According to a translated blog post, it has recently come to light that the late Takeshi Shudo, who served as the anime’s main writer for the first three seasons, had a shocking conclusion planned for the show. A translated blog post claims that Shudo had intended for Ash (Satoshi in the original Japanese version) to grow old and learn that his experiences with Pokemon were all the product of his imagination and embellished memories towards the end of the series. Then the elderly man would leave on one last Pokemon adventure in the woods, which may very well be a metaphor for death.
Here is a portion of the translated blog post:
Months and years having passed, Satoshi, who has become an old man, suddenly remembers the old days. It is an embellished memory of childhood. A fantasy…The imaginary creatures, Pokémon, and their adventure. Friendship. Coexistence. That is, in the real human world, something Satoshi could not possibly encounter. However, somewhere in childhood, surely Pikachu and the other Pokémon are there, Musashi (Jessie) and Kojiro (James) are there, Mewtwo is there…”
NAveryw from Reddit has translated the blog post here. About a year before Shudo’s own death, this post was written in 2010. Other unexpected series endings, such as one in which Pikachu started a revolution, let free the captive Pokemon, and faced off against Ash, were previously revealed by Shudo on his blog.
This suggested conclusion is oddly similar to the more sinister and gritty hypotheses that are circulating, such as the theory that Ash is in a coma and that all of his adventures are only fever dreams. Given how gloomy it is, it is not surprise that it was rejected. Of course, one could argue that the fact that Ash has become an eternal ten-year-old who will never grow old or pass away is also quite gloomy.
Although I can see how it may be written profoundly, I’m not a great fan of fantasy series that end with the words “but actually it was a hallucination all along.” Generally speaking, it feels unnecessary and destroys the mystique of the narrative.
