I have been watching Pokémon from the very beginning; I watched as Ash began his journey with his partner, Pikachu; I watched him travel across the lands, searching far and wide, battling every day, learning and gaining strength as an individual and as a trainer so he could help train and teach his Pokémon the power they had inside; I watched him face every challenge along the way with courage; I watched him come together arm in arm with his team, when the time was right, and claim his rightful place as Pokémon Champion of the World… and I can’t even begin to put into words how amazing and emotional it was to watch, but I’ll do my best.
I was just a kid when Pokémon burst onto the scene, and it immediately became my life. I would watch it every day, I would read the books, I collected the cards, I had all the toys, I watched all the movies, I played all the games, I wore all the clothes, I would even pretend to be a Pokémon trainer and catch Pokémon, and as I got older I even began to cosplay. Pokémon has been a huge part of my life from the beginning; through everything, it’s been a constant and a place of joy and comfort for me. It’s been there in times of joy (like my husband proposing to me with a MasterBall), in times of saddness (like helping me escape and work through grief and trauma), and it’s just been there to bring me good times; it’s like the entire series has been my partner Pokémon all along. So, when I heard that Ash and Pikachu’s journey was coming to an end, I had a lot of feelings.
I went through the full process of grieving:
DENIAL: I refused to believe it. Ash and Pikachu ARE Pokémon. Without Ash and Pikachu, what even is Pokémon. Surely they aren’t actually ending their sotry. They can’t do that, right? No. No. No. No. No.
ANGER: Why would they do that? Why would they ruin Pokémon by removing the main characters? The whole story is about Ash and Pikachu on the pursuit to be the very best, and you can’t tell that story if you remove them from the story!
BARGAINING: There has to be a way to stop this from happening. Can we make a petition or something? Surely if a whole generation of Pokémon fans band together they will have to stop this from happening.
DEPRESSION: Pokémon has been like 25 years of my life and it’s all coming to an end. It’s all going to be over.
ACCEPTANCE: Well, I suppose it is actually going to be good to see Ash finally reach his goal. It’s about time. He deserves it; but heck, I am gonna miss that kid and his Pikachu.
Watching the Journeys series has been such a ride. Experiencing and reliving Ash and Pikachu’s journey from the beginning but in a new way in Pokémon Journeys was really exciting for an OG Pokémon fan like myself. Then watching his story continue as he travelled across all of the lands and work his way through the World Coronation Series was also really exciting; but perhaps the most exciting thing of all was watching it all come to an epic climax in Pokémon Ultimate Journeys when Ash battled Leon for the title of Pokémon World Champion.
I have to admit, I was a little thrown by Ash’s choice of Pokémon for his team, but the way that they battled and unlocked a new level of strength and power in this battle was phenomenal and inspiring. I also loved how they said a big F-You to the rules and enabled the use of all abillities, so we got to see mega evolution, dynamax, gigantamax, and z moves all in the one battle, and I have to say, that was absolutely freaking incredible to watch! In all honesty, it was the best battle I have ever witnessed in all of Pokémon, and I think it is safe to assume that we will never see anything like that again. The creators not only gave Ash and this battle the absolute respect that it deserved, but they gave the OG and hardcore Pokémon fans the battle of a lifetime. From the animations, to the tension, the music, everything about this battle was just incredible. I was literally on the edge of my seat the whole time, and in those final moments of the battle I got incredibly emotional.
Yes, I cried. It was neck and neck; both Leon’s Charizard and Ash’s Pikachu were on their last legs. Pikachu was giving it everything he had to stay conscious to continue the battle, then he felt the energy and support of all of the other Pokémon in the team and Ash had some final words of encouragement as the original Pokémon theme song began to play and Pikachu gathered all the energy he had left to land one final blow, knocking down Charizard and taking the win. It was incredibly emotional seeing Ash finally achieve his dream with his partner Pokémon, Pikachu, after all this time… I am even getting emotional and teary-eyed as I type this.
I loved watching as Ash and his Pokémon proved strength after strength that they are the very best – because let’s face it, a trainer is nothing really without their Pokémon team. I loved seeing the use of all of the abilities, and especially loved seeing Gigantamax Chonkachu – I mean, Pikachu. I loved seeing all of his friends and family and Pokémon watching on across the world in support. I loved that both Leon and Ash were super positive throughout the whole battle and they just thoroughly and genuinely had an absolute blast and enjoyed the entire experience. I loved that there was no negativity surrounding the dethroning of Leon as World Champion, and there was nothing but respect and adoration for both Ash and Leon and a complete all round celebration for Ash and Pikachu taking the win – even from Team Rocket. I just loved everything about this battle and this particular episode. It was perfect.
I still have a couple of episodes to go until I finish the series, but this episode – episode 38 of season 25, “Partners in Time” – will by far be the most incredible moment of Pokémon I have ever watched. I have only felt this level of excitement and intense emotion three times in the history of Pokémon; there was the first episode I watched back in 1997/98 when I first fell in love with the series; there was the first movie (Pokémon: The First Movie) and getting to see it in the cinema and there was that super emotional scene where all the Pokémon tears brought Ash back to life; and there was this episode with the most epic battle moment in all of Pokémon history and Ash’s dream finally came true. And while I am sad to see Ash’s journey end, I am really keen to watch these last few episode and to watch To Be A Pokémon Master, and to see what journeys will unfold with the future of Pokémon; especially as my kids are beginning their journey with Pokémon.
Until next time,
my neuro diaries 
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