The Pokémon fandom has been rocked by a huge number of revelations that have come about as a result of the leak of internal Game Freak data that occurred on October 13, 2024. While one might expect this information to be strictly about the games, a surprising amount of information about the anime series was also released, including a discussion about Ash's future with the franchise.

Ash's exit from the Pokémon anime was announced on December 16, 2022, with the airing of the final episode of Pokémon Journeys in Japan. Ash would go on to receive a send-off in the form of the 11-episode "Aim to Be a Pokémon Master" miniseries, which saw him reuniting with Brock and Misty for one last hurrah before Ash and Pikachu walked off into the distance for the final time. While fan opinions on Ash's final episode have been mixed, the series left Ash more or less as he was, leaving the door open for a possible return at some point in the future.

Ash's Exit Was Due to Declining Ratings and Difficulties with Writing

Ash Was Only Considered for Removal After Careful Deliberation

Included in the Game Freak leak was a discussion between several executives and high-ranking of the Pokémon Company and Game Freak, dated May 2, 2022, talking about their decision to remove Ash from the anime, and when that would take place. The discussion, translated and posted to Reddit's /r/pokeleaks, is very enlightening, as it shows a surprising degree of concern and awareness towards what removing Ash from the anime would mean, and how absolutely careful the leadership was at approaching this thorny topic.

Reasons for moving on from Ash given in the discussion include a feeling that he was becoming difficult for newer fans to understand and relate to, declining ratings, and the difficulty of balancing what long-time fans wanted with what would encourage new fans to start watching. Specifically, they discuss the inability to "reset" Ash at the beginning of each series in recent years, a tactic that was a favorite for the series for most of its run. They were very much aware, however, that removing Ash from the series was a difficult problem, and one that could cause backlash.

From Game Freak's perspective, the main thing they wanted to avoid was another major controversy. The discussion specifically mentions the "Dexit" controversy from around the time of the release of Pokémon Sword and Shield, wherein it was revealed that, for the first time, not all Pokémon would be returning for these new games. This prompted a massive fan campaign, the "Bring Back National Dex" movement, and led some fans to boycott the new titles, ultimately hurting sales. Given the proximity of Ash's departure announcement to Scarlet and Violet's release date, they wanted to avoid the same thing happening again.

Did Pokémon Handle Ash's Exit Properly?

The Decision Makers Approached Ash's Departure With Great Care

To this end, they came up with a multi-pronged plan to help ease the idea of Ash leaving into fans' minds. First was to avoid saying words like "Graduation" or "Ending" in relation to Ash, as they wanted to maintain the idea that Ash was still out there having adventures off-screen. Second was to ensure fans had plenty of time to adjust to the idea by announcing it up to five months early. Since Ash left in March, it actually ended up being closer to four months, likely to avoid announcing Ash's exit right before Scarlet and Violet released. Finally, to have a clear vision of where the anime would go--i.e., revealing Horizons as a successor series.

Interestingly, the discussion mentions that talks of removing Ash have been going on for nearly 20 years, dating almost to the end of the Johto-era. Despite this, there was quite a bit of hesitance about removing Ash, with a full understanding that a botched handling of the situation could lead to major damage to the brand--specifically, they feared that ending Ash's anime would be perceived as "the end of Pokémon." They also acknowledged the need to define "Pokémon Master," referencing One Piece and how the idea must play into the series' ending.

While it may come as a surprise, fan concerns were really a primary consideration in how The Pokémon Company decided to handle Ash's departure. The executives were exceptionally careful to ensure that Ash received a good send-off, even adding the "Aim to Be a Pokémon Master" miniseries to ensure it felt like an ending for the entire series, not just Journeys. They were especially wary of romance, perhaps explaining the decision not to address that idea at all in Ash's final episodes. All in all, the document provides a rare insight into decision-making in a major franchise, and just how carefully Pokémon's leadership approached Ash's departure.