Pokémon Chronicles was a short-lived but welcome series that broke the Pokémon mold by straying away from Ash and sharing the spotlight with other characters. From Team Rocket to entirely unique characters created just for the show, Chronicles showed that the Pokémon universe had a lot more stories to tell, and that perhaps having more than one main character could be to the franchise's benefit.
Chronicles ran from 2002 to 2004 in Japan and aired in the US in 2006. It focused on side-stories like how Misty's doing as the Cerulean gym leader, and why Brock ended up in Hoenn with none of his old Pokémon. While some characters were more notable than others, most were reoccurring characters from Ash's journey, like his rival Ritchie and the baseball fanatic Casey. But new characters were introduced as well, such as Marina and Jimmy, who starred in the show's most memorable three-parter, "The Legend of Thunder."
With Ash's journey being as long and varied as it is, there's plenty of room to backtrack and revisit other characters and catch up with them. For example, in Season 10, Episode 10, "Not On My Watch Ya Don't" Marina was confirmed to have become a successful coordinator, having won the Grand Festival. While this won't surprise anyone who watched Chronicles (she was a coordinator before it was cool), there's still a lot of story there that wasn't shown -- and should be.
Having a second protagonist whose story would run concurrently with Ash's would allow for a variety of different stories to be told. While not all of them would need to be one-shot side-stories the way Chronicles did, it would open up the possibility of crossovers, where we get to see the effects of Ash's actions on the gym leaders and other characters he's come into contact with. Having another protagonist or two would also allow us to see different battling styles, whether that be through revisiting Contests or Showcases, or even just having them focus more on defensive moves or actual strategies.
Another fun thing Chronicles did was tell stories from the perspective of the Pokémon themselves. Whether it was a televised Pokémon Christmas special or the reappearance of the Pichu brothers, it wasn't afraid to let the Pokémon take the spotlight. And who said that a Pokémon anime needed to focus on a trainer anyway? Much like the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series, an anime that makes the Pokémon themselves the main characters would open up a wealth of storytelling potential. If having a non-speaking protagonist turns creators off, they can always choose a legendary like Mewtwo, or even reboot Detective Pikachu into anime's continuity.
In the same way, a new protagonist could explore other concepts from the anime that the games haven't touched on -- and vice versa! Whether it be tales of Lance in the Pokémon G-Men, or training alongside a brand-new Pokémon Ranger, many fresh and new stories are just waiting on the right protagonist to tell them. Even if Chronicles should be revived as it was, a collection of side stories, with tales like these, fans would be waiting with bated breath for a new episode every week.
While Ash is around to stay, possibly indefinitely, having a fresh new character and a new series running alongside the Pokémon we all know and love could easily breathe new life into the franchise. And there's no need to worry about the risk -- after all, Chronicles is still much-beloved by fans, and they had a new protagonist almost every episode, so we know for sure it's possible.
