The Pokémon Anime Almost Had a Bizarrely Dark Ending
It seems like the Pokémon anime will go on forever, but head writer Shudo Takeshi once planned for a surprisingly downbeat ending.
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The Pokémon anime has been running since 1997, and there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight. Many a joke has been made about how Ash Ketchum has been ten years old for 25 years, and his journey probably will continue for some time. But in the days before the franchise’s immense popularity ensured the anime would continue to run, head writer Shudo Takeshi did have an ending in mind — and it would have been extremely dark and strange.
In a blog post written in 2009, Shudo discussed his experiences writing for Pokémon, sharing a lot of new behind-the-scenes information. Among these revelations were two possible endings he had thought of for the anime. The first concept was intended for the debut Pokémon movie, Mewtwo Strikes Back, and while less dark than the second, it was still quite bizarre and melancholy.
This ending would have seen Ash, now an old man, looking back on his childhood journey and the exciting experiences he could no longer have. Then, he hears his mother’s voice telling him to go to sleep and that he’ll be setting off on his journey tomorrow. The next day, Ash wakes as a young boy again, ready to start his adventures anew. According to Shudo, this time “he’s going on a journey not to catch Pokémon or become a Pokémon master, but to discover the meaning of existence, to discover how to coexist with others.”
Shudo’s second idea for a Pokémon anime ending was much less hopeful. “The Pokémon would stage a rebellion much like Spartacus in ancient Rome,” he wrote. “Although at first glance Pokémon appear to be friends with humans, they would realize they’re actually being used like slaves, which would lead to an uprising.” The leader of this revolt would be none other than Pikachu, which Ash would find himself having to fight against. Team Rocket would attempt to mediate the human-Pokémon conflict with the help of Meowth’s translation skills, but would accidentally end up making things worse.
This would have been a shocking finale for fans of Pokémon, who are used to Pikachu being portrayed as Ash’s loyal best friend. The franchise’s canon emphasizes that Pokémon enjoy working with humans and battling, and although some trainers do work their Pokémon too hard, they are the minority. There have been times when Pokémon have attacked humans — such as in the classic episode “Tentacool & Tentacruel” — but these incidents are always portrayed as unusual and surprising.
Shudo himself acknowledged that his idea “would break the rules of the Pokémon world and make it impossible for the series to continue,” and that if the story was produced, “it would literally have to be the last episode ever.” Shudo, who wrote the first three Pokémon movies, had considered writing a fourth but abandoned the attempt because the uprising story was the only idea he could think of.
The blog post is full of other strange information, including that Ash originally wasn’t going to appear in the second movie at all, but Shudo’s ending ideas stand out as the most striking. In reality the Pokémon anime is still going strong, and Ash and Pikachu are still the best of friends. But it’s fascinating and a little unsettling to know that, if the series had not been popular enough to continue, things could have ended on quite a dark and depressing note.
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