It’s likely that Ash won’t appear inHorizonsfor quite some time.

Whenever he does finally appear, though, fans can expect his return to be quite a big deal.

How Long Should Pokemon Wait Before Bringing Ash Back?

Pokemon Horizons: Liko and Roy react in horror to the airship crashing.

What are the Benefits of Bringing Ash Back Sooner or Later?

At the same time, it should be more than a glorified cameo, too.

Will Ash Ever Get His Own Anime Series Again?

Pokemon’s Gary and Blastoise are front and center, with images of Gary’s loss and Mewtwo in armor behind them.

There always exists the possibility of a reboot as well.

TheYu-Gi-Oh!anime, for instance, had the protagonists of its first three series all meet in 2010’sYu-Gi-Oh!

Movies also have an opportunity to tell larger-scale stories with bigger consequences.

James standing in front of a close-up of Growlie.

The box office potential to appeal to nostalgic fans is also difficult to ignore.

But a movie return can only work if Ash stays gone for some time, meaning patience is key.

Humans who catch, raise, and battle the creatures are known as Pokemon Trainers.

Pokemon-Ash-Pikachu-Excited-Reunion

Pokémon: Ash, Misty, and Brock standing in a forest together with Pikachu as they all smile.

Spanning over twenty-five years, Pokemon, known as Pocket Monsters in Japan, is the multimedia franchise created jointly by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures. Conceptualized by Satoshi Tajiri in association with Ken Sugimori and Junichi Masuda, Pokemon is set in fictional worlds where people live together with tamable creatures known as Pokemon. Humans who catch, raise, and battle the creatures are known as Pokemon Trainers. They head out on extensive journeys across their continents to raise their Pokemon with the ultimate goal of competing in tournaments to become the champion. Pokemon spans several massive properties, from a long-running animated series to a successful trading card game, to the medium that started it all, video games. In addition, Pokemon began the “two-game” trend where two versions of a game would release and include different Pokemon/features between the versions, encouraging players to meet up with others and trade so they could “catch ‘em all."

Pokémon’s Ash throws a Pokeball with his mouth open and speed lines behind him.

Ash hugs a tired Pikachu after a battle.

A Pokemon Movie poster featuring Ash, Team Rocket, and Dawn.

Pokemon Franchise Image

Spanning over twenty-five years, Pokemon, known as Pocket Monsters in Japan, is the multimedia franchise created jointly by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures. Conceptualized by Satoshi Tajiri in association with Ken Sugimori and Junichi Masuda, Pokemon is set in fictional worlds where people live together with tamable creatures known as Pokemon. Humans who catch, raise, and battle the creatures are known as Pokemon Trainers. They head out on extensive journeys across their continents to raise their Pokemon with the ultimate goal of competing in tournaments to become the champion. Pokemon spans several massive properties, from a long-running animated series to a successful trading card game, to the medium that started it all, video games. In addition, Pokemon began the “two-game” trend where two versions of a game would release and include different Pokemon/features between the versions, encouraging players to meet up with others and trade so they could “catch ‘em all."

Anime

Pokemon