Summary
- In the alternate continuity of the 20th Pokémon movie, Ash gets the chance to challenge Ho-Oh after receiving an invitation from the Legendary Pokémon.
- However, the battle between Ash and Ho-Oh is disappointingly cut short, and the outcome is left ambiguous, leading to widespread disappointment among fans.
- The main continuity version of Ash never got the opportunity to challenge Ho-Oh, and the series ended without acknowledging Ho-Oh's role in Ash's story, leaving it as one of the Pokémon anime's biggest missed opportunities.
The first episode of Pokémon ended mysteriously, with Ash catching sight of the Pokémon that would come to be known as Ho-Oh. Ho-Oh's sighting was auspicious, as Ho-Oh would continue to appear to Ash throughout his adventures, and although the anime's Ash and Ho-Oh never came face-to-face in a climactic battle, at least one version of Ash did get that opportunity.
In the main series, Ash never actually challenges Ho-Oh, only ever seeing it flying off in the distance. However, in the 20th Pokémon movie, I Choose You!, which rebooted the series into a new continuity for its 20th anniversary, Ho-Oh doesn't just fly by; it drops a feather known as a Rainbow Wing, which is said to be an incredibly rare thing, and functionally an invitation for the holder of the Rainbow Wing to challenge Ho-Oh in all its Legendary power.
This sends Ash's journey off into a very different direction, meeting new traveling companions and making his way to the peak of Mt. Tensei, where Ho-Oh awaits.
Ash's Movie Battle with Ho-Oh Was Anti-Climactic
While the movie builds up to this alternate continuity Ash's battle with Ho-Oh, the actual battle is disappointingly cut short. The only known consequence of the battle is that Ash has to take Pikachu to a Pokémon Center afterward, something that would likely be true whether he won or lost. There's certainly no indication that Ash was able to capture Ho-Oh or anything like that, but the situation is left completely ambiguous as to whether Ash was even able to rise to Ho-Oh's challenge and give it a great battle.
It's definitely unfortunate that the main continuity version of Ash never got his opportunity to challenge Ho-Oh. It's something that some fans had hoped would happen in the "To Be a Pokémon Master" mini-series, which served as the final episodes of the main continuity, but those episodes passed by without so much as a mention of Ho-Oh, a Pokémon who seemed to have taken a very strong interest in Ash with its continued appearances. If there was ever any intent for Ash to become more involved with Ho-Oh, that plan must have been abandoned long ago.
So, while some version of Ash did get to challenge Ho-Oh, it wasn't the Ash fans were used to following in the anime, and even then the battle wasn't really shown to the audience, leading to widespread disappointment. The series went on to end without even acknowledging Ho-Oh's role in Ash's story, whatever that role might be. The alternate I Choose You! continuity would continue for 2 more movies and a TV special, but it, too, never returned to Ho-Oh.
Ash's lack of resolution with Ho-Oh may be one of the Pokémon anime's biggest missed opportunities, and it's a shame this match will never be seen by fans.
Pokemon
- Created by
- Satoshi Taijiri , Ken Sugimori , Junichi Masuda
- First Film
- Pokemon: The First Movie
- Latest Film
- Pokémon the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle
- First TV Show
- Pokémon
- First Episode Air Date
- April 1, 1997
- Current Series
- Pokémon
- TV Show(s)
- Pokémon
- Video Game(s)
- Pokemon Scarlet and Violet , Pokémon Legends: Arceus , Pokemon Snap , Pokémon GO
Summary
Spanning over twenty-five years, Pokemon, known as Pocket Monsters in Japan, is the multimedia franchise created jointly by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures. Conceptualized by Satoshi Tajiri in association with Ken Sugimori and Junichi Masuda, Pokemon is set in fictional worlds where people live together with tamable creatures known as Pokemon. Humans who catch, raise, and battle the creatures are known as Pokemon Trainers. They head out on extensive journeys across their continents to raise their Pokemon with the ultimate goal of competing in tournaments to become the champion. Pokemon spans several massive properties, from a long-running animated series to a successful trading card game, to the medium that started it all, video games. In addition, Pokemon began the "two-game" trend where two versions of a game would release and include different Pokemon/features between the versions, encouraging players to meet up with others and trade so they could "catch 'em all."
