Over 20 years ago, one of the saddest moments in the history of Pokémon happened. Ash Ketchum said goodbye to his beloved Butterfree in the poignant episode “Bye, Bye Butterfree.” The forever ten-year-old has faced a plethora of challenges over the course of his long Pokémon training career, but releasing Butterfree was one of the toughest moments he ever had to endure.
With Ash’s journey seemingly coming to an end in Pokémon Journeys, bringing back his beloved Butterfree one more time would be an incredible send-off for our hero and the closure we all could finally have.
Ash Ketchum finally achieved his goal when he won the Alola League during Pokémon the Series: Sun and Moon. In the newest season of the long-running series, Pokémon Journeys, Ash sets off to travel the entire world and visit all eight regions throughout. This feels like the final send-off for Ash as he has finally reached the pinnacle of what he wanted to do. There isn’t much more he can do and with Ash revisiting every region once more, mixing in nostalgic elements and resurfacing iconic moments in his journey could be the perfect sendoff for Ash if it truly is the end of the line for him. One perfect way to do that would be reuniting Ash with his beloved Butterfree one last time.
It’s safe to say Ash letting Butterfree go to be with the pink Butterfree is arguably the saddest moment in his entire journey. It’s a bitter-sweet sendoff for the first Pokémon Ash ever caught once he left on his journey to become a Pokémon master. When Butterfree does fly away, brief flashbacks of their journey together plays accompanied by tears, but the understanding that this is the best for Butterfree despite being hard for Ash shines through. It’s a heart-breaking sacrifice. If Ash could have the opportunity to see Butterfree one last time and know that he is okay, nothing could be better. The tears would certainly be there… from everyone.
It’s been a long journey for Ash and we have seen him grow into a League Champion in the process. With what seems like the swan song for his Pokémon journey on the show, revisiting some key moments and allowing things to come completely full circle would be a perfect send off for him. We have all missed Butterfree since Ash let him be free and bringing him back would be the perfect way for us to not only say goodbye to Ash but the closure that everything turned out alright.
