Ash Ketchum Is Officially Coming To The Pokemon Games
If you got into Pokemon back in the early 2000s, you either found the games via the anime, or the anime via the games. Either way, the cartoon was the perfect accompaniment to the catchin' classics, while Ash Ketchum's adventures across the regions were always a joy to watch.
The anime was great - except when it was getting weird and giving children in Japan very intense seizures. But still, Ash Ketchum has become an enduring icon of anime at large, and is a huge reason for the many successes of the Pokemon series. Yet, he hasn't really appeared in any games. But that's about to change.
Is Ash Finally Coming To The Pokemon Games?
Well, it's about time. One fan has noticed that the models of Pokemon Masters EX have received an update - and they've added Ash himself. That's right, the OG trainer is finally getting his time to shine. Move over Red and Blue.
The mobile game is massively successful, and it's about to be rewarded with the arrival of the anime protagonist, according to Twitter user Akilvers. The tweet reveals the model itself, next to his Pikachu, and confirms for good that Ash is finally arriving in the franchise.
"I'll say it loud and clear once again," they say. "For the first time in all these 25 years, Ash Ketchum/ Satoshi appears in the game not as an easter egg, hint, letter, OT or JPG in an arcade machine, but as an OFFICIAL LEGIT REAL 3D_GAME_MODEL!" The Twitterverse can rejoice!
When Will Ash Be Playable In Pokemon Masters EX?
There's no telling yet when exactly Ash will arrive in the game in playable form, but he's been added to the files now. While we wait for an update from the devs, Ash is likely to be dropping very soon. Plus, as this is clearly an addition to promote the end of Pokemon Frontiers' current arc, it'd be surprising if it didn't launch to coincide with this.
Regardless, this is pretty big - and though Masters EX is a mobile game, this opens the door for Ash to make it to the mainline. The various Game Freak games have had plenty of NPCs who appear in the animes like Giovanni and Nurse Joy, but Ash has been mysteriously MIA. As for Ash's potential leap into mainline games... Scarlet & Violet, maybe?