Many fans of thePokémonanime have longed to see its characters actually get a chance to grow up, but as it turns out, at least one character has had the honor of being shown as an adult in official media–or so it seemed. However, this appearance really only raised more questions than answers, as the scene it comes from remains an absolute mystery.
In one of the first ads forPokémon the Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back, the trailer begins with a scene of two adults and a child watching clouds in the sky, which happen to look like Pokémon. One of these adults happens to strongly resemble an adult version of Misty, which has prompted mountains of speculation as to just what exactly the context of this scene might have been. No such scene appears in the final version of the movie, nor is there even a moment which resembles that scene.
The truth of this scene has only gotten more complicated over time, as the director of the film weighed in over 20 years later.
Did Mewtwo Strikes Back Originally Feature Adult Versions of Misty and Ash?
The Film’s Director Says No, but There’s Reason to Doubt
In 2019, while promoting the remake ofMewtwo Strikes Back, known asMewtwo Strikes Back EVOLUTION, the director of both films, Kunihiko Yuyama, wasquoted by comicbook.comas saying, “Honestly, that’s a great question. Thank you so much. Butthat actually was not an adult version of Misty. It was an image of an adult with a child. But I think a lot of people have misinterpreted that. It really was not an adult version of Misty.”
Needless to say, many fans found this explanation difficult to believe. The character not only resembles Misty in terms of face and hair color, but more specifically has the style of hair she’s seen with inPokémon GoldandSilver, where she’s older than she is in the anime orRedandBlue. Another part of the fan theory states that the girl with her is Ash and Misty’s daughter, but the quote would seem to go against that idea as well, indicating it’s just a generic adult and child pair. The scene was likely never intended for inclusion in the movie at all, and rather was an unrelated promotional scene since there wasn’t much of the movie to show yet. It wouldn’t be surprising if Yuyama didn’t remember this at all, given it was a relatively unimportant piece of animation from 20 years ago.
While the idea of seeing Ash and Misty’s daughter in the first Pokémon movie seems absurd, seeing an older Misty isn’t as ridiculous as it sounds. The original head writer of the anime,Takeshi Shudo, is on recordas saying he had an ending planned in whichan older Ash would look back on his life and adventures. Although the idea was obviously never used, it’s possible this may have inspired the cloudwatching scene. Since it was only ever meant to be promotional anyway, it didn’t necessarily need to stick to the canon of the series. The truth of this situation remains one ofPokémon’s greatest mysteries, and even a direct refutation hasn’t done much to put it to rest.
Pokémon
Cast
Pokémon follows Ash Ketchum on his journey to become a Pokémon Master, accompanied by his loyal Pikachu. Released in 1997, the series explores Ash’s travels through various regions, where he encounters new friends and challenges, underscoring the themes of adventure and teamwork.
