Ritchie

Ritchie is a friend of Ash Ketchum and one of his oldest rivals.
==Appearance==
Ritchie has brown hair and blue eyes. He wears a teal short-sleeve shirt with light yellow trim and a silver zipper, a dark teal vest with a light green collar, a black belt with a silver buckle, teal pants with light yellow pockets, dark blue and indigo sneakers with red dots, dark blue fingerless gloves with aqua borders, and a purple cap with a light yellow band and red buttons.
==Personality==
Ritchie has a calm and sensible personality. He is very like Ash, he loves his Pokémon and can do anything to save them. He befriends people easily. He is cheerful and gets ruthless only in battle. 
Like Ash, he too is friendly with his Pokémon. He is also a person who plays a fair battle, shown that when Ash didn't come in time for their battle, he insisted everyone to wait. He could have been the winner, but he decided to wait instead. He did that because he believes in a fair battle, and he didn't want to be a winner without even battling.
==Biography==
===Anime===
====Pokémon the Series: The Beginning====
Ritchie was running to the elevator and thanked the Oak for stopping the doors from closing. He also saw Ash's Pikachu and started petting it, acknowledging Ash raised it well. Since the elevator stopped, Ritchie managed to repair it, with Pikachu's help. The heroes and Professor Oak thanked Ritchie, who introduced himself before leaving. Soon after, Ash met up with Ritchie, who was surprised how people had to hand over their Pokémon for inspection, else they'd be disqualified. Just as Ash's Pikachu was handed over, it electrocuted Jessie, while James was pleased they finally caught it. Ritchie and Ash realized these people were from Team Rocket, who started to run away and flee in a van. As they started to follow Team Rocket, Ritchie stopped Ash from going down, since he would've fallen off a cliff. Since they failed to catch up with Team Rocket, Ash and Ritchie went to sleep for the night. Ash apologized for being reckless, but Ritchie promised they would find their Pokémon back, seeing they both wanted to protect the Pokémon. After the two explained their goals, they went to sleep. The next day, Ash and Ritchie snuck into Team Rocket's van. While Ritchie found his Poké Balls (which were marked by a star), Ash started to search for his own. They were caught by Team Rocket, who locked them inside and drove off. Ash eventually found his Pokémon, but Jessie sent her Jessie's Arbok, so Ritchie send his Sparky. Together with Pikachu, Sparky defeated Team Rocket and blasted them off. Since they were standing on an edge of a cliff, Ritchie sent his Happy and Ash his Pidgeotto, which rescued the two trainers. Ash and Ritchie were glad for the teamwork they did, as they rescued the Pokémon from other trainers; soon, Ash's friends, his mother, Professor Oak and Officer Jenny saved them. The next day, to find his opponent for the next match, Ash fished out a Magikarp and was told his next opponent would be Ritchie himself.TB080: A Friend in Deed
On the day of their battle, Ash visited Ritchie, who was at the Pokémon Center. Ritchie greeted him and they both promised to have the best battle each of them had. Later, Ritchie came to the Pokémon League stadium. Misty stomped on his leg, demanding to know what he told Ash over the phone, since he was not present. Ritchie did not understand, and explained he never actually called Ash from the phone (as Team Rocket deceived Ash, by using a device to mimic Ritchie's voice to lure Ash away). The referee was going to announce Ritchie as the winner (thus disqualifying Ash), but Ritchie asked for the referee to wait for a bit longer. In some time, Ash arrived via the balloon and started the battle. In the first battle, Happy fired Sleep Powder on Ash's Squirtle, causing the latter to fall asleep. Ash sent Pikachu, who used Double-Edge on Happy, then used Thunderbolt, defeating it. Ritchie sent out his Zippo, who used Flamethrower. While Pikachu dodged the attack, it was defeated by Zippo's Tackle. Ash sent out his Charizard, who fired Flamethrower and chased Zippo away, causing Ritchie to call it back. Ritchie sent Sparky as his final Pokémon. Charizard blew wind to gust Sparky away, who started to charge for an attack. Much to Ash's annoyance, Charizard started to disobey Ash, and didn't even want to battle Sparky. The referee declared Ritchie as the winner. Despite his disappointment, Ash shook hands with Ritchie and was still determined to pursue his dream.TB081: Friend and Foe Alike
