Ash Ketchum

Ash Ketchum


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, Red. 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!".

In the anime
Character
Ash's main goal in life, as described in the first episode, Pokémon - I Choose You!, is to be the world's greatest Pokémon Master. Ash began his journey at the age of 10 as a warm-hearted and well-intentioned but stubborn and unskilled Pokémon Trainer. He was forced to accept the irreverent Pikachu 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 which 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 Pokémon battle, and showed a reluctance to admit when 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, who 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, with matters being further hampered when his Charizard, 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, and 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 Pokémon League 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 Pokémon training, 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, and defeated Gary's Blastoise with his Charizard 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 Gligar in Fighting Fear With Fear!.

Additionally, during the first season of the series, Ash originally trained not to further himself but instead to catch more Pokémon than his rival, 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, as when a Mankey stole his hat 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.

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 friends, 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 May and Max in Battling the Enemy Within.

He has traversed much of the Pokémon world 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 Ho-Oh, Lugia, Latias and Shaymin. 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 Pikachu. Later, in Pokémon Ranger and the Kidnapped Riolu! Parts 1 and 2, Ash uses aura again to locate a lost Riolu and read Riolu's mind as well. However, these were one time deals, as Riolu had an unnaturally powerful aura.

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.


Ash using Aura inside the Tree of Beginning.

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 Silver.

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 Dawn and possibly Tracey, whose siblings are often a foil or focal point in their lives.

Trivia
Pokémon
Ash has caught 50 different kinds of Pokémon, including evolutions and counting Larvitar, Seaking, Beedrill, Haunter, and Raticate, even though Larvitar and Haunter were not officially his, Beedrill was given away nearly immediately, and Seaking was released as part of contest rules. The original tagline for the dub was "Gotta Catch 'em All!", but Ash has only caught 10.14% of the current number of Pokémon. This line was eventually dropped in 2003, when he only had 8.03% of the then total of 386.
Ash has caught or received 64 different individual Pokémon, 30 of which are his Tauros.
Ash's first choice of a starter was Squirtle. Later, it is revealed that Gary was the Pallet Town Trainer who chose Squirtle. Ash's second choice was Bulbasaur, while his third was Charmander.
Ash has captured each generation's Grass-type starter Pokémon: Bulbasaur, Chikorita, Treecko, and Turtwig.
Ash has captured one Flying-type Pokémon from each series region that players can encounter early in different games: Pidgeotto, Noctowl, Taillow, and Starly.
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 Advanced Generation series, where he only captured Treecko, while the other two were May's and Brock's.
Ash has the most Pokémon that know moves that they can't learn in the games: Caterpie with Counter (although it apparently failed to use the move); Charizard with Tackle; Bulbasaur with Tickle (debatable), Dig, and Whirlwind; Raticate with Hi Jump Kick; Staravia with Gust; and Larvitar with Harden.
Ash has three turtle-like Pokémon: Squirtle, Torkoal and Grotle. Each corresponds to one of the three elemental types of the starter Pokémon, though Torkoal isn't a starter itself.
Three of Ash's Pokémon were caught by him after first premiering in Pokémon movies: Donphan (Mewtwo Strikes Back), Aipom (Spell of the Unown), and Buizel (Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea).
The last Pokémon that Ash has captured in every region are a part of one-evolution families, namely Phanpy in Johto, Snorunt in Hoenn, Aipom in Kanto and Gligar in Sinnoh. If the Orange Archipelago is also included, Snorlax also falls in this category.
All of them, except Snorlax, were caught in their base forms and has eventually evolved to its final form.
All together, Ash has seen at least twenty-seven different species of legendary Pokémon, and at least ten of them multiple times.



Ash crossdressed for a third time.

lol who requested this?

Thanks David!