Honestly, I think they passed that time about four generations ago.

IMO, after Ash defeated the Battle Frontier at the end of Gen 3, he should've taken the opportunity to become a Frontier Brain and stopped his pointless, rambling ways. Gen 4 should've started with a fresh batch of brand-new youngsters, with older friends making occasional cameos. Because there's only so long you can keep up the image of the wide-eyed youth going around the world before people start to ask "Seriously, when is he going to settle down and get a real job?"