In the next round, Ritchie fought against Assunta, who won the battle. He came to a lake and was joined by Ash. Ritchie commented they had much to learn from their loss, as they could learn which mistakes to avoid. Ash saw Ritchie was not phased by his loss and promised to become a better trainer, along with Ritchie. Suddenly, they fell in a hole, along with Ash's Pikachu and Sparky; Team Rocket showed up once more and snatched the Pikachu. However, Ritchie's Happy and Ash's Pidgeotto carried their trainers out of the hole. Next, as Pidgeotto blew away James' Weezing's Smog and was burned with Zippo's Flamethrower. Ash's Bulbasaur used Razor Leaf to free the Pikachu, who charged the cage with ThunderShock. The electricity caused Team Rocket to blast off once more. Ritchie thanked Ash for rescuing the Pokémon, who reminded they did this together. During the evening, Ash and Ritchie were present at the closing ceremony. The next day, Ash and Ritchie noted they did have a great time, even if they both lost. Both of them reminded each other of the promise to pursue their dreams, then Ritchie left off.TB082: Friends to the End
Ritchie appeared in the opening scene of Adventures in the Orange Islands season, but he did not appear in any of the episodes.
====Pokémon the Series: Gold and Silver====
Ritchie met up with the heroes on Whirl Islands, for the same purpose they had: to find the mysterious Pokémon. The heroes admitted they saw a shadow of it few days ago and wanted to find it. Ritchie also sensed that Pokémon must've been nearby. They encountered a boy, who asked of "Silver" to dive. The boy, Oliver, nervously claimed they should look elsewhere for the Pokémon. As they left, Ritchie felt something was not right, claiming Oliver must've been hiding something. As they returned, they found Team Rocket trying to capture Silver, a Lugia. Ash had Bayleef and Ritchie his Cruise (a Pupitar) attack the Team Rocket forces to defend them. After Butch and Cassidy were defeated and Silver was rescued, Oliver admitted he only wanted to protect Silver, whose mother was nearby, too. Ritchie and the heroes dived in and saw Lugia feeding Silver. After coming out of the ocean, the heroes saw a fake replica of Lugia. Silver went after it and was captured. The heroes encountered Butch and Cassidy once more and started a battle with them. Amidst the battle, Cassidy's Houndour used Smog, then Cassidy and Butch snatched Silver away and fled to the underwater base.GS104: The Mystery Is History
The group was sad that Lugia was taken away. Ash swore to find a way to return Silver and was supported by Ritchie, despite the foul weather. They went to calm down Lugia, who was still angry and fired Aeroblast. They reminded Lugia it needed to calm down to save its child. Lugia stopped attacking and the storm subsided. Since the Pokémon the heroes sent found no trace of Team Rocket, Ritchie believed Team Rocket were still in the area, in an underground base that Lugia could not access. The group also found Team Rocket's Magikarp submarine and followed it to the underwater base. Just then, Dr. Namba released Silver (who was still captured in a cage), to lure Lugia in. The heroes, along with Oliver and Ritchie, tried to warn Lugia it was a trap, but Butch and Cassidy stood in their way. Ritchie sent his Charmeleon, Zippo, to battle the duo, but Butch's Hitmontop and Cassidy's Houndour, equipped with devices that increased their anger, defeated them. Lugia was captured and the group, including Ritchie, was defeated and was taken into the prison in the underwater base.GS105: A Parent Trapped!
