Ash's Friends

Ash's Friends are the tritagonists of the Pokémon anime series. They’re the traveling companions that accompany Ash Ketchum in his journeys throughout the different regions.
==Groups' Structures==
The groups of Ash and his traveling companion usually has three or four people in it. There is at least one girl (except in the new series) and one guy in the group besides Ash. There were three people in Ash's Group in the Original Series, the Diamond & Pearl series and in the Black & White series, and there were four people in the Ruby & Sapphire series and in the XY/XYZ series. The only exception is in the Sun & Moon series, where Ash's group has six people (five if excluding Ash).
==The Beginning Members (Seasons 1 - 5)==
===Misty===
Misty is the first female traveling companion (and also the first traveling companion) of Ash. She made her debut in Pokémon - I Choose You!, where she fishes Ash as he escapes from angry Spearows. He later uses her bike and it gets destroyed. In Pokémon Emergency!, she joins Ash so he could pay for her destroyed bike. However, she later warmed up to him, and traveled with him regardless of her bike. She separates from Ash in the end of Season 5, and becomes the Gym Leader of Cerulean City. She appears in the Ruby & Sapphire series, and later, in the Sun & Moon series, where in both series she reunites with Ash.
===Brock===
Brock is the first male traveling companion of Ash. He made his debut in Showdown in Pewter City, where he joins Ash after the latter had defeated him in Pewter City's gym. He separates from Ash in the end of Season 5, but returns in the Ruby & Sapphire and the Diamond & Pearl series as Ash's male traveling companion. He eventually separates from Ash in the end of Season 13. He also appears in the Sun & Moon series, where in both series he reunites with Ash.
==Pokémon: Adventures in the Orange Islands Members==
===Tracey Sketchit===
Tracey Sketchit is a Pokémon watcher who takes Brock's place during the time he spends with Professor Ivy. After Ash's Orange League adventures, he works as Professor Oak's assistant.
==Ruby & Sapphire Members (Seasons 6 - 9)==
===May===
May is the second female traveling companion of Ash. She made her debut in Get the Show on the Road, where she meets Ash after he traveled to Hoenn and when she headed to Littleroot Town to get her first Pokémon. She later becomes a Pokémon Coordinator, and she traveled with Ash to Kanto to compete in the Contest there, while he battle the Frontier Brains. She separates from Ash in the end of Season 9. She appeared in the Diamond & Pearl series to compete in the Wallace Cup in Sinnoh.
===Max===
Max is the second male traveling companion of Ash. He is May's younger brother. He made his debut in There's no Place Like Hoenn, but since he is 7 years old, he is too young to get a Pokémon of his own. Max is shown to be very intelligent for his age, and he was the one who pulled Brock away whenever the latter saw a beautiful girl, much like how Misty did it to Brock in the Original Series. He separates from Ash in the end of Season 9, but he makes three cameo appearances in the Diamond & Pearl series.
==Diamond & Pearl Members (Seasons 10 - 13)==
===Dawn===
Dawn is the third female traveling companion of Ash. She made her debut in Following A Maiden's Voyage!, where she heads for Sandgem Town to receive her first Pokémon. She is a Pokémon Coordinator who dreams of becoming a Top Coordinator like her mother, Johanna. She is always seen with her Piplup. meets Ash in When Pokémon Worlds Collide!, where she saves Ash's Pikachu from Team Rocket but has her bike destroyed, much like May in the Advanced Generation series and Misty in the Original Series. She separates from Ash in the end of Season 13. She appears in the Black & White series, where she reunites with Ash while traveling to Unova.
==Black & White Members (Seasons 14 - 16)==
===Iris===
Iris is the fourth female traveling companion of Ash. She made her debut in In the Shadow of Zekrom!, and she meets Ash in Enter Iris and Axew!. She is always seen with her Axew. Her goal is to become a Dragon Master. She is noted to be the first traveling companion of Ash to be directly electrocuted by Pikachu, followed by Bonnie in the XY/XYZ series. She separates from Ash in the end of Season 16, where she heads to Johto to challenge Clair in Blackthorn City.
===Cilan===
Cilan is the third male traveling companion of Ash. He made his debut in Triple Leaders, Team Threats!, where he joins Ash after the latter had defeated him in Striaton City's gym. He has two brothers named Chili and Cress. He is also a very good cook. A running gag of his across Black & White is being a connoisseur of various fields and passions. He separates from Ash in the end of Season 16.
==XY/XYZ Series Members (Seasons 17 - 19)==
===Clemont===
Clemont is the fourth male traveling companion of Ash. He made his debut in Kalos, Where Dreams and Adventures Begin!, where he rescues Ash after the latter had been ejected from the former's gym due to the latter not having any badges. He is the brain of the group, and his bag carries a variety of inventions and gadgets. A common episode with him involves him building new inventions at a brisk pace with names even his sister thinks are lame, only to be useful for roughly 30 seconds or less before exploding. He separates from Ash in the end of Season 19.
