Ash Ketchum

Template:Pokémon characterAsh Ketchum, known as Satoshi (サトシ) in Japan, is a fictional character and the main protagonist from the Pokémon anime. There are also incarnations of him in a plethora of manga adaptations, of which include The Electric Tale of Pikachu, Pocket Monsters Zensho, and Ash & Pikachu. He is loosely based on Red, the protagonist of the games Pokémon Red and Blue. The family name "Ketchum" is a pun on the series' franchise's former tagline and slogan, "Gotta catch 'em all!".

Character biography and personality

At the beginning of the series, Ash Ketchum was 10 years old, and later, in the episode "The Battle Of The Badge", Ash said that it was a whole year since he and Pikachu had visited Viridian City, making him 11. Furthermore, in the short called "Pikachu & Pichu" which was attached to Pokémon 3: The Movie, he said the day when the events depicted in the short took place was the anniversary of the day he met Pikachu, meaning his age at that time would be at least 12. However, two seasons later, Pokeani reported that Ash was the same age as May, who was 10 years old at the time. This and the fact that the two are at the same height suggests that both of the characters are the same age.

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Ash as seen in the original series (Seasons 1-5).

Ash is a caring and valiant trainer but he can be confident to the point of arrogance and is known for being stubborn at times. He also has quite the reckless streak, which has led him to troublesome situations and even gotten him killed, although he was revived shortly thereafter. But when in a Pokémon battle, he is highly competitive, and he shows tremendous presence of mind, taking advantage of the battlefield as well as the nature of his and the enemy Pokémon's moves to claim victory after victory, though he has been known to lose from time to time. His favorite Pokémon is Pikachu.

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Ash as seen in the Advanced Generation series (Seasons 6-9).

Ash has matured greatly over the course of the series, and has considerably improved his abilities as a trainer, but his earnestness and determination remain the same. During the first season of the series, Ash trained to catch more Pokémon than his childhood rival, Gary Oak, although Gary has caught more, much more. He soon begins to focus more on each of his Pokémon's abilities. He also impresses many trainers by winning battles in which his Pokémon has a type disadvantage. At the Johto League Silver Conference Ash finally won a battle against Gary.

Ash's primary nemesis is a group of comical antagonists named Team Rocket. Ever since the second episode, "Pokémon Emergency!", two Team Rocket operatives named Jessie and James, along with a talking Meowth, have tried to steal his first Pokémon, Pikachu, but have always failed. There are some occasions when they work together like the Pokémon: The Movie 2000.

Ash's mother is Delia Ketchum (Hanako in Japan). She is a caring and thoughtful woman, though occasionally oblivious as her son, and in the English version of the anime often pesters him to change his boxer shorts every day, a gag throughout the early episodes of the first few series.

The identity of his father has remained unknown. One reference to him exists in the anime. During a phone conversation between Ash and his mother in the second episode, she states to her amazement that he got from Pallet Town to Viridian City in one day. "It took your father four days to get there when he started Pokémon training", she says, "He'll be so proud!". A line from the play, Pokémon Live!, suggests that Delia, at one time, had a relationship with the leader of Team Rocket, Giovanni when he was a teenager, but in the anime, this is never mentioned.

Character design

Ash's design is based on the main character known as Red in Pokémon Red, Blue, Yellow, Pokémon Gold, Silver and Crystal. "Ash" is one of the optional names for him in the first three games, and is a westernization of "Satoshi", taken from famous creator of Pokemon and founder of Game Freak Satoshi Tajiri. For the Game Series, Ash's character design was overseen by Ken Sugimori and Atsuko Nishida For the anime, Ash's character design was overseen by Sayuri Ichishi (OS~AG), Yamada Toshiya (DP).

Appearances in other media

The only video game that Ash has truly appeared in to date is Pokémon Puzzle League, where he tries to become a Pokémon Puzzle Master. While Ash is loosely based on Red, the protagonist of Pokémon Red and Blue, the protagonist in Pokémon Yellow is based on him. Furthermore, in Pokémon Gold and Silver, Red acts a sort of "final boss" of the game, residing in Mount Silver. He carries a team comprising of Pikachu and the final evolutions of Pokémon that the player can catch without random battles in the original games (Squirtle, Charmander, and Bulbasaur are starter pokémon, and Eevee and Snorlax can be obtained through special events in the main story). As a nod to how powerful Ash's Pikachu is, Red's Pikachu is at level 81. Red's Pikachu is the strongest Pokemon levelwise to have appeared in any Pokemon handheld game that you can battle.

The portrayals of Ash in the manga The Electric Tale of Pikachu, Pocket Monster Zensho, and Ash & Pikachu, are very simlilar to the one in the anime. There are key differences in the manga, though. In The Electric Tale of Pikachu, it is based on Ash's journey up until the end of the Orange Islands travel. Ash is usually seen traveling by himself during the course of this manga although he is joined by Misty and Brock in Indigo sometimes. Misty is the only one to join Ash in the Orange Islands and at the end of the series, Ash travels with Gary Oak. Ash has other Pokémon in addition to the some of the ones above including Fearow and Oddish. The Ash & Pikachu manga is similar, although it has the episodes from the anime like "The Fortune Hunters" and "A Goldenrod Opportunity" combined, but with a couple of changes. In Pocket Monsters Zensho, Satoshi (as Ash is known in Japanese) starts with Charmander instead of Pikachu. The manga ends at the Indigo Plateau, where Satoshi defeats the Elite Four.