Warning: Spoilers for Pokémon: Aim to Be A Master, episode 3Pokémon's Ash, Misty, and Brock are finally all traveling together again, and the spot where they all depart from together is one that should ring familiar for anyone who still remembers their teary-eyed goodbye from 20 years ago.
Ash, Misty, and Brock originally parted ways in the 273rd episode of the Pokémon anime, entitled "Gotta Catch Ya Later!" While Brock would soon change his mind and rejoin Ash for adventures in the Hoenn region, it doesn't change the fact that this was the final episode with the three original characters traveling together. The Pokémon anime took a fairly common visual metaphor for the parting of ways by having the trio come up to a crossroads, with three paths ahead of them. Brock headed down one, while Misty headed down another, leaving Ash and Pikachu to take the remaining road alone. For kids who grew up with them, it was certainly a heartbreaking moment to realize that things were changing, and they'd never really be the same again.
Ash, Brock, and Misty Finally Reunite After More Than a Decade Apart
Now, in the 1,228th episode, 955 episodes later, Ash, Misty, and Brock reunite. Ash and Misty are eating at a delicatessen as the episode opens. The food gives them a nostalgic feeling, so they send their compliments to the chef. The chef emerges from the back and turns out to be Brock, who had cooked them many a meal long ago. They also run into Cilan, another traveling companion of Ash's whom Brock has met before. After going through the episode's shenanigans together, Cilan chooses to go his own way, and makes this announcement as they once again reach a crossroads. Cilan heads down one path, but things go a bit differently this time, as Misty and Brock choose to stay with Ash, and the trio head off together down the same branch of the crossroads--the exact opposite of their parting all those years ago.
Pokémon's Simple but Poetic Goodbyes
Fans who watched Ash, Brock, and Misty part ways at that crossroads all those years ago will instantly recognize the situation. It's not only a callback, but a poetic mirroring of the original. Now faced with the same decision again, Misty and Brock choose to do things differently this time, if only for a while. It sets them up for the ending of this miniseries by making it an active choice of theirs to stay with Ash. Cilan's presence also allows for the crossroads to still act as a goodbye, but it's a much happier one this time--running into Cilan was simple serendipity, after all, as he stumbled across them while on his own travels; Brock, on the other hand, was living in that town, but suddenly found himself free of obligations.
With the original trio of Ash, Misty, and Brock back together once again, the Pokémon anime is set up for its final ending, whatever that may turn out to be.