Pokémon is coming back for another season in 2023, but shockingly, it will be Ash Ketchum’s last. This does mean that there are sure to be lots of cameos, bringing back fan favourite anime characters from back in the day to celebrate this being Ash’s swan song. And we now know that one of these is going to be the purveyors of the finest sunglasses in town – The Squirtle Squad.
The current iteration of the Pokémon series is called Aim to be a Pokémon Master. It has been revealed that episode 5 of the final season will be called Burn! The Squirtle Squad. Once Aim to be a Pokémon Master has bowed out, and Ash has caught his final Pokémon, a new iteration of the anime is expected later this year. The new one will feature new heroes, so the focus is unlikely to be on legacy characters.
The episode titles that we know so far are; Winds of Beginning! The Endless Road!, Satoshi vs Kasumi! A One-on-One at the Beach!, Takeshi, Dent and the Forest Witch, A Beartic’s Sigh, and Burn! The Squirtle Squad.
Ash Ketchum has been around for 25 years, and he recently finally achieved his dream of becoming Pokémon World Champion. Pokémon is one of the highest-grossing franchises of all time, since starting life as a video game in 1996. The anime series has run for 20 seasons and over 1,000 episodes. There has also been over 20 Pokémon movies. It’s also obviously the biggest-selling trading card game of all time.
Everyone has their own favourite Pokémon, and it’s hard to get many people to agree on which is the ‘best.’ Some popular ones include Torterra, Snorlax, Ninetales, Eevee, Umbreon, Bulbasaur, Charizard, and of course – Squirtle. Pokémon Go became a global phenomenon in the summer of 2016 and cities saw swarms of Pokémon hunters competing to pick up the most coveted characters.
Fans of Pokémon will be sad to see the last of Ash Ketchum, the legendary trainer. But there is hope for the new characters, and the popularity of the anime, games, cards and more is unlikely to diminish.
Check out our guide to new movies coming out in 2023.