When a series has gone on as long as Pokémon has, there are bound to be storylines that get lost in the process. Ash Ketchum and Pikachu have been on their journey for two decades now, during which they’ve encountered other Pokémon, villains like Team Rocket, and a host of other elements in the fictional world.
While certain arcs like Ash’s quest to be the greatest trainer have remained, there are other stories that have been set up but then dropped. Although they may get the occasional mention, these haven’t been followed up with after having presented as plot points, and it’s worth revisiting the Pokémon arcs that remain hanging.
10 Ash's Return For Pidgeot
Ash’s Pidgeot was one of his original Pokémon and he only let it go in order for Pidgeot to guard over a flock of Pidgey and Pidgeotto. However, this angle was never concluded, as the flock’s danger wasn’t over, and Ash promised he would return for Pidgeot.
It’s been over 20 seasons since then and Ash has yet to fulfill this promise. Moreover, the issue with the flock of Pokémon being under threat is still unresolved, as Ash seems to have forgotten about his Pidgeot and the other Pokémon’s problems entirely.
9 Brock's Stay With Professor Ivy
Brock’s habit of falling in love with just about every woman he meets is a running gag in Pokémon, but he ended up staying with Professor Ivy in the Orange Islands. The story was that Brock wanted to learn under her tutelage while also harboring his crush for her.
However, Brock mysteriously reappeared at Pallet Town later on, following which he would act horrified whenever Professor Ivy’s name was uttered. Not only was the arc of his stay with Professor Ivy abandoned, but the reason for his intense reaction to her was also phased out shortly after, making it seem as if the whole thing never happened.
8 Pikachu's Nature As A Special Pokemon
The latest season finally went into the origins and sad facts about Pikachu, but the original story of him being a special Pokémon has been done away with and not expanded upon. Initially, Team Rocket was after Pikachu primarily because he was unnaturally powerful, with Ash looking to hone these skills.
Later on though, the angle of Pikachu being exceptional was dropped, as he’s traveled to just about every place there is with Ash and remains average at best. Team Rocket’s motivations have also turned into simply antagonizing Ash and his friends in general, meaning Pikachu’s special nature doesn’t really apply anymore.
7 Professor Oak's Identity As Ash's Friend
The earlier Pokémon movies were directly connected to the TV show, with the series having lead up to the story of Pokémon 4Ever. Here, Ash met a boy named Sam who had traveled from the past with a Pokémon called Celebi. Eventually, Sam returned to his time, and Ash was saddened at the loss of his friend.
Professor Oak comforted Ash and assured him he would meet Sam again, with it later being revealed that he was the grown-up Sam. However, the series has never gotten into this in the ensuing years, with no further mention of Professor Oak’s childhood as Sam or the promise of his reunion with Ash.
6 Ash's Pursuit Of The First Legendary Pokémon He Saw
In the first episode of Pokémon, Ash ended up witnessing the sight of a legendary creature known as Ho-Oh. A recurring aspect was that no one believed Ash when he told them of this moment, prompting him to hope that he would one day prove Ho-Oh was real.
This hope of Ash’s has been effectively abandoned, as he hasn’t pursued Ho-Oh ever since. Pokémon Journeys did bring Ho-Oh up, but that wasn’t centered around Ash nor did he see it again. It was also only a singular story rather than being connected to Ash’s journey. Overall, Ho-Oh has just been sidelined to an occasional mention rather than being the basis of Ash’s story as it once was supposed to be.
5 Zekrom's Role In Zapping Away Pikachu's Powers
In this story, Pikachu was overcharged with electricity after being zapped by the legendary Pokémon known as Zekrom. Following this, Pikachu was unable to use his powers and it became a plot point that his abilities had diminished, with the main crux of the story being Ash and Pikachu’s identity crisis over this.
However, Zekrom ended up zapping Pikachu once again for the latter to regain his abilities, thereby ending all of the angst Ash and Pikachu had suffered. This wasn’t exactly a conclusion to this story, seeing as Ash and Pikachu’s problems effectively vanished and weren’t really addressed. Moreover, the idea of Pikachu losing his powers was handwaved without explaining the specifics behind why it happened.
4 Jesse's Regrets At Not Pursuing Her First Crush
When Jessie saw that her Dustox had fallen in love, she decided to let it go to be happy. This was a result of the revelation that she had had a childhood crush named Astin with whom she’d contemplated leaving her school to join on his Pokémon journey.
This was a new story for her and marked a change from Team Rocket’s usual antics, and tied in with the Dustox storyline as well. However, despite Jessie voicing her regret at not going along with Astin back in the day, this arc was abandoned altogether, with Astin not even getting another mention and Jessie’s seemingly first attraction becoming an afterthought.
3 The Pokémon Journey Of Ash's Father
This was an underlying storyline for some time in the original series, as it was mentioned by Ash’s mother that his father and grandfather were on their own Pokémon journey. Since then the idea hasn’t been picked up, with Ash’s father never being mentioned either.
Considering how long he’s been gone, it would have to be an amazing story for the senior Ketchum, but his journey has been abandoned by the show itself. Over time, the series has made it appear as if Ash’s mother has solely raised him and the topic of his father doesn’t come up.
2 The GS Ball
This arc is the reason for the other abandoned storylines of Professor Ivy and the Sam/Celebi angle. As it happened, Ash was tasked to bring the mysterious GS Ball from Professor Ivy to Oak, but both were unable to open or study the ball. Eventually, Ash took it to the Poké Ball smith Kurt in Johto, after which the GS Ball was never mentioned again.
This was a storyline that had run for a long time and was a mystery that seemingly needed to be solved, only for it to never factor in again. As later revealed in an interview with PokeBeach, the GS Ball was supposed to contain a Celebi within it, but the Pokémon 4Ever story ended up introducing the Pokémon first, resulting in the GS Ball being abandoned.
1 Misty & Ash's Romance Subplot
Misty remains one of Ash’s best friends in Pokémon, but the overarching subplot during her time in the series was her potential romance with him. This was brought up multiple times, with supporting characters mistaking her for Ash’s girlfriend.
Their relationship was filled with romantic or future-romance elements, such as their constant bickering and hints of attraction, yet this was all over without a real ending. Misty was written off after Master Quest, and her later appearances didn’t bring up her original dynamic with Ash either, with the series presenting them as old friends and ignoring the amorous subplot.
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