I think some of you really exaggerate how much the kids in Japan care about certain things. They don't analyse it the way we do; stuff like Serena not having a goal, Goodra being released, or any of the common complaints of older, western fans aren't going to have much, if any, affect on whether or not an eight year old decides to watch on a certain day.
Kids may not care about Other people's goal Or Main character being OP But however They does care about Ash losing his better pokemon while sidekick keeping better pokemon then him.
Kids aren't completely oblivious to everything , There are aspect they care about!
The ratings are declining (not "free falling") because Pokemon in general is losing its popularity - obviously a show that's almost two decades old isn't going to be getting the same ratings it did when it was both new and a massive fad.
Tell that to Doraemon , Crayon Shin-chan , Detective Conan , One Piece and Sanaz-kun !!!
They aired long before Pokemon did yet they retain their old rating while Pokemon rating decline with every series!
Honestly , Its because there's ''Nothing'' to see !
Ash just collecting Gym-badge so he can lose someone in League! Just like every other series.
Also , Kids lose interest in Ash's next capture after the release of Goodra since no other Kalo Pokemon is good enough for a Pseudo-legendary.
Not even Noivern!
Not mention , The ''Humor'' & ''Group chemistry SUCKS ! Its like Ash traveling with bunch of Lackeys instate of Friend.
Megevolution & Goodra was the only 2 thing that made XY series different but Writers kicked Goodra out and unwilling to let Ash go anymore near Megevolution.
Writer made it clear that they won't let Ash Megevolve his Pokemon and win the League.
If Ash isn't allow to keep the weakest Pseudo-Legendary pokemon then there noway they would let Ash megevolve Pokemon and Wins Major Tournament.
Its as if
Writers set ''Megevolution'' & ''Major Tournament Victory'' for characters that were created by them! Unlike Ash who was created by Takeshi Shodu & his Team.
The only reason I believe Pokemon Anime to be popular because of Rating ! However Pokemon lose that then there no need for me to believe Pokemon Anime to be popular
If Writers just stubbornly hold on to their predictable Writing rather then move forward with the story then OFF COURSE THE SERIES WILL LOSE POPULARITY!
The main issue if the anime does leave us forever is, how would we get promotion of the games outside of commercials? The anime's usual purpose is advertising stuff from the games and if that gets taken away, the exposure will be far more minimal.
Megaman is popular game but they doesn't need a long running anime for Promotion.
Even now they are just releasing A 26 episode long Anime series to celebrate the series anniversary.
To be honest , It feel more like The Pokemon game doing the Promotion for the Anime!
If Pokemon anime was focus on promoting the game then shouldn't Ash already get his Mega-ring.
Hack , Ash should have got a Mega ring before the beginning of XY series and later he start learning about it for Megevolution promoting.
Just like PokeSpe is doing now by giving X a Mega-ring before the story begin and he start to seek information about it.