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Dec 23, 2022 10:35 PM
#1
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Apr 2016
23525
Interestin special, could be a regular episode, but it´s a special.

Well, Ash knew a new boy, Haruto in the middle of the forest.
Haruto keep a great secret, and how always, Ash helped this boy, with a final surprise.


5/10
Dec 23, 2022 10:41 PM
#2
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Jul 2018
564084
It was pretty sad ngl . I actually think is a pretty good episode
Dec 23, 2022 11:38 PM
#3
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Apr 2019
121
Incredible! Absolutely incredible! A perfect send-off to Ash and Pikachu, and a kind of farewell letter from the staff to the audience.

Anyone who gave it a low rating clearly watched something else.
Dec 24, 2022 1:36 AM
#4

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Mar 2014
1471
For a second I thought they were actually going to break the taboo and show us Ash's dad to really break all the rules of Ash's journey now that he's finished with the last season. Fool that I was, instead we got a sad what-if tale of a boy just like Ash that never got to go on his journey. And for whatever reason (my guess is Aura) only Ash was allowed to see him and help him pass on.
Dec 24, 2022 7:03 AM
#5
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Feb 2021
610
watching ash in his OG attire and artstyle similar to the old one took me back to my childhood
Dec 24, 2022 7:58 AM
#6

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Jul 2012
53
GrayZStars said:
Incredible! Absolutely incredible! A perfect send-off to Ash and Pikachu, and a kind of farewell letter from the staff to the audience.

Anyone who gave it a low rating clearly watched something else.
That's not the final episode though, more like a tribute to the anime just before we're reaching the final chapter
Dec 24, 2022 8:42 AM
#7

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Sep 2016
909
I enjoyed this bittersweet special. It was a nice jaunt through the Kanto days of yore.
Dec 24, 2022 12:30 PM
#8
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Apr 2019
121
NintenZura said:
GrayZStars said:
Incredible! Absolutely incredible! A perfect send-off to Ash and Pikachu, and a kind of farewell letter from the staff to the audience.

Anyone who gave it a low rating clearly watched something else.
That's not the final episode though, more like a tribute to the anime just before we're reaching the final chapter

Yeah, I know. I can't wait to see what they pull for the last 11 episodes!
Dec 24, 2022 9:22 PM
#9
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Jan 2015
427
We almost found out who Ash's father was! A friend of mine brought up the idea since he sent Ash a new hat, well you can only get those hats from the Kanto League, So his father must work for the Elite 4. Pretty bittersweet special with Haruo, almost like a What if Ash

But as for the timeline where this fits into who knows? Ash brought up the hat situation with the Mankey he ran into, and that didn't happen in the Movie canon.

The next 11 episodes are going to be wild and sad at the same time.
Dec 24, 2022 11:13 PM

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May 2021
59792
We were this close to finding out who tapped Delia. Such a shame. 

"If I say they continue, continue they will." - Narrator-kun still huffing that copium. I feel you man, I feel you.




Dec 25, 2022 2:43 AM

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Jul 2020
638
What a beautiful episode this was to watch. The story of Haruto was both touching and emotional, even if the reveal of his death was extremely obvious from the start. Seeing Ash in his old costume again was so awesome to see and really the entire opening with Team Rocket felt very nostalgic. They really teased us too with the mention of Ash's Dad. I am assuming that is going to lead into the new series and honestly I cannot wait to finally meet him when it happens. Now the long, painful wait begins until the new season starts January 13. It really can't come soon enough in my eyes!
Dec 25, 2022 10:57 AM

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May 2009
3529
Things I got from this episode;

This is a final goodbye towards this episodic side story structure the anime was known for pre-sun/moon

It covers loss, parenthood, most importantly absence of loved ones. Haruto was dead due to a tragic disease, which heavily impacted his parents. The spirit of Haruto was there to bring something back to his parents before his spirit could pass to the hereafter. Satoshi was the person to make that happen throughout guidance, in combination of Satoshi's natural aura powers (Or haruto just showing himself to him, or a combination of both)
This is the first time Satoshi's father has been mentioned throughout the series and it seems like his absence at the end really hit him after the recent events with Haruto's family, it's also meant to address the viewers that Satoshi's father is actually a real thing, so his reveal in the 11 episode finale may be quite likely. We can finally see why he never mntioned his father once throughout the series. 

What I ultimately think this is is a proof of concept of what we can expect of the next series in terms of writing and continuation/plot progression throughout the series.

Overal great emotional side episode. 

