10 Insane TV Theories You Won't Believe
6. Ash From Pokemon Is Immortal
Far be it from us to make you feel old (there are plenty of other articles on the internet which are out to do that), but the Pokemon TV series has been running for almost 20 years at this point. It's still going, too, and despite some costume changes and the addition of a billion more pocket monsters, Ash Ketchum is still the star. He's running around with his boundless enthusiasm, red-and-white baseball cap and weird lightning bolt marks on his cheeks - are they scars? Like, Harry Potter style? Did his mum brand him? - having fun, kid-friendly adventures. And he doesn't seem to have aged a day, one of the advantages to being a fictional cartoon character.
Wait, but how does that work? He started off his journey as a ten-year-old, and almost two decades later he's...still a ten-year-old. Man, must be some weird time-dilation sh*t happening over there. Or possibly not: there may actually be an in-universe explanation for why Ash Ketchum possesses immortal youth. If you're willing to read inbetween the lines a little, anyway, and we've been doing that for half an article at this point, so why stop now? In the very first episode of Pokemon - y'know, when Ash turns ten, is late to select his starter monster, and gets saddled with the unruly Pikachu - he briefly observes Ho-Oh, one of the so-called legendary Pokemon, flying over a rainbow and leaving a magical, glittering trail in its wake.
In the games, Ho-Oh's description includes the promise that "anyone seeing it is promised eternal happiness". And what would eternal happiness look like to young Mr Ketchum? To forever be on a Pokemon journey. And that's why he's forever young. Now try getting that Alphaville song out of your head.