I'd be surprised if they did do a time skip since the original concept of Pokemon was a endless summer.

I would love to see him come back as a middle age man and try to reclaim his past glory. Maybe a good idea in future.

Ash had the personality of a gluten free cracker, so I might tune in to see how the new protag compares. I have nostalgia for Pokemon anime but even when I was a kid I knew it was kinda mid though I can't deny this is huge news and a cultural reset.

He may have been careless and thickheaded, but he had a lot of commitment towards his dreams. I'll miss him. :(

This makes me worried about Team Rocket, how are those dunderheads going to cope?

That sucks. He was pretty dull, but that's the writers fault, not the character.

I care more about Pikachu than Satoshi though, if that means Pikachu is leaving too... wow, that would really suck! Pikachu is the face of the franchise!

I wouldn't miss them. They had some good episodes, but more often than not I'd say they made the show worse rather than better. Just so many episodes could've been better without them being forced into it.

I did like how they were handled in gen 5 though. Rather than interrupting the main plot of the episode just to lose every single episode, they had a separate role. Was nice not having them always butting in, but also nice to see them still around with their own story arc.

I think a good way to end it is to have Pikachu finally evolve haha.

If we're are speaking of Ash arc as a character, I'd say the recent I choose you and the XYZ gave him the best traits to make him finally an enjoyable lead. His friendship with Go was sweet enough though, gonna miss the pair.

As for what comes next ...
Could they just finally adapt the Pokemon Adventures manga for freak sake ??!! Most of the stories in them are straight fire !

Finally!
I was eight when it started airing in Sweden and thought I would see him become champion after a season or two.

How wrong I was.... lol.