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 * For the ash found at the foot of Mt. Chimney, see volcanic ash.

Ash Ketchum (Japanese: サトシ Satoshi) is the main character of both the Pokémon anime and the manga The Electric Tale of Pikachu. Ash is apparently based on the main character of Pokémon Red and Blue Versions,. He shares his name with the creator of the Pokémon franchise, Satoshi Tajiri. His Japanese name can be taken to mean "wisdom" or "reason" (智). His English last name is a pun on the original English Pokémon motto, "Gotta Catch 'em All!".

Character


Ash's main goal in life, as described in the first episode, is to be the world's greatest. Ash began his journey at the age of 10 as a warm-hearted and well-intentioned but stubborn and unskilled. He was forced to accept the irreverent from Professor Oak as his starter Pokémon because he carelessly broke his alarm clock and woke up late on the day he was set to get his first Pokémon. He was determined to achieve his goal; however, and when he showed his willingness to give up his own safety to keep Pikachu safe, he formed a strong bond of friendship with his Pokémon. This would set his course for the future.

However, from that point, Ash still had a lot to learn about becoming a Trainer. He caught his first Pokémon by luck, knew nothing about, and was reluctant to admit it whenever he was wrong. Many of his first Gym badges were given to him merely out of gratitude for his assistance rather than claiming a victory in battle over the Gym Leaders; of his first five gym battles, only his victory over Lt. Surge was an actual victory. Every time he thought he was doing well, he would somehow cross paths with his childhood rival, Gary Oak. He always reminded Ash that he was always a step or seven behind, with Gary catching around forty-five Pokémon by the time Ash had only caught his seventh. This hampered matters further when his, his most powerful Pokémon, refused to listen to him due to his inexperience until he had proven himself to the powerful Fire-type.

Ash's dedication to his goal paid off over time, and after earning his first eight badges, he competed in the Indigo League. He advanced further in the rounds than Gary, making it to Round Five while Gary lost his fourth round. After recovering from his defeat, he continued on to improve his skill, take on new challenges, and compete in more competitions, triumphing in the Orange League and the Battle Frontier.

Ash has changed a great deal over the course of the series, particularly in regards to his skill at, but his earnestness and determination have remained. Never straying from his goal, he has remained loyal to his friends, his family, and his supporters, but most of all his Pokémon. Ash became a great Trainer by learning to find and use the inner strength of each of his Pokémon by bonding with them and learning where their hidden abilities lie, as well as resorting to unorthodox strategies when fighting particularly challenging opponents. For example, he uses his Pikachu's speed to outmaneuver larger foes and attack. In another instance, defeated Gary's Blastoise by causing the field to overheat and have Charizard mount a close-range attack while Blastoise was blinded by the steam. He also prefers to train a Pokémon to be the best it can without making it evolve, and he is hesitant to let his Pokémon evolve to get stronger, as evidenced by his treatment of in Fighting Fear With Fear!.

Early on, Ash originally trained not to further himself but instead to catch more Pokémon than Gary. He later slowed his pace which allowed him to focus on the individual traits of each Pokémon. At the Johto League Silver Conference, with great humility and maturity, Ash finally won a battle against his old rival, signifying a great milestone in his history. His maturity has also increased in his dealings with Pokémon. This is shown when a Mankey stole his  in Primeape Goes Bananas, he screamed and yelled at it, even climbing trees just to get his hat back, but when an Aipom did the same in Slaking Kong, he stated merely that he would feel strange without a hat. This would later be contradicted in Setting the World on its Buneary; however, when he starts chasing and shouting at Aipom for his hat being stolen in a manner similar to Mankey.

In most episodes of the anime, especially those during the Johto League saga, Ash befriends someone who will influence him and cause him to strive to become a better Trainer. Although he is not a dependent individual, he is still young and has learned to make his way relying on his, particularly the maternal skills of Brock. The honor of "best friend" is usually reserved for Pikachu but Ash has come to see his closest human friends in the same light over time; using the term for Misty and Brock in Gotta Catch Ya Later as well as and Max in Battling the Enemy Within.

He has traversed much of the and has thus far participated in four Pokémon League regional competitions, but he is still learning new things about Pokémon all the time.



