The final saga for Pokémon's Ash Ketchum has begun, and while it's off to a slow start, it has delivered on at least one thing fans have wanted to see: Ash calling up some of his longest-benched Pokémon for a fresh new spot on his team.
In the anime, Ash typically collects a new team of Pokémon each time he enters a new region, leaving the previous team behind with Professor Oak (in most instances). Ash rarely swaps out his Pokémon with those kept by Professor Oak, except for when major tournaments come around. That means that Pokémon who were staples of the series during their run have been relegated to the bench for, in some cases, hundreds of episodes. While Ash periodically visits them at Oak's lab, it's hardly the same as carrying them with his team and using them in battle.
In the first episode of the new miniseries Aim to Be A Master, Ash is exploring on his own and comes into conflict with Team Rocket trying to steal Pikachu, as is common. When it's time to battle Team Rocket, Ash calls out his Noivern, who was a common member of his team in Pokémon XYZ. Wobbuffet reflects Noivern's attack with Mirror Coat, so Ash then calls out his Donphan--last used in the Sinnoh tournament nearly 600 episodes ago. Ash finishes up by calling out Sceptile, who frees Pikachu, who then sends Team Rocket flying with a Thunderbolt. When Ash encounters an injured Latias, he calls out his Buizel, who also hasn't been used in around 600 episodes. Counting Pikachu, that's five Pokémon, so Ash presumably has a sixth with him that wasn't shown in this episode, and is likely also a fan-favorite.
One Last Hurrah for Fan Favorite Pokémon
Knowing that Ash's journey will be done at the end of this miniseries, it's a real delight for fans to see him use some of their favorites once again, especially Pokémon like Sceptile, which had a lot of character and attitude during their time. It's not known yet if Ash will switch up his team regularly, or if this will be his team throughout the remaining episodes of Aim to Be A Master. It is interesting to note that most of the Pokémon Ash used in this episode were last used around the same time. Sceptile fought in the semi-final match of the Sinnoh tournament, while Donphan and Buizel were used in the round before. Noivern is the odd one out, since it had "only" been a little less than 300 episodes since its last appearance on his Kalos Pokémon team.
The Pokémon anime is sure to have more deep cuts for its most loyal fans as Ash's journey concludes in these final episodes.