Also suspiciously alot of the XY soundtrack, was this episode meant to drop during that era somewhere?
ShoryuukenDec 25, 2022 11:03 AM
Dec 26, 2022 12:11 PM
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Apr 2020
71
Shoryuuken said:
This is the first time Satoshi's father has been mentioned throughout the series
No, he mentioned his father towards Koko in the 23rd film. And this episode takes place in that alternate timeline because of his cap, not in the series timeline. Although I wonder why he got his original one at the end, if it's not just for fanservice.
Dec 26, 2022 7:49 PM

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Apr 2015
659
Pleasantly depressing and potentially symbolic, this episode feels like the kind of script Takeshi Shudo would write. Perhaps it would have been considered one of the best "filler" episodes in the anime if it had been in the main series. I just wanted to know why this special was placed here. This is clearly the Ash from I Choose You universe to me, but the ending seems to be trying to say something more.

The whole episode seems to draw a parallel between Satoshi and Haruto with their hair styles, similar tastes, the hats, the family themes, so there's room for some theories here. Ash appeared to have entered (with the "C-hat") and exited (without the "C-hat") through a "portal" throughout the incident (although it could just be a secret private location more prone to spirit manifestations, hence the Gengar stones everywhere) and used scarlet and violet gradients for two or three scenes during the episode, as well as the poster for the new anime. Additionally, the narrator at the end says that Ash's adventure "whatever happens, will go on", and that was none other than the late Ishizuka-san speaking (original narrator). There are several details that could be as much coincidence as messages or hints for the character's future, but what really made suspicious is the cap exchange at the end, which could have one of two meanings IMO:

1 - They are taking advantage of this moment to say goodbye to this AU Ash too. When Ash changes the "cap C" to the "cap L" it is as if they were symbolically sewing this universe to the other and preparing us for the Mezase Pokemon Master that will also serve to represent "cap C" Ash's farewell. Therefore, the possibility of the OG Ash~Journeys returning would remain open.

2 - They are preparing this Ash from ICY to return in the new series in case the audience ratings clamors for some help from nostalgia. Concepts such as Ash's father and the Aura Power were already touched upon here. This would mean that MPM is the definitive end of the original Ash and "Pokemon (2023)" is likely a real reboot.
Dec 26, 2022 11:20 PM
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Jun 2021
9
I just realized, we don't get to see Haruto's lower body; it's always behind bushes or rocks. If not, the angle makes it hard to see shadows. Only after the reveal that Haruto is dead, is when we get to see his lower body and that he doesn't have a shadow.
Dec 27, 2022 4:49 AM

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May 2009
3529
Kiirabu197 said:
Shoryuuken said:
This is the first time Satoshi's father has been mentioned throughout the series
No, he mentioned his father towards Koko in the 23rd film. And this episode takes place in that alternate timeline because of his cap, not in the series timeline. Although I wonder why he got his original one at the end, if it's not just for fanservice.

The artstyle is quite different from that one, most notably with the background resembling the first seasons of the anime, whether this is canon or not shouldn't really matter. This special is tied to the pokémon 2019 anime, so this event may have happened anytime during the main timeline, just not shown. Or it's canon like your said to movie 20 but I heavily doubt that, I don't see why they'd backpaddle to that one off film. 

This may be a message to the viewers as well, as we've always been watching over him kind of like a parent, very ambigious and extremely well done episode. 
Dec 28, 2022 4:50 PM
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Apr 2020
71
@Shoryuuken
The alternate timeline with his new cap includes film 20, 21, 23 and this special too. It's as much tied to the 2019 series as the films, meaning not really at all, although they all share the same Pocket Monsters logo in Japan. The artstyle indeed resembles the early seasons, I really liked that. Maybe it's like ShadowUnown said, a farewell to both the original and AU timeline.
Dec 31, 2022 10:02 AM

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Oct 2018
2722
Nice episode. The art direction tried to go for the approach of the classic Pokemon series, even the original director is supervising this. 
Mar 22, 2023 9:41 PM

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Feb 2021
2928
So He's actually a ghost.
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Jan 12, 10:07 AM

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Jan 2022
608
So yeah, this was not post-jouneys Ash, 100%, since post-journeys Ash is post Sun & Moon, and Ash is 11 at the start of Sun & Moon, but still 10 here.
I would have liked to see the dad's silhouette at least, but oh well.
Not a bad episode, but not a must watch.
Mar 20, 4:40 AM

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Feb 2020
1019
Here I am again to see the final stretch of Satoshi and Pikachu in the anime and this episode seems to have been more of Satoshi's delirium when he fell off his bike and fell into a coma

More topics from this board

» Shouldn't say 2019

GrayZStars - May 16, 2023

4 by GrayZStars »»
Jul 25, 2023 11:51 AM

» Alternate timeline

Evoboost488 - Dec 16, 2022

10 by MyNameIsOClock »»
Jan 4, 2023 8:53 PM
It’s time to ditch the text file.
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