===Bonnie===
Bonnie is the fifth female traveling companion of Ash. She is Clemont's younger sister. She made her debut in Kalos, Where Dreams and Adventures Begin!, where she saves Ash's Pikachu from falling after he and Ash were ejected from Clemont's gym. Throughout the series, she tries to pair her brother Clemont to a beautiful girl she sees, only to be dragged away by her brother. She also shares a sisterly bond with Serena. She is too young to have a Pokémon of her own, but she takes care of Clemont's Dedenne. She separates from Ash in the end of Season 19.
===Serena===
Serena is the sixth female traveling companion of Ash. She made her debut in Kalos, Where Dreams and Adventures Begin!, where she gets awaken by her mother's Fletchling, much to the former's annoyance. She chose Fennekin as her starter. She meets Ash in Giving Chase at the Rhyhorn Race!, and she starts to have a crush on him. It is revealed that when Serena was a child, she was sent to Kanto, where she was lost in a forest and was injured, until Ash came to her, bandaged her wound and returned her back to the camp. In Dreaming a Performer's Dream!, she decided to become a Pokémon Performer after watching Aria's performance. In A Showcase Debut!, after failing a Pokemon Showcase, she changes her appearance by cutting her hair short and wearing distinctive clothes, making her the first traveling companion to change her appearance during the series she appears, followed by Lillie in the Sun & Moon series. She separates from Ash in the end of Season 19, where she travels to Hoenn, but before she leaves, she gives Ash a goodbye kiss.
==Sun & Moon Members (Season 20 - 22)==
===Mallow===
Mallow is one of Ash's classmates, and the seventh female traveling companion of Ash. She made her debut in Alola to New Adventure!, where she appears alongside Lille, Lana, Kiawe and Sophocles. She separates from Ash in the end of Season 22, when Ash traveled back to the Kanto Region.
===Lillie===
Lillie is one of Ash's classmates, and the eighth female traveling companion of Ash. She made her debut in Alola to New Adventure!, where she appears alongside Mallow, Lana, Kiawe and Sophocles. She is the daughter of Lusamine, the president of the Aether Foundation, and the younger sister of Gladion, who is also a member of the Aether Foundation. It is revealed that she was once attacked by an Ultra Best identified as Nihilego, and the trauma caused her fear of touching Pokémon. She temporarily changed her outfit in Family Determination!, where she set off to rescue her mother from a Nihilego that kidnapped the latter. She separates from Ash in the end of Season 22, when Ash traveled back to the Kanto Region.
===Lana===
Lana is one of Ash's classmates, and the ninth female traveling companion of Ash. She made her debut in Alola to New Adventure!, where she appears alongside Mallow, Lillie, Kiawe and Sophocles. She has two younger sisters who asks her if Ash is her boyfriend, to which an embarrassed Lana answered that he is not. She separates from Ash in the end of Season 22, when Ash traveled back to the Kanto Region.
===Kiawe===
Kiawe is the fifth male traveling companion of Ash. He made his debut in Alola to New Adventure!, where he appears alongside Mallow, Lillie, Lana and Sophocles. He is very gruff compared to his classmates and makes deliveries between islands on his Charizard. He separates from Ash in the end of Season 22, when Ash traveled back to the Kanto Region.
===Sophocles===
Sophocles is the sixth male traveling companion of Ash. He made his debut in Alola to New Adventure!, where he appears alongside Mallow, Lillie, Lana and Kiawe. He separates from Ash in the end of Season 22, when Ash traveled back to the Kanto Region.
===Rotom Pokédex===
The Rotom Pokédex is a device possessed by Rotom who accompanies Ash and his friends in Alola. He made his debut in Loading the Dex!‎, and since then, he travels with Ash and his friends, with the hopes of fulfilling its dream of becoming the world's greatest Pokédex. He separates from Ash in the end of Season 22, when Ash traveled back to the Kanto Region.
==Journeys Members (Season 23 - 25)==
===Goh===
Goh is the seventh male traveling companion of Ash. He made his debut in the first episode of the new series, where he appears alongside a girl named Chloe, who is his childhood friend. Like Ash, he also came from the Kanto Region, but he lives in Vermillion City. He separates from Ash in the end of Season 25, when Ash sets off on a new journey.
===Chloe Cerise===
Chloe is the tenth female traveling companion of Ash. She made her debut in the first episode of the new series, where she invited her childhood friend Goh to go to Professor Oak's Pokémon Summer Camp with her. During their visit in Pallet Town, Chloe and Goh encountered the Mythical Pokémon, Mew. Like Goh she also lives in Vermillion City, but she became a student instead of a Pokémon Trainer. This was until she grew closer with the family pet Yamper when he protected her from a Gengar, followed by her finding an Eevee and deciding to capture her, making her become her partner. Thus, she decided to travel with her childhood friend Goh and Ash Ketchum to help with her father's research occasionally.
