How should they have handled it?
>>57205738By not coming up with a such retarded idea
>>572057381. Do not abandon the series plot at Kurt's because you wanted the Celebi inside to be a movie star instead.2. Have Oak take it to Johto so Gold can be the protagonist while Ash takes a break and later returns for the Kanto arc of GS.We never forgot.
Could have just had Oak catching Celebi in the movie and him just having forgot about it over the years and with Ivy coming into contact with it and the ball just being defunct and old, which is why it wouldn't open, would be a good callback to Oak forgetting things like his grandson's name and various other things, then you can bring it up later with Kurt figuring it out, and Oak/Ash deciding to release it since its been trapped for so long.
>>57205738by tying it to the movie if they didn't want to have a movie and a GS Ball subplot separately
>theres still no lore friendly way to obtain celebi in its own games>or jirachi for that matterkill game freak
>>57205942LGPE and Masters both retconned Oak forgetting his grandson's name into a joke.
>>57207407>"You forget your grandson's name ONE TIME and the entire world refuses to let you live it down. How did he even tell anyone about that? He's supposed to be mute." - Professor Oak probably