Fans of the Pokemon anime are questioning whether a recent World Championship Pokemon battle was a throwback to one of Ash's earliest fights. The current season of the Pokemon anime, Pokemon Journeys: The Series has been rife with references to past episodes. It's a veritable trip down memory lane. It's now culminated with Ash winning a World Championship, his first in 25 years of the anime airing. Ash's final fight has some questioning if the anime team has been planning this for decades.