Max

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Max (Japanese: マサト Masato) is an aspiring Pokémon Trainer and a former of . He is the younger brother of and the son of Norman and Caroline. He made his debut appearance in There's no Place Like Hoenn.
==In animation==
===History===
====Pokémon the Series====
=====Pre-series=====
Max grew up at Petalburg City in the Hoenn region with his parents, Caroline and Petalburg Gym Leader Norman, and older sister, . Max also looks up to his father and hoped to become a Pokémon Trainer just like him someday.
=====Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire=====
Max first appeared in There's no Place Like Hoenn. He was inside the Petalburg Gym when May returned home with . When he saw Ash, he claimed that he was the Gym Leader and questioned Ash about the Silver Conference, saying that he had watched the tournament live when Ash was a participant and was not impressed with his performance. As the two began to bicker over how Ash could have won his against , May arrived with her parents and revealed that Norman was the actual Gym Leader instead of Max, leaving Ash irritated. Max watched the match between Norman and Ash until it was interrupted by . He went after Team Rocket and fell for their pit traps when he found . Later, with Norman and Caroline's permission, he decided to join Ash and May on their when they were setting off to Petalburg Woods, receiving a PokéNav from his parents as a parting gift.
In In the Knicker of Time!, Max went off to find Nicholai when he insulted Norman after defeating May. He brought along a pile of , which attracted the 's attention. They got angry when Max ran out of Berries; and Ash, May, , and Nicholai arrived to save Max. When Nicholai led the Zigzagoon away from the group, Max apologized for his actions earlier.
Max took a liking to 's in A Bite to Remember. Seeing that Katrina owned three , Max attempted to get Poochyena to evolve. He it with May's Torchic, but was unsuccessful due to Torchic attacking both Max and Poochyena. Max then ran off with Poochyena after Ash told him that some Pokémon are happy the way they are. When Poochyena was caught by Team Rocket, Max encouraged it to bite through the net to free itself and the other Pokémon as well. Afterwards, Poochyena was able to evolve into Mightyena.
In Gonna Rule the School!, Max spent a day at Roxanne's , where he battled 's using a . He used the strategy in increasing Poliwag's defense as much as possible with , but this backfired when Magby's repeated attacks began to wear Poliwag down.
In Candid Camerupt, Max borrowed Ash's Corphish during the battle with Vivi, who had a crush on him. Since Corphish was Ash's Pokémon, Corphish recklessly attacked even though Max wanted Corphish to go easy on Marill. This victory caused Vivi to no longer be interested in him.
Max met a lookalike with the same name as him in Maxxed Out!. Both of them were fighting when the brown-haired one criticized the blue-haired Max about how only skilled Trainers can handle as he thought that the Skitty was his. Max met up with the brown-haired Max by the lake when a was dancing around there. May suggested to both Maxes that they should be friends but it resulted in them fighting. When Team Rocket arrived with their goal in catching Surskit for their , the blue-haired Max and the brown-haired one went off and found Surskit as it ran away. They found it in a new water spring located in the forest. When Team Rocket returned to capture the Surskit, both Maxes worked together to take on the trio and Surskit finished them off. After Team Rocket's defeat, both Maxes became friends and the brown-haired Max promised the blue-haired one that he will become a Trainer someday.
In Take This House and Shuppet, Max and went to a mansion. He separated from the group after he got into a sibling rivalry with May when they both accused each other of ending up in the mansion. When Max was still upset about May, a covered him with red aura and Max noticed it. They played with each other and Shuppet showed Max a secret room containing a playground. Still mad about May, Max had Shuppet play a prank on Ash, May, and Brock by lifting up items in the kitchen when the three were headed there. When Team Rocket was about to get May's Torchic, Max blocked their way until May arrived. Max stood back as May took things from there with her Torchic and was about to get crushed by a falling shelf until Shuppet saved them by lifting the shelf.
Max found an injured in Do I Hear a Ralts?. He took it back to the campsite where successfully cheered it up using Ash's hat and Max's glasses. Max took Ralts to a Pokémon Center after Brock pointed out that Ralts was running a . While Ash, May, and Brock were battling Team Rocket when they were attempting to steal Ralts for their boss, Max made a run for the Pokémon Center with Snorunt tagging along. Along the way, Max dealt with Team Rocket again but they were stopped by Ralts's friends, a and a . Max explained to them about Ralts's condition but Kirlia was about to attack him until Ralts protected him with despite being in worse condition. Seeing that Ralts was willing to trust Max, Kirlia and Gardevoir ed away. Max finally arrived in a Pokémon Center and reunited with Ash, May, and Brock. Max was happy to see that Ralts was healed up, but became sad when he had to say goodbye to it. However, before Ralts left with Kirlia and Gardevoir, the two embraced and Max promised to return for it one day when he was old enough to become a Trainer.
