Its almost been 20 years since Misty was written off the Pokemon anime

[Morosev]

I actually found this kinda funny when I realized it, especially for those of us who watched Pokemon since the beginning. Misty left the anime in 2002 in Japan, and that means by next year in 2022, Misty will have officially been gone from the anime as a main character for 20 years. She hasn't been around now for almost two decades besides brief cameos (like she got in the SM anime), but even those are pretty rare.

Now that Ash has had so many companions in the anime, it's kinda surprising when you stop to realize how short-lived Misty's character in the show really was. The anime started in Japan in 1997 and by 2002 she was already leaving, she was only around about 5 years. I still remember how some people tried to make such a big deal out of Misty leaving the anime, like they used to troll Pokemon forums for years and decades in the early 2000's about her leaving, and in the end none of it mattered since she really did stay gone permanently for the rest of the series.

I'm not really one of those people who cared much when she left since I already lost interest in the anime in the middle of the Johto arc like most original fans, and only got into it again after all the other females like May, etc. were introduced. But it's pretty funny now millions of kids grew up watching the anime long after she was gone over the last 20 years, and that she's only relevant to like 20% of the fanbase now.

 

[awadama]

I was never really a Misty fan

Early Pokemon really had a Sooty vibe, with Ash and Brock as a happy pair who wanted to have fun, and Misty as the Soo figure whose only real purpose was to be a killjoy and bring the mood down.

Pretty much every one of Ash's friends has been a lot more likeable and/or interesting than Misty to me, with the obvious exceptions of Tracey (BORING) and Iris (a photocopy of Misty, but somehow even worse).

Even keeping it down to female friends, May, Dawn and Serena all had a purpose and goals of their own (apart from just following Ash around). Iris was useless though.

Sun and Moon really had the best cast of characters in my opinion. The six main characters all had distinct personalities, goals and character development. Even the professors, Team Rocket, the villains and a lot of the Pokemon were really fleshed out too.

I just loved the Sun and Moon era of the anime!