Ash's recent victory over Leon has left a lot of fans wondering what comes next. He's effectively proven himself to be the strongest Pokémon Trainer in the world, which should make him a Pokémon Master. His story should be over.

Many fans believe that now would be a good time to finally replace Ash with a new protagonist. However, there may yet be more to do with Ash as the main character. After all, being a Pokémon Master entails a lot more than simply beating a Champion or two. If the anime continues, it could be a chance for Ash to find more ways to be the very best.

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Will There Be A New Protagonist Introduced to the Anime?

An image of Ash and Goh with their Pokemon

It's important to remember what happened at the end of the Sun and Moon anime. This was the first time Ash had won a Pokémon League and become a region's champion. A lot of fans thought this would mark the end of Ash's journey, but it didn't. He instead went on to compete in the World Coronation Series to become the Champion of the world. He might not have anywhere further upward to go, but that's beside the point. The key takeaway is that If the anime wants to give Ash more to do, they'll find something.

As for whether there will be a new protagonist, that's still entirely possible. Ash's traveling companions often come with their own set of dreams that don't necessarily involve challenging a League or the WCS. Such goals include winning Contests or catching rare Pokémon. Seeing Ash's traveling companions strive for things like this helps break up the monotony of Ash's journey while also allowing the audience to explore new facets of the Pokémon world.

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While it's unlikely that anyone will completely usurp Ash's main character title, there could be those who share it with him. Gou, for instance, was given so much importance in Pokémon Journeys that he was treated as a deuteragonist to Ash. His goal of catching Mew has become such a big deal that the series is now focusing mainly on his adventures until this goal is reached. Ideally, this level of importance will be given to more of Ash's travel companions in the future. In this sense, he would be surrendering his main character status, but not entirely or permanently.

As it turns out, the story, or rather stories, of the new Pokémon Scarlet and Violet games could be just what the anime needs. Besides the new Paldea region and its Pokémon, the games are split into multiple storylines that go well beyond the standard League challenge. On top of that, each of these stories prominently features one of the player character's friends as a sort of secondary protagonist.

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Does Ash Still Need to Become a Pokémon Master?

Ash Ketchum is finally Pokemon World Champion

Ash could continue his journey of challenging Pokémon Leagues while also helping his friends with all of their goals. He and Nemona could be friendly rivals in the Paldea Gym Challenge. He could also help Arven challenge the Titans and collect the herbs necessary to heal his Mabosstiff. It would also be interesting to see how the anime would handle the story of Penny and Team Star. This might even be the series where Ash catches a Box Legendary Pokémon after following its story. At the very least, Ash and his friends should have plenty to do in the coming region.

As for Ash's dream of becoming a Pokémon master, that's still a fairly relevant goal. If Dragon Ball Z has taught anyone anything, it's that becoming a champion, even a world champion, is never the end of the road. There will always be powerful new opponents and Pokémon for Ash to test himself against. If anything, becoming a Champion has made his quest even more relevant as he now has to defend his title.

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If Ash wants to be a true Pokémon Master, he'll have to learn to stay ahead of the game. This means visiting more regions, meeting more people and Pokémon, and even competing in more Leagues. Otherwise, he'll lose his title to the first person to use a new gimmick like Terastallization against him. In this regard, not much has changed about Ash's ultimate quest.

For Ash, the journey to becoming a Pokémon master may never come to an end. As long as he's looking to refine his skills and learn everything he can about the world of Pokémon, there will be more for him to do. That said, if he makes a few more friends to share the spotlight with, the anime should turn out all the better for it.