As the world continues to try and move pastAsh and Pikachu’s departure from the Pokemon animeafter more than a quarter of a century, a new era of the show has begun. Pokemon Horizons has debuted in Japan, officially introducing Ash’s replacement, Liko. When first shown, many of you thought Horizons might be set in a far-flungPokemonfuture and that Ash could be her dad. Sadly, that exciting theory has been debunked. At least for now.During the one-hour special that kicked off the new series, it’s clarified that Liko hails from Paldea and has journeyed to Kanto to attend the Indigo Academy. It’s something she says about the academy that appears to have put the Ash is her dad theory to bed. “When I asked my father and mother about school, they told me about this place, how they both went here,” Liko says, as highlighted byGryphonCoolon Twitter.RELATED:Ash’s Pokemon Journey Is Over, But Its Meaning Will Stay With Us ForeverSo Liko’s dad went to the Indigo Academy, and even though it can be found in the region Ash calls home, the OG Pokemon trainer did not. Neither did Serena, the woman some of you have been pairing up with Ash in your attempts to make the Liko’s parents theory make sense. There is a glimmer of hope for the theory though, as pointed out byComicBook. Ash remained ten years old throughout his 26-year run. It’s possible he returned home and went back to school after becoming a Pokemon Champion and completing his journey.
While it would be a little odd for someone who has learned just about everything there is to know about Pokemon to return home and attend school, Liko doesn’t specify what exactly her parents did at the Indigo Academy. Perhaps Ash attended as a teacher, sharing stories and life lessons about the 26-year journey he embarked on. That does seem unlikely though and for now, we should probably just be happy Liko has a father at all.What exactly happened to Ash’s dad was never properly addressed, so for info on a Pokemon protagonist’s father being dropped right away is a good sign.
Episode one may have debunked one theory, but it has generated another revolving around the new Pokemon it revealed. Promotion for Horizons has heavily featured Liko’s pendant, and for good reason.Turns out there’s a Pokemon living inside it, and it looks a lot like a pre-evolved form of Tearpagos. Terapagos will be introduced toScarlet & Violetvia its DLC later this year withsome of you thinking the Pokemon is Paldea itself.
