Well that took long enough. Fans of the animated series Pokémon were delighted to see the main protagonist Ash Ketchum finally win the World Championship.
The big moment took place in the latest episode of Pokémon Ultimate Journeys: The Series, which premiered today in Japan. The Japanese TV show sent out a congratulatory tweet which gained over 300k favourites.
Since 1997, the show, which has ran for over 1,200 episodes, has followed Ketchum on his quest to become the greatest Pokémon trainer of all time.
He's done it! Ash has become a World Champion! 🏆🎉 pic.twitter.com/a2jPb8pym3
— Pokémon (@Pokemon) November 11, 2022
The first games, Pocket Monsters Red and Green, were released in 1996 in Japan for the Game Boy, later released outside of Japan as Pokémon Red and Blue.
Earlier this year, the series released Pokémon Legends: Arceus on Nintendo Switch which sold over 12 million copies worldwide. The game was a long time coming and was the first of its kind; a free-roaming action RPG which fans had been calling out for for years.
This week, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet's entire Pokedex was leaked, revealing all of the creatures and their evolutions in the upcoming games. Announced in February, they are the first instalments in the ninth generation of the Pokémon video game series and are set to be released on November 18.
While we wait patiently for those to release, let's all take a moment to congratulate young Ash. He's a long way from Pallet Town now.
