TheMindOfThomas
Member
- Joined
- Feb 4, 2020
- Messages
- 32
- Reaction score
- 80
The clean slate you're talking about simply comes from the fact the story isn't focusing on Ash anymore. That doesn't mean he or any of his friends don't still exist somewhere lol. The Pokémon world is big enough that they can set multiple stories in the same universe/timeline, while not having too many big connections between them.I feel OLM has started with a clean slate in Horizons. While that doesn’t prove whether or not Horizons takes place in the same universe of timeline with Ash, I feel any character Ash traveled with might not be the same person. Who knows but so far I’m not convinced Ash is even alive in Horizons.
In the same way, I also feel that most of the characters Ash interacted with are bigger than just their connection to him. They have their own lives and adventures separate from him, and they wouldn't need to retcon them into entirely different characters just to have them interact with the Horizons cast. Doing so would be horrible writing and cheapen the value of the characters themselves.
Who knows but so far I’m not convinced Ash is even alive in Horizons.
Also, on a side note, why would they make a universe where their flagship character of 26 years no longer exists? From an IP standpoint that's just dumb and would only hurt them going forward when they inevitably bring him back for an anniversary event or something down the line.
This just reminds me of the times when people swore up and down that Sun and Moon was in a different continuity just because they changed the art style, with no other evidence to back their claims. And eventually, they were proven wrong.