The rest of the group woke up. Ash and Ritchie were frustrated, since they promised they would rescue Silver. Oliver, who snuck into the underwater base, managed to learn the code from Jessie and James and rescued the heroes and Ritchie. Ash and Ritchie went to rescue their Pikachu and succeeded, stopping them from being controlled by Dr. Namba. They also went to rescue Lugia and faced more grunts, which were defeated by Ash's Totodile and Ritchie's Pupitar. Once they found Lugia and Silver, Ash and Ritchie battled against Dr. Namba, who was controlling Electabuzz. Ash's Pikachu distracted Electabuzz, allowing Ritchie's Sparky to destroy the remote. With Dr. Namba out of the way, the heroes immediately rescued Silver and Lugia, the latter protecting the group with Safeguard from the falling rubble. After the base was destroyed, the heroes, Ritchie, Oliver and Luka bid farewell to both Lugia. Ritchie decided to stay more around the Whirl Islands and bid farewell to the heroes.GS106: A Promise Is a Promise
====Pocket Monsters: Side Stories====
Ritchie went to Professor Oak's lab, where he was greeted by Tracey. He served Richie some drinks, and was told he came to get some advice from Professor Oak on evolving his Eevee. Tracey explained Oak was on Seafoam Islands, where he gave an interview. However, after contacting DJ Mary, Tracey and Ritchie went there to rescue Professor Oak, who has been kidnapped. They arrived to the radio station, and were told that Oak has not left the building, but was nowhere to be seen. After being told that Oak met two scientists, Ritchie asked the guards did someone come with a strange package, since those people could've entered the building and have kidnapped Oak by placing him in that package. DJ Mary remembered a man with a cart, carrying a stuffed Nidoqueen, and a guard remembered that man going into a truck, with a picture of a Pidgeot.
The group tried to find this truck, so Ritchie sent his Taillow, Rose, to find it. Upon finding the truck, Rose led Ritchie and others to a lone building, where they rescued Professor Oak from Team Rocket's Butch and Cassidy. There, Ritchie sent Zippo to attack Butch and Cassidy, who attempted to take Professor Oak with them. Sparky's Thunder electrocuted their Mightyena and Sableye, and blasted them off with Butch and Cassidy. Oak was rescued, and after his interview, was told that Ritchie wanted to spend some time with him to know the answer to his Eevee question. Oak permitted him this, while Ritchie and Tracey got an invite from DJ Mary for a game show.SS008: Oaknapped!
Ritchie came to a town, and went to a Pokémon Center. However, it was scheduled to be torn down. There, he found construction workers, despite the demolition of the building being scheduled next week. To prevent injustice, Ritchie sent Sparky, Zippo and Rose to defeat the workers' Pokémon, and disperse them. Ritchie was thanked by the old and young Nurse Joys, who still feared that the workers would return soon, to destroy the old Pokémon Center. The old Nurse Joy showed a picture of the Pokémon Center from the past, and remembered her friend, Nick, who passed away in a landslide. Ritchie rested inside the Pokémon Center, but feared he was unable to do anything to prevent the demolition. Suddenly, a Celebi appeared to him, who pointed at a drawer. Ritchie took out a wooden statue of a Celebi, which caused him to be warped into the past. He soon heard a cry from a girl, Joy, who was hanging from a cliff, and helped her get back up.
The two went to a shrine, dedicated to Celebi, where they found Nick, which made Ritchie remember what the old Nurse Joy told him. The trio went to the construction site of the Pokémon Center, which was to be opened soon. Since Ritchie had no place to stay for the night, Nick invited him to his house, where Ritchie heard that Nick and his father would have to move out soon. Nick's father sensed that his son had a crush on Joy. Nick pretended that he did not, but he was carving out the wooden statue of Celebi, to give it to Joy to remind her of himself. Suddenly, a man came, reporting that Joy was gone. Ritchie and Nick went into the rain, finding her unconscious at the shrine. A thunder strike caused a fire at the shrine, so Nick went to douse the fire, while Ritchie and Joy (who woke up) tried to help him out, to protect him. Celebi appeared, and protected them from another thunderstrike. The next day, Joy and Ritchie celebrated the opening of the Pokémon Center.