==Gallery==
===Members===
150px-Misty SM.png|Misty
Brock SM.png|Brock
Traceyem7.gif|Tracey
May anime Diamond and Pearl.png|May
401px-MaxAG.png|Max
Dawn 2.png|Dawn
Iris(anime).png|Iris
CilanBW1.png|Cilan
Clemont XY.png|Clemont
Bonnie XY.png|Bonnie
Serena XY2.png|Serena
Mallow (Pokemon Anime).png|Mallow
Lillie SM.png|Lillie
Lana anime.png|Lana
Kiawe anime.png|Kiawe
Sophocles anime.png|Sophocles
Rotom-Pokédex_SM_anime.png|Rotom Pokédex
150px-Go_SS.png|Goh
Chloe_anime_Journeys.png|Chloe
===Other Pictures===
Ash and friends OS.png|Ash, Misty and Brock
Ash and friends AG.png|Ash, Brock, May and Max
Ash and friends DP.png|Ash, Dawn and Brock
Ash and friends BW.png|Ash, Iris and Cilan
Ash and friends XY 2.png|Ash, Clemont, Bonnie and Serena
Ash and friends SM.png|Ash and his classmates - Clockwise starting from the middle: Ash, Mallow, Lana, Sophocles, Kiawe and Lillie
1200px-Future episode.png|Ash and Goh
Ash & Lana.jpg|Pikachu & Piplup
==Trivia==
*Out of all of Ash's traveling companions, Brock traveled with Ash for the longest time, as his adventure with Ash spanned 12 seasons, from his debut to the end of season 13, excluding season 2.
*Serena is the only traveling companion of Ash who knew him before the series, as they met in a camp when the both of them were younger.
*Serena is the first traveling companion who wasn't electrocuted by Pikachu nor had her bike destroyed by Pikachu. Misty, May and Dawn had their bikes destroyed by Pikachu, while Iris and Bonnie were directly electrocuted by Pikachu.
*Serena is the only female companion to kiss Ash directly.
*Goh is the first of Ash's friends to own a Legendary Pokémon.
*May, Dawn, Serena, Lana and Chloe have Eevee but only Lana's Eevee and Chloe's Eevee haven't evolved yet.
*Brock, Misty, Iris, and Clian are so far the only companions to have met Giovanni, Ash's archenemy.
*May, Dawn and Serena are Pokémon Coordinators, but Serena is still a Pokémon Performer.
*Ash's Alola classmates are so far the only ones that have attended and took part of the Pokémon League.
*Some of Ash's friends had battled the Elite Four and Pokémon Champions.
*There is a tradition to have Ash's friends meet each other in each series, i.e. Misty met May and Max, Brock met Cilan, Dawn met Iris and May, and etc.
*Bonnie and Max are the youngest of Ash's Friends, they both have a deep bond with Legendary Pokémon and Mythical Pokémon (Max has a deep bond with Jirachi and Bonnie has a deep bond with Zygarde) and they are both related to a Gym Leader.
*Misty, Brock, Cilan and Clemont are the only companions that are Gym Leaders.
*Dawn is the only member that made a Pokémon trade with Ash.
*Ash is the only member that owns a Mythical Pokémon.
*Ash and Iris are the only members that became champions.
*Rotom Pokédex is the only member that isn't a human.
*Chloe is the only member that is related to a Pokémon Professor and the only member that wasn't interested in joining Ash's team at first.
*Misty, Dawn, Serena, Mallow and Lillie are the only female members that temporarily used Ash's Pikachu.
*Clemont and Goh are the only male members that temporarily used Ash's Pikachu.
*Tracey, May, Dawn, Cilan, Serena, Goh and Chloe are the only members that aren't specializing a certain Pokémon Type (Max and Bonnie don't count because they aren't Pokémon Trainers yet).
*Ash and Dawn are the only members that have a walking Pokémon (Iris's Axew used to be a walking Pokémon until it evolved and Misty released her Togepi after it evolved).
*May, Max, Brock, and Goh are the only ones other than Ash and Pikachu to see the legendary Pokémon, Ho-Oh in person, but Misty did see the statue of it.
*May, Dawn and Serena are the only ones of Ash's companions to have been approved as Pure Good.
*Misty is Ash's longest female traveling companion, as she traveled with Ash through the Kanto region, Orange Islands and Johto region.
*All of Ash's friends have encountered Team Rocket, as Team Rocket have been with Ash everywhere on his journeys. 
==External Links==
*Ash's Friends on the Pokémon Wiki
*Ash's Friends at Bulbapedia
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