Even though he exists in a universe full of magical creatures with unique and powerful abilities, Ash Ketchum remains one of Pokémon's greatest mysteries. The series protagonist has somehow stayed a spry 10 years old throughout the Pokémon franchise's 24-year lifespan, leading to several theories about his apparent immortality - including a particularly dark scenario that suggests he's actually just in an unending coma.
Of course, Ash isn't the only subject of a dark Pokémon theory. The series is absolutely full of subtle teases that something creepy is going on beneath its kid-friendly surface. There's overt mentions of killing and kidnapping in its more disturbing Pokédex entries, and fans believe there's even scarier truths left unsaid. One popular theory, for instance, says there's a secret "Great Pokémon War" in Kanto's past, hinted at by the lack of young adults in the Red and Blue video games.
The coma hypothesis is another of Pokémon's more well-known theories. And like a different explanation for why Pokémon's Ash never grows up, what evidence it leans on is given bonus credibility because it springs off of the series' very first episode.
How Ash Fell Into A Coma In The First Pokémon Anime Episode
Unlike its premise implies, the Ash coma theory doesn't argue the Pokémon series "was all just a dream" - not entirely, at least. According to the theory, the first episode plays out as normal: Ash Ketchum is a clumsy kid who misses Professor Oaks's starter Pokémon-choosing ceremony and winds up with a Pikachu instead. He attempts to catch a Pidgey, accidentally angers a flock of vicious Spearow, gets Pikachu injured, and attempts to rush his companion to a nearby Pokémon Center on a borrowed bicycle. Spearow chasing close behind, Ash loses control and crashes the bike. With the Spearow baring down on them, Pikachu creates a massive pillar of lighting that sends the Pokémon and Ash flying. After that, it's all a dream.
Different versions of the theory say Ash was thrown into a coma when the bike crashed or when Pikachu used the powerful lighting attack. In either case, Ash took enough damage to send him unconscious for the foreseeable future. Every subsequent event in the series takes place in his own mind, as he's still stuck in the coma all these years later. While it may seem outlandish, it's one of the more believable theories for his unageing body. After all, how would a 10-year-old take such a beating without suffering some serious long-term damage? Every time anything similar happens later in the many Pokémon anime series, then, it can just be explained as the odd logic of Ash's childhood conscious, locked in his unmoving body.