Since Nick was gone, Ritchie went to the same drawer, finding the wooden statue of Celebi inside. Fearing for his life, Ritchie went on Ponyta, and came to Nick to have him admit his feelings towards Joy, since he saved her life. Nick decided to do that, while Ritchie noticed a landslide behind him, realizing that could've killed Nick and his father. Nick admitted to Joy that liked her and gave her the statue, and Joy felt the same way. Ritchie was glad that was over, and Celebi returned him to the present. In the present, Ritchie saw that Nick became the mayor, and the Pokémon Center was scheduled to be rebuilt. Ritchie realized he had changed the past, while Nick had a feeling that he had met Ritchie already.Celebi And Joy!
Ritchie sailed on the S.S. Anne. Suddenly, a bunch of angry Gyarados appeared, and Ritchie witnessed a man fighting them off with his Salamence. Ritchie became amazed, but the man stated this was nothing, compared to a Moltres he encountered a long time ago. Ritchie was surprised, and exclaimed nobody knew where Moltres actually lived. The man called Ritchie a kid for that, but introduced himself as Silver. The two were approached by two scientists, who wanted to know more about Moltres. Ritchie did not knew much, while Silver was slightly offended by these scientists, even if he promised to help them, which made Ritchie suspicious of these scientists. The boat came to an island with a volcano, which was reported that it would erupt soon.
Ritchie saw Silver and the two scientists coming on the island, and followed them. Ritchie followed the men, and wanted to join them to see Moltres, which was supposed to be in the volcano. The scientists didn't want to have Ritchie following them, and insulted Ritchie. Ritchie stalked them, and found at their camp that the two scientists were from Team Rocket, working for Dr. Namba. In fact, the two scientists wanted to trick Silver into weakening Moltres, then capture it and bring it to the HQ. The scientists walked away, while Silver found Ritchie, and invited him for dinner. Ritchie tried to warn Silver that these men were bad people, but Silver ignored him. Silver admitted that Ritchie resembled him when he was young, which made Ritchie compare himself to Ash, as he was excited to see rare Pokémon. The next day, the group went to the top, where they encountered Moltres. Silver attempted to battle Moltres, but gave up, since this was Moltres' resting place when it became weak.
The two scientists sent Cloyster and Tentacruel to weaken Moltres even more, for they were Butch and Cassidy, who trapped Silver and Ritchie in a net. The latter two broke out, and Ritchie blasted off Team Rocket with Sparky's Thunderbolt. He also saw as Silver battled Moltres, until the volcano started to erupt. Moltres saved the two from a falling boulder and flew away. Silver and Ritchie flew away on the former's Salamence. In the end, Silver wanted to stay to have a rematch with Salamence, while Ritchie swore to return and face Moltres, too. The two bid farewell to each other, as Ritchie went back on the ship.SS018: The Search for the Legend
===Other appearances===
==Pokémon==
===On hand===
===Borrowed===
==Achievements==
===Kanto Pokémon League===
*Indigo Plateau Conference (Indigo League) Top 8.
==Trivia==
*In Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, during the contests, there is a contestant named Luis. He seems to be based on Ritchie because of his outfit and having a Pikachu nicknamed Sparky.
**Ritchie's Pikachu has a scruff of fur on top of its head to differentiate Sparky from other Pikachu.
*Ritchie mentioned in "SS008: Oaknapped!" that he and Ash tend to catch the same Pokémon. In the same episode, he mentioned having an Eevee.
**Eevee is the only Pokémon Ritchie has that Ash doesn't (though two of Ash's female friends would obtain Eevees, both since evolved).
*In "Friends to the End", Ritchie battled Assunta, but it was not specified whose Tentacool and Spearow were.
*In the dub, Ritchie was said to be from Frodomar City.
==Gallery==
Ritchie and Ash.png|Ritchie and Ash
Ash and Ritchie.png
Ritchie and Sparky.png|Ritchie and Sparky
Ritchie2.png
AshRitchie with their Pikachu.jpg|Ash and Ritchie with their Pikachu 
==References==
Category:Ash's rivals