This thread is not meant to be entirely serious, but it is meant to explain the timeline in a way that clears up the plot holes. Any plotholes can be discussed... I'll start it off with Ash's age.
Ash's age:
The contradiction - Ash was 10 when he started his journey and 10 when he left for Unova, however, between him starting his journey and going to Unova it was mentioned at least twice that at least a year has passed.
My explanation -
Modified timeline -
- 40 years, 1 month, and 1 day prior (February 29) - Ash is born
- about 30 years prior - Ash, Delia Ketchum, Professor Oak, and Professor Hale are all cryogenically preserved
- a few months prior - All four of them are restored
- 1 month and 1 day prior (February 29) - Ash's "10th" birthday
- April 1 (start of the series) - Ash begins his journey
- about 1 year later - Ash earns his Earth badge
- Ash competes in the Indigo League
- Ash competes in the Orange League
- 2 years later (April 1) - Ash and Pikachu celebrate "the day they first met"
- Ash competes in the Johto League
- Ash competes in the Hoenn League
- Ash completes the Battle Frontier
- Ash competes in the Sinnoh League
- shortly before 3 years and 11 months later - Ash leaves for Unova
- 3 years and about 11 months later - Ash's "11th" birthday
(an alternative to the cryogenetics theory is that Ash, his mom, Oak, and Hale were sent to another dimension by some Pokémon for 30 years before being freed and having their minds cleared)
The completely alternative theory is that nothing unusual happened... Ash aged completely normally throughout all the serieses up until just before the start of BW (when he may have been 13, 14, 15, maybe 16, who knows?)... when (completely not mentioned in the anime ever) Dialga or Celebi transported the 10 year old Ash from the beginning of the series to the present. And since the Ash of the past is now in the present, he was erased from history and did not go through the Orange Islands / Johto / Hoenn / Sinnoh, so the present-day Ash (the one who's older than 10) would not exist. This new present-day Ash (who is actually the Ash from before he earned his 8th badge) who took his place was 10, and that explains why his character / maturity supposedly regressed when he went to Unova.
Ash's age:
The contradiction - Ash was 10 when he started his journey and 10 when he left for Unova, however, between him starting his journey and going to Unova it was mentioned at least twice that at least a year has passed.
My explanation -
Premise 1 - Ash started his journey on April 1st (common assumption... the novelisation says that trainers begin their journey in April)
Premise 2 - The novelisation was wrong about Ash starting his journey when he was "10 years, 10 months, and 10 days". It was really "1 month and 1 day after his 10th birthday". Ash was actually born on February 29th of a leap year.
Premise 3 - "10th birthday" refers to a birthday occurring ten times. By extension, "10 year old" means someone who's had 10 birthdays, not someone who is literally 10 years old. Ash was actually 40 but was considered "10".
Premise 4 - The series takes place some time in the future after cryopreservation has been perfected.
Premise 5 - Ash made his way through all the regions besides Unova in a span of less that 4 years. Since Ash didn't have his "11th" birthday yet, he was still considered "10" at the start of Unova
Premise 2 - The novelisation was wrong about Ash starting his journey when he was "10 years, 10 months, and 10 days". It was really "1 month and 1 day after his 10th birthday". Ash was actually born on February 29th of a leap year.
Premise 3 - "10th birthday" refers to a birthday occurring ten times. By extension, "10 year old" means someone who's had 10 birthdays, not someone who is literally 10 years old. Ash was actually 40 but was considered "10".
Premise 4 - The series takes place some time in the future after cryopreservation has been perfected.
Premise 5 - Ash made his way through all the regions besides Unova in a span of less that 4 years. Since Ash didn't have his "11th" birthday yet, he was still considered "10" at the start of Unova
Modified timeline -
- 40 years, 1 month, and 1 day prior (February 29) - Ash is born
- about 30 years prior - Ash, Delia Ketchum, Professor Oak, and Professor Hale are all cryogenically preserved
- a few months prior - All four of them are restored
- 1 month and 1 day prior (February 29) - Ash's "10th" birthday
- April 1 (start of the series) - Ash begins his journey
- about 1 year later - Ash earns his Earth badge
- Ash competes in the Indigo League
- Ash competes in the Orange League
- 2 years later (April 1) - Ash and Pikachu celebrate "the day they first met"
- Ash competes in the Johto League
- Ash competes in the Hoenn League
- Ash completes the Battle Frontier
- Ash competes in the Sinnoh League
- shortly before 3 years and 11 months later - Ash leaves for Unova
- 3 years and about 11 months later - Ash's "11th" birthday
(an alternative to the cryogenetics theory is that Ash, his mom, Oak, and Hale were sent to another dimension by some Pokémon for 30 years before being freed and having their minds cleared)
The completely alternative theory is that nothing unusual happened... Ash aged completely normally throughout all the serieses up until just before the start of BW (when he may have been 13, 14, 15, maybe 16, who knows?)... when (completely not mentioned in the anime ever) Dialga or Celebi transported the 10 year old Ash from the beginning of the series to the present. And since the Ash of the past is now in the present, he was erased from history and did not go through the Orange Islands / Johto / Hoenn / Sinnoh, so the present-day Ash (the one who's older than 10) would not exist. This new present-day Ash (who is actually the Ash from before he earned his 8th badge) who took his place was 10, and that explains why his character / maturity supposedly regressed when he went to Unova.
