Few anime series have had a run as long as Pokémon's anime, coming in at nearly 25 years with the same protagonist, Ash Ketchum, trying to achieve the same goal. It seems, at last, that the time for Ash's story to peak has come.For the past several episodes of the current anime series (known as Ultimate Journeys in English), Ash has been in a worldwide tournament known as Pokémon's World Coronation Series, battling against some of the toughest trainers ever seen in the anime, like regional champions such as Leon, Cynthia, Diantha, and Lance. The World Coronation Series also brought back Alain, who appeared as the protagonist of the Mega Evolution specials and battled Ash back in the XY anime. Even one of Ash's former traveling companions, Iris, made it to the tournament between the top eight trainers, so Ash had some seriously stiff competition to deal with.In the episode known simply as "Finals IV: Partner," Ash is up against Leon, a trainer who's said to be undefeated and the current champion of the Galar league. Leon has two Pokémon remaining, while Ash is down to just Pikachu. One of the anime's bad habits is to have important fights interrupted by Team Rocket or some other source of chaos. That does start to happen here, as Eternatus, which Ash and Leon worked together to deal with many episodes ago, makes a reappearance and threatens to disrupt the final battle right at its end. However, Eternatus instead rejuvenates the area with Dynamax Energy, allowing both Ash and Leon to Gigantamax their Pokémon one more time. Gigantamax Pikachu battles Gigantamax Cinderace to a climactic finish, leaving Pikachu vs. Leon's Charizard. As Pikachu is on the verge of losing, he gets visions of many of Ash's old Pokémon, from Squirtle to Melmetal, cheering him on. Pikachu gets back on his feet, and wins with one last all-out attack. The moment was so climactic that even Pokémon's official Twitter account celebrated Ash's win.
A Celebration of the Pokémon Anime's Past
It wouldn't be a real victory without all one's friends and family to support them, however, and the episode delivers on some incredible fan service by bringing back characters who, in some cases, haven't been seen in over 1,000 episodes, like Todd Snapp, Tracy, May and Max, Clemont and Bonnie, Brock, and Cilan. It also shows many of Ash's previous Pokémon watching and celebrating his win, too, like Infernape and Charizard. Even those who couldn't make it in person have cameos, like Ash's Naganadel and Lapras. All these continuity references combined with Ash's ultimate victory after literally 1200+ episodes make the episode an absolute joy for anyone who's ever watched the series.
With Ash finally having achieved his dream to become a Pokémon Master, the rumors of the anime ending its current form and retiring his character are looking truer than ever. There are still a few more episodes left with Ash before it all ends (if it does), however, so fans of Pokémon still have a chance to get their goodbyes in after growing up alongside the boy for all these years.
Source: Pokémon