YMMV / Ash's Coma

• Delusion Conclusion: The theory is a textbook example of this trope, as it posits that Ash is in a coma hallucinating his adventures.
• Hilarious in Hindsight: Though the writer of this theory didn't know it at the time, an interview by Takeshi Shudō suggests he wanted to canonize something similar while writing Kanto. One of the entries on his blog describes a potential final scene for the anime, where an elderly Ash thinks about his youthful fantasies involving Pokémon. Inspired by Stand by Me, the Pokémon anime was at one point supposed to be about the world through a child's eyes. No one ages, aside from the Pokémon themselves, because Ash doesn't want to grow up. Most of the adults are either children's story villains, helpers, or they otherwise get in Ash's way. Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny look the same, and there are no nurses outside of Nurse Joy, because they're a part of Ash's fantasy. This intention for the anime was scrapped early on and is non-canon; Pokémon are real animals in Ash's world, not imaginary creatures.

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