After 20 years of following in his father’s footsteps, the best course of action to bring Ash Ketchum’s journey to a close might be to reveal his dad died long ago.
Sending a ten-year-old out into the world unsupervised to hunt and capture wild animals might sound cruel, but it was all any of us wanted to do 20 years ago. Pokémon hit our Game Boys, TVs, and parents’ wallets during the late ’90s and those of us who were still kids dreamed of a real-world filled with Pokémon in which we could be the Ash Ketchum.
Other than the fact catching and training Pokémon is incredibly cool, what has been Ash’s driving force all these years? Well, early episodes of the anime would suggest it was to follow in his father’s footsteps. Although we don’t see Mr. Ketchum, it’s revealed that he himself was once a Pokémon trainer. He lived in Pallet Town, traveled to Viridian City, and then poof, we haven’t heard anything more about him.
Well, 20 years is long enough. We want answers, and since it feels as if Ash’s journey is in its final stretch, now is the final chance Pokémon’s creators will have to tell us about his dad. Since there has been no mention of him in all that time, it might be safe to assume he passed away long ago. In fact, at this point, we believe that might be the best option of all.
After all these years, the show might have one of its most important moments by revealing that Ash has been searching for his dad all this time, only to discover there was no dad to find. To realize that his long journey was for himself, not to try and prove himself to his absent father. Yes, it might be a show largely aimed at children, but there is certainly a way the topic can be broached and make for a pretty incredible moment.
Chances are Ash’s long story arc will come to an end without ever addressing who his father is or why he hasn’t been around. That would be a missed opportunity if so. Discovering his father has passed away, the person who he has based his entire life around up until this point, would add a whole new level of detail to a character many of us have grown up with.
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