In Pokémon Ranger - Deoxys' Crisis! Parts 1 and 2, Max went with the group and Solana to a cave where they found out about a meteorite relating to . Max was willing to communicate with it and Deoxys took him and to another dimension. Deoxys possessed Meowth as it explained to Max that it was scared during the space flight. Deoxys then explained to Max about the meteor landing and outer space, and that it was alone without a friend to hangout with. When Ash and his friends arrived in the cave again, Ash's Swellow and , May's Combusken, and Brock's Marshtomp signaled their arrival and Max was happy to see them again. When Deoxys battled the group outside the cave, it caused some friction inside the alternate dimension that made Max and Meowth bounce around. However, they were able to get out with the help of May and Jessie. After the battle, Deoxys possessed Meowth again where it thanked Max for everything and fled off, wanting to explore the planet even more.
At the end of Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire, May announced that she wished to travel to the Johto region alone. This initially upset Max but Ash cheered him up with the promise of a battle between the two when Max becomes a Pokémon Trainer. He arrived home in Petalburg City where he took lessons from his father and helped to look after the Gym Pokémon.
=====Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl=====
Max appeared in a flashback in A Full Course Tag Battle!. May revealed that Max became a helper at the Petalburg Gym using everything he learned from Brock.
In Staging a Heroes' Welcome! and Strategy with a Smile!, Max and his parents watched May participate in the Wallace Cup. 
He also appeared in another flashback in To Thine Own Pokémon Be True!, when Ash, Dawn, and Brock said goodbye to Dawn's Ambipom.
Max reappeared in the special episode DPS02, in a picture on 's memory wall.
=====Pokémon the Series: Black & White=====
Max reappeared in a fantasy in The Dream Continues!.
=====Pokémon Journeys: The Series=====
In Partners in Time!, Max appeared alongside May, , and Lisia, watching Ash's Masters Eight Tournament match against .
====I Choose You!====
Max made a cameo appearance in the ending credits of I Choose You! alongside May.
===Character===
In his debut episode, Max was a bit of a know-it-all who was proud of his book smarts. For example, in In the Knicker of Time!, Max did not approve of how had used in and spent a portion of the episode lecturing him on what he thought was a better way to command the Pokémon. He can also be quite petty and vindictive, going out of his to try and ruin Nicholai's attempts on catching a simply because he felt insulted when Nicholai claimed that defeating Norman would be easy based on 's lack of battling experience since she is his daughter. But despite this attitude, Max was not a close-minded person and was always eager to learn about Pokémon first-hand. He would become particularly excited when he could experience a 's move or Ability, such as 's or 's .
Over the course of Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire, Max went under 's tutelage for real-world knowledge of Pokémon and how to care for them. He developed a friendly relationship with Brock, though he did adopt 's habit for yanking him by the ear whenever Brock saw a pretty woman. Despite getting off to a rocky start with Ash, Max truly admires him and has proven it on numerous occasions. Over time, Max saw how Ash's unorthodox battle strategies could be beneficial, and by the end of his travels through Kanto, Max was no longer criticizing Ash's battling style.
He shares a deep bond with his older sister, May, and their bond only grew stronger while they traveled together through Hoenn with Ash and Brock. He is very proud of May's accomplishments as a Pokémon Coordinator and is always cheering for her when she takes part in a Pokémon Contest. However, the siblings were occasionally aggressive towards each other, like when Max told Harley embarrassing stories about May.
Another example occurred in the Jirachi: Wish Maker, when May asked to "get rid of the problem," referring to the large pile of candy in the room. Jirachi, who was reading Max's thoughts, ed May away, which suggests that Max had been thinking that May was the real problem. Despite their arguments, the two siblings care for each other very much.
The question of Max's first partner Pokémon was raised a number of times while he was traveling in Hoenn. Among the Hoenn first partner Pokémon, he said that he would have chosen a . However, in Having a Wailord of a Time, he commented that he could really receive anything. Not knowing who his first partner Pokémon would be led to some of the conflict with his doppelgänger, whose name was also , in Maxxed Out!. At the end of that episode, he stated that Max is lucky that he already knows the Pokémon he will start his with.
Max finally did meet his future partner in Do I Hear a Ralts? when he befriended a weakened . Wanting to demonstrate that he could be responsible for a Pokémon, he took care of it and brought it to a Pokémon Center with a little help from . When Max and Ralts parted ways at the end of the episode, they promised to meet up again when Max was eligible to be a Trainer.
===Pokémon===
Due to not being a Pokémon Trainer yet, Max is unable to his own . Nevertheless, he has befriended a variety of Pokémon during his travels. He has also occasionally borrowed May's Munchlax, such as in Off the Unbeaten Path! when he needed a Pokémon to take part in the Pokémon Orienteering being held in Potpourri Island.
Despite this, Max has been in a couple of Pokémon battles, such as the ones with and Vivi Winstrate. When he battles, he focuses on defensive moves such as or instead of offensive, damage-dealing moves.
This listing is of the Max befriended or temporarily used in :
====Befriended====
====Borrowed====
These are