Ash Ketchum Finally Wins a Pokemon League! Will His Anime Run End?

The Internet is celebrating! After more than 22 years, 1,082 episodes, and seven Pokemon Leagues, Ash Ketchum is finally a Pokemon Champion! In today’s episode of Sun & Moon, Ash took home the Alola Champion title after an intense battle with Gladion.

While Ash did win the Orange League, the Orange Islands are not considered a Pokemon region.

Ash’s overdue victory is now trending on Twitter. Congraulatory Tweets were sent from the official Pokemon anime Twitter account and the official English Pokemon Twitter. Even Junichi Masuda threw his hat into the ring.

However, Ash’s victory comes with some fear from longtime Pokemon anime fans. With news that the next Pokemon anime will feature multiple regions, there’s questions of whether or not Ash will continue to serve as the star of the show.

In my 2008 interview with Pokemon anime director Masamitsu Hidaka, he stated the writers would end the show if Ash ever became a Pokemon Master. There is no official definition on what qualifies someone to be a Pokemon Master — even Pokemon.com has said this in the past. But in the context of the anime, fans probably associate winning a Pokemon League as major criteria for becoming one.

Still though,the writers haven’t answered who Ash’s father is. If they were to end the show, you would think they would also conclude longtern questions about Ash’s character (assuming they even care to answer that question). That’s just my opinion, though!