Ash Ketchum spent a long time climbing his way up from the bottom of the barrel struggling to hold his Pikachu without getting shocked to beating champion Leon and becoming the greatest Pokemon trainer, but the latest episode of Aim to Be a Pokemon Master calls back to his roots with the appearance of an old friend from episode 1, Misty. Following Ash's victory, the character is attempting to find new goals and test what it means to be the very best Pokemon trainer, but maybe he needs time to slow down and go fishing. At least that's what he thinks until he runs across a rival fisherman.Misty first appears in episode one of Pokemon: Indigo League, the very first episode of the Pokemon series in which Ash gets Pikachu and is chased by a flock of angry Spearow. First pictured by a lake trying to catch a fish, Misty instead catches Ash and an injured Pikachu. While initially cold to Ash, caring only for the welfare of Pikachu, Misty warms up to him in a few episodes after adding Brock to the group and battling Ash in front of her sisters from Cerulean Gym, who also specialized in water Pokemon.Twitter user AnipokeFandom shared a clip of the veteran Pokemon trainers having a conversation in the final moments of episode 1227, "Ash VS Misty! A One-on-One on the Beach!" In the episode, Ash tries to catch a Clauncher but gets stopped by Misty, who'd been trying to catch it for a while and believed it was fate that she take it. Ash and Misty have a fishing contest to see who gets the Clauncher, but when that's interrupted by Team Rocket, the two work together to get rid of the baddies and then have a Pokemon battle with each other. Misty is victorious, which is why she approaches Ash at the end to thank him and wish him luck, no hard feelings.
Even though Ash is the champion, he still gets beat by Misty. He was given a hard time by her in their first battle but didn't have a chance to win as Team Rocket interrupted (Ash was given the badge for protecting the gym from the attack). It's a charming reminder of past episodes that she beats him here, and also a good lesson for Ash to learn that even though he's currently a champion, he's not infallible and other trainers are always working to become stronger.
Misty originally leaves Ash and Brock in episode 273, when she says she intends to return to Cerulean to become its solo gym leader. But as time went on, so many trainers challenged her that she ended up needing a break, returning the gym to her sisters and traveling around, which is why she's out and about when Ash finds her. Misty managed to beat a Pokemon League champion, even though it was just a friendly match, an impressive feat.