Ash apparently has a close connection with Legendary Pokémon, especially, , and. In the English dub of the second movie, he was revealed to be "The Chosen One" - the one who would bring balance back to the world. Although viewed as a normal human, Ash does have some special abilities as he is said to have the same aura as Sir Aaron, a legendary hero, and is theoretically able to manipulate it in much the same way. However, he has not received any training in this field, opting to continue his Pokémon journey instead. He has also been likened to an ancient aura guardian in The Keystone Pops!, who also had a partner. Later, in Pokémon Ranger and the Kidnapped Riolu! Parts 1 and 2, Ash uses aura again to locate a lost and read Riolu's mind as well.

He has a Contest Pass for the Sinnoh region, though he has stated that the contest he got it for was the only one he intends on entering. He also has one for the Hoenn region as it was required to watch one of the contests held there. Ash also carries around a broken Poké Ball, of which the other half belongs to Gary and is a symbol of their ongoing, but now friendly, rivalry, as well as Misty's special lure, which she sent to him as a gift, and also half of a ribbon he received in a contest against May before she left the group to compete in Johto.

Family
Ash lived with his mother, Delia Ketchum, until he left for his Pokémon journey at the age of ten.

His father was never introduced. The anime suggests that his father was once a Pokémon Trainer that began his journey in Pallet Town, but it is unclear whether he is still living. There has been much discussion in the fandom as to the identity of Ash's father, though the writers have chosen to not focus on this aspect of Ash's life. Common characters put forward by fans for the role are Giovanni, Professor Oak and.

An interview with the series' storyboarder confirmed Ash's father is a Trainer on his own journey. According the same storyboarder, Ash's father may or may not be introduced at the series, depending its necessity to Ash's further maturity and development as a Trainer.

Ash is an only child, breaking from the tradition of several other main characters, with the exception of and possibly, whose siblings are often a foil or focal point in their lives.

Pokémon
As a Trainer, Ash has captured and befriended a sizable number of Pokémon over the course of the anime's run. His philosophy on is that Pokémon are individuals and that a combination of trust, friendship and hard work are needed to overcome the toughest of challenges. He seems to battle best with Pokémon that are similar to Pikachu: ones that are speedy and maneuverable, yet able to preform high-powered attacks, but he is willing to work with any Pokémon that comes into his care. Ash tends to battle in a fairly unorthodox manner as well, and his Pokémon often reflect this.

In training

 * Dunsparce: In training with.
 * Squirtle: Returned to Squirtle Squad but can be called upon at any time.
 * Charizard: Left at Charicific Valley but can be called upon at any time.

Released

 * Poliwrath: Released to mate and breed with a green Butterfree.
 * Ampharos: Released to protect various and  from various  and a.
 * Lapras: Released to be with its family and other.

Traded away

 * Arbok: Received from Gentleman for Poliwrath; subsequently sent it back again.
 * Aipom: Traded to for

Given away

 * Beedrill: Caught Beedrill in the Bug-Catching Contest, but subsequently gave it to due to his knowledge of her fondness for black-and-yellow-striped Pokémon.

Unofficial

 * Haunter: Never officially caught Haunter, but it accompanied him back to Saffron City to aid in his Gym battle against Sabrina before it decided to remain with her
 * Ponyta: Cared for Ponyta as an egg and took it home to its mother; he never caught it in a ball, but he did use it in battle on at least one occasion.

Temporary

 * Ponyta/Rapidash: Borrowed from Lara Laramie after she was injured and couldn't ride Ponyta in the race in The Flame Pokémon-athon. It evolved into Rapidash during the race and earned Ash the win.
 * Porygon: Lent to by Dr. Akihabara to help stop Team Rocket from stealing Pokémon from the Pokémon Center's PC system in Computer Soldier Porygon.
 * Arbok, Weezing, and Meowth: Used during a Pokémon League exam in The Ultimate Test.
 * Hoothoot: Borrowed (with Brock and Misty) from Hagatha in order to navigate the haunted forest in Illusion Confusion.
 * Seaking: Caught and released during the contest in Hook, Line, and Stinker.
 * Hitmonlee: Borrowed from Master Hamm in Pasta La Vista to battle May with a.
 * Raichu: Trained during Camping It Up!.
 * Spoink and Mantyke: Used in the Pokémon triathlon in One Team, Two Team, Red Team, Blue Team.

