve Ash fighting off against Giovanni, and the introduction of Ash's father.

The Team Rocket trio will not redeem themselves in the grand finale.
We have seem Team Rocket form an Enemy Mine with Ash and Co more than a few times, so for that to be their final moments wouldn't be anything special. The Trio's Series Goal is to prove themselves to Giovanni and finally be taken seriously as villains. In the spirit of that, assuming the Grand Finale is based on an Ash vs Giovanni storyline, the T Rio endgame will feature them crossing the Moral Event Horizon in the most devastating way possible, well and truly earning Giovanni's respect and setting the scene for Ash to confront Giovanni.

Ash will catch Ho-oh in the final episode/season.
Ho-oh has always been the legendary associated with Ash, and was introduced in the first episode. Thus it'd be fitting if he obtains Ho-oh in the final episode. It would also come with an explanation on why Ash has seen Ho-oh a number of times.

Other Potential Future Anime Adaptations

Note: If such a project is officially announced, e.g. Pokemon Origins, it should get its own page for guesses.

Blockhead Clefairy would be voiced by Tony Sampson or Greg Ayres, if he was given a proper anime appearance
Those two voices suit a Pokemon as talkative, crass, and hamish as Blockhead Clefairy.
  • Half-Jossed. Tony Sampson is retired.

There will be an anime series/movie that doesn't star Ash.
Seriously, how long has he been around? In my opinion, he's getting old (not literally).

The SM season will deal with Rainbow Rocket within two or three seasons
And it will involve a crossover with either:
  • All of Ash's companions and some friends/rivals he met in the previous seasons.
    • If this is the case, they'll all be their normal selves, rather than versions from other realities. The Rainbow Rocket Giovanni will come to blows with the main anime world's Giovanni, and Team Rocket as a whole will end up siding with the heroes in order to take him down.
  • Ash's counterpart from the new movies and/or Red.
  • Jossed.

If the rumors about the next game being a Kanto reboot are true...
The next series would be about Ash trying the Indigo League again, but with plot changes based on the reboot. He would have no new travelling companions (instead travelling with the three or two most popular previous friends based on a poll), would catch new Pokémon while still training some of his already owned Pokémon, and would finally win the League, putting in an end to a generation of the anime (and featuring a continuation/side story about a different trainer from then on). Every previous main character would be Back for the Finale.

There will eventually be a series where Ash will focus on his old Pokémon.
He will train them and use them on gyms, though this doesn't mean he'll stop catching new Pokémon; on the contrary, there could be potential interaction between old members and newbies.
  • Confirmed. The first episode of "Aim to Be a Pokemon Master" revealed that Ash will be rotating out his older Pokemon, witth Noivern, Sceptile, Donphan, and Buizel having made an appearance so far.

Goh will get a spinoff show following his personal journey
It has been said that Goh's story isn't over and with Ash exiting from the main anime, I think the most logical place for Goh's story to continue is in his own dedicated spinoff where he continues getting stronger and catching more Pokemon.

Riko, the new female protagonist, will be Ash's daughter

Alternatively, Riko is Giovanni's Daughter
It is currently unknown whether the new anime has a timeskip or not, but if Ash is not made into an adult, than it is unlikely they have any relationship. If Riko has any special parentage, than it's likely that Giovanni is her true father. Giovanni is notable for having various children scattered to the wind and Giovanni wanting his daughter monitored could be one of the reasons Team Rocket stays in the anime.

Riko will have no special heritage
She'll just be the daughter of some unknown people who started her journey in Paldea. Instead, Roy will be the one related to someone special, be it Ash, Giovanni, or even just a gym leader in Paldea.
  • If the rumors about Roy having a family restaurant in Paldea end up being true, he could be related to Kofu.

If the rumors of the new series being in a new universe are true...
Then Riko will be that world's counterpart of Ash. The past three series of the anime have had 1 or 2 episodes dealing with alternate universes in some way, and two of those were shown to have counterparts of Ash and his companions. Eventually, some crisis will unite the two universes in some way, allowing Riko to have a connection to Ash without having to make her related to him.

Jessie, James, and Meowth will appear in the Gen 9 anime...
But not as part of Team Rocket. Like Biff and Cassidy, they'll leave Team Rocket after going their separate ways (as shown in episode 145 of Journeys). Riko and Roy will run into them, and over the course of the anime will gradually come back together.

Previous

Index

Next

  • Show Spoilers
  • Night Vision
  • Sticky Header
  • Wide Load

Important Links

Ask The Tropers Trope Finder Media Finder Trope Launch Pad Tech Wishlist Reviews Go Ad Free!
Crucial Browsing
Resources
Top