On April 1, 1997, a 10-year-old kid from Pallet Town turned up late at Professor Oak's lab and started his Pokémon journey. Ash Ketchum was a childhood hero for many of us, and alongside his trusted partner Pikachu, we watched for 70+ episodes as he defeated the Kanto Gym Leaders and made his way to the Pokémon League... where he lost.

That's right, Ash only placed in the top 16 - signaling to Pokémon fans that this franchise is definitely going to be continuing and keep bringing in that sweet coin.

But, after 22 years of leveling up Pikachu, Ash has finally be crowned the Pokémon League champion after 1,078 episodes of the anime series in the Alola region. (That's right, Sun & Moon were SO EASY, that Ash won.)

After 1,078 episodes, Ash had achieved a lot throughout his Pokémon journey. He had achieved all the badges in each respective region and even became champion of the Orange Islands League and Battle Frontier. But the Pokémon League had always evaded him. Up until the Alola region, this is how Ash's performance in the tournaments stood:

• Indigo Plateau Conference - Top 16
• Silver Conference - Top 8
• Ever Grande Conference - Top 8
• Lily of the Valley Conference - Top 4
• Vertress Conference - Top 8
• Lumiose Conference - Runner-Up

It looked like Ash would never achieve the dream he set out to accomplish in the very first episode of Pokémon, when he vowed to become a Pokémon Master. But after traveling the Alola region and training his team, Ash entered the Manalo Conference, and was crowned the Champion after defeating Gladion in the 139th episode of the series.

And naturally, Twitter EXPLODED with the news that our never-say-die childhood hero had finally had his dream come true:

Even Veronica Taylor - the original English voice of Ash Ketchum - tweeted out her support for a character she played so darn well:

"Congratulations to Ash Ketchum on winning the Pokémon League from Ash’s ‘younger’ self, circa 1998...yup, hard work, determination, good friends, and a bit of luck pay off," Taylor wrote.

And, as a 27-year-old man with an Ash Ketchum baseball cap and his very own Kanto League gym badges, would like to extend my personal congratulations to our Pallet Town hero!

On April 1, 1997, a 10-year-old kid from Pallet Town turned up late at Professor Oak's lab and started his Pokémon journey. Ash Ketchum was a childhood hero for many of us, and alongside his trusted partner Pikachu, we watched for 70+ episodes as he defeated the Kanto Gym Leaders and made his way to the Pokémon League... where he lost.

That's right, Ash only placed in the top 16 - signaling to Pokémon fans that this franchise is definitely going to be continuing and keep bringing in that sweet coin.

But, after 22 years of leveling up Pikachu, Ash has finally be crowned the Pokémon League champion after 1,078 episodes of the anime series in the Alola region. (That's right, Sun & Moon were SO EASY, that Ash won.)

After 1,078 episodes, Ash had achieved a lot throughout his Pokémon journey. He had achieved all the badges in each respective region and even became champion of the Orange Islands League and Battle Frontier. But the Pokémon League had always evaded him. Up until the Alola region, this is how Ash's performance in the tournaments stood:

• Indigo Plateau Conference - Top 16
• Silver Conference - Top 8
• Ever Grande Conference - Top 8
• Lily of the Valley Conference - Top 4
• Vertress Conference - Top 8
• Lumiose Conference - Runner-Up

It looked like Ash would never achieve the dream he set out to accomplish in the very first episode of Pokémon, when he vowed to become a Pokémon Master. But after traveling the Alola region and training his team, Ash entered the Manalo Conference, and was crowned the Champion after defeating Gladion in the 139th episode of the series.

And naturally, Twitter EXPLODED with the news that our never-say-die childhood hero had finally had his dream come true:

Even Veronica Taylor - the original English voice of Ash Ketchum - tweeted out her support for a character she played so darn well:

"Congratulations to Ash Ketchum on winning the Pokémon League from Ash’s ‘younger’ self, circa 1998...yup, hard work, determination, good friends, and a bit of luck pay off," Taylor wrote.

And, as a 27-year-old man with an Ash Ketchum baseball cap and his very own Kanto League gym badges, would like to extend my personal congratulations to our Pallet Town hero!