Indigo League

 * (Showdown in Pewter City)
 * (The Water Flowers of Cerulean City)
 * (Electric Shock Showdown)
 * (Haunter versus Kadabra)
 * (Pokémon Scent-sation!)
 * (The Ninja Poké-Showdown)
 * (Volcanic Panic)
 * (The Battle of the Badge)

Orange League

 * (Fit to be Tide)
 * (Navel Maneuvers)
 * (Misty Meets Her Match)
 * (Pokémon Double Trouble)

Johto League

 * (Fighting Flyer with Fire')
 * (Gettin' The Bugs Out)
 * (A Dairy Tale Ending)
 * (From Ghost to Ghost)
 * (Machoke, Machoke Man!)
 * (Nerves of Steelix!)
 * (Nice Pryce, Baby!)
 * (Better Eight Than Never)

Hoenn League

 * (The Winner By a Nosepass!)
 * (Just One of the Geysers)
 * (Watt's with Wattson)
 * (Going, Going, Yawn!)
 * (Balance of Power)
 * (Sky High Gym Battle!)
 * (Solid as a Solrock)
 * (Eight Ain't Enough!)

Battle Frontier

 * Knowledge Symbol (The Symbol Life)
 * Guts Symbol       (Wheel... of Frontier!)
 * Tactics Symbol       (Tactics Theatrics!)
 * Luck Symbol          (Queen of the Serpentine)
 * Spirits Symbol  (Ka Boom with a View!)
 * Ability Symbol   (Second Time's the Charm)
 * Brave Symbol    (Pace - The Final Frontier)

Sinnoh League

 * (O'er the Rampardos we Watched)
 * (The Grass Menagerie!)
 * (A Triple Fighting Chance!)
 * (A Crasher Course in Power!)
 * (A Shield with a Twist)
 * (DP108)

Pokémon League ranking
Ash placed in the competitions listed below.

Pokémon Championship battles
Ash challenged the following Pokémon championships as well:

Miscellaneous Competitions
Ash has also participated in the following competitions:

In the manga
The manga version of Ash Ketchum is based on the anime version, but there are many differences after both versions took different directions. For example, while anime Ash is indifferent to romance or members of the opposite gender (or same gender, some may argue), manga Ash has a big crush on Gary's sister, May Oak. He's also prone to quickly falling in love like Brock, but to a much less extreme degree.

Traded away

 * Mankey: Given away for a map, which turned out to be fake.
 * Giant Slowpoke: Given away to for May Oak's photo

In the TCG
This listing is of cards mentioning or featuring Ash or his Pokémon in the Pokémon Trading Card Game.

Pokémon

 * Ash has captured each generation's starter Pokémon: Bulbasaur, Chikorita, Treecko, and Turtwig.
 * In both the Kanto and Johto story arcs, Ash managed to capture all three of the starter Pokémon for both regions. This trend was broken in the, where he only captured , while the other two were and.
 * The last Pokémon that Ash has captured in every region are a part of one-evolution families, namely in Johto,  in Hoenn,  in Kanto and  in Sinnoh. If the Orange Archipelago is also included,  also falls in this category.
 * All together, Ash has seen at least twenty-seven different species of legendary Pokémon, and at least ten of them multiple times.
 * Ash has owned at least one Pokémon of each type except Dark, Dragon, Steel, and Psychic.

Challenges/Gym related

 * In each region (except for the Orange Islands), Ash always loses against at least one of the Gym Leaders before challenging them to a rematch.
 * During his adventures in Kanto, the Orange Islands, and Johto, Ash pinned his badges to the inside of his jacket. From Hoenn onwards, they have been kept in some form of case.
 * Discounting Koga, who was a Gym Leader at the time of Ash's battle against him, Ash has so far battled three Elite Four members, namely Prima, and Agatha, losing to all three.
 * The longest time between episodes that Ash has gone without obtaining a badge was the 31-episode gap between The Grass Menagerie! and A Triple Fighting Chance!.

Miscellaneous

 * Ash has crossdressed once in each anime series: The first time he did this was in Pokémon Scent-sation!, in the original series. He crossdressed a second time in Love at First Flight, in the . Tanks for the Memories! marked the third time he crossdressed, in the . Each time Ash has crossdressed, he was never willing to do so and was coerced or forced into it in some way.
 * In addition to dressing as a girl, Ash has dressed up as fruit on at least two occasions. The first time, he dressed as an apple in Pokémon Food Fight! while the second he dressed as an eggplant in Claydol Big and Tall. On both occasions he was used to lure a large Pokémon.
 * The Family of s, which are considered a possible name source for Ash, contain trees known as the Blue Ash, Green Ash, and the Ash, matching the first three games released. Also of note is that the three are native to.

Related articles

 * Ashley
 * Ashachu

On Bulbagarden forums

 * Ash Club

Ash Ketchum Sacha サトシ Ash Ketchum Ash Ketchum