Pokémon anime reunites Ash with his Squirtle after 23 years

The Pokémon anime is once again out to make every nostalgic fan cry, this time by reuniting Ash with his Squirtle, who he first met in the original series.

Everyone knows at this point that Ash’s days as Pokémon’s main protagonist are almost over. After becoming the very best like no one ever was, the eternal 10-year-old is finally retiring from his journey, and has a new goal in mind - ‘make more friends’. It’s a bit of a change of pace from becoming the Pokémon champion, but hey, the guy definitely deserves a break.

Take a look at Ash’s big win from the anime below.

Ash is truly being given a hero’s sendoff - currently, an 11-episode miniseries is being aired, which marks his “final chapter”. As ComicBook reports, in the most recent episode, ‘Enter the Squirtle Fire Brigade!’, Ash discovers that his old friend and the rest of the Squirtle Squad are performing in a special show, allowing the two to finally reunite after all these years. Take a look below.

#anipoke Ash and Squirtle (1997-2023) pic.twitter.com/EtKYdleqhB

— Dracovish (@Uonoragonx882) February 11, 2023

They sure know how to tug on the heartstrings with these new episodes - the fact that Brock and Misty are also back is nostalgic enough, but Ash meeting his Butterfree again at the end of the Pokémon Ultimate Journeys series was so bittersweet. It might have been 25 years since ‘Bye Bye Butterfree’, but it’s still too soon. My heart.

After Ash steps down as the main protagonist, he’ll be replaced by two completely new faces. It’s going to be a serious shakeup for the series, and it’s still quite difficult to imagine how it’ll go on without him and Pikachu. It’s not been confirmed if Ash will remain in the series in some fashion, but I’m holding onto the hope that he’ll at least make some appearances - surely this won't be the last we see of him.