12 Times Pokemon Legitimately DIED

In the first episode of the Sun & Moon series, Ash and Pikachu, in their new Alolan setting, come across a Litten by way of accidentally stepping on it, to which unsurprisingly, the Litten doesn't take too kindly to and tries to set Ash on fire.

Litten makes a few more appearances throughout the following episodes typically looking for food, before it is eventually realised that it is hoarding this food for a nearby Stoutland. The Stoutland is much older, and can no longer forage for food like it once did, passing the task on to the Litten. Stoutland and Litten are seen to have a strong bond between them, that Ash pledges not to capture the Litten, lest he separate it from it's ageing cohort.

Several episodes later, Litten tracks down Ash and his party and brings them to Stoutland, whom they find collapsed and struggling to breathe. Despite the best efforts of Litten, Ash and Nurse Joy, Stoutland would soon after pass away, disappearing as it and Litten slept. Given the subject matter (and the fact this is meant for CHILDREN), the Litten/Stoutland story-arc is one of the more tastefully done from the franchise, easing the subject matter with kid-friendly iconography such as a withering tree and an apparition in a rainbow.