Omg, I just remembered, in the older seasons and episodes of Pokemon, Ash and his friends met a Pokemon witch in training! They had help her with a potion or a spell to help people understand Pokemon language but instead Ash was temporarily changed in to a pikachu!
Just imagining this bombshell going off in potion class and it just made Ace and Deuce concerned, before they wonder what Pokémons them or everyone else would be. ash's rotom phone is gonna be gone for the day for this debate.
ASH’S ROTOM HAS A FIELD DAY DESCRIBING THE POKEMON THE STUDENTS ENDED UP TURNING INTO
[ID: a screenshot of Ash Ketchum from the Pokemon Sun and Moon anime. He is seated at a table with snack bites and a mug, with a forlorn look on his face as he speaks. The subtitles read: "I am too old for this." End ID]
Woke: Giovanni has mistakenly believed Ash was his hookup mistake for like a decade and is about to get the surprise of the century seeing that not only are they not related, but the employee he fired a few years ago for being too stupid is now living with him and being a more active father than he was
My personal headcanon for Ash Ketchum has always been that regardless of if his dream ever came true he'd never truly stop traveling and learning. Because despite "becoming a pokemon master" being his goal if you actually sit down and watch like Any episode of Pokemon the thing that always holds true is his curiosity and desire to learn everything he possibly can related to pokemon. And he'll try anything to! He did contests and the battle frontier. He'd do those silly little shows with Serena if they'd let him.
So I like to imagine him continuing on in life as this nomad who people don't automatically recognize as anyone important ya know? Just this goofy guy going from place to place always lending a helping hand and hes got a cute lil pikachu on him. And hes often lost somewhere with a friend just exploring the woods to see if he'll find anything cool. Ya know, as hes always been, but older now. And its only once hes drifted once more do you maybe stumble into an article on the pokeweb about him and are like... that guy??
The reason I love the idea of a kid Ash taming the legendary Pokemon Ho Oh. First, it would put any pompous person in their place seeing a child tame a legendary.
Second, it's clear that Ho Oh has been following Ash for his entire journey. If that rainbow bird is willing to follow Ash Ketcum, then they might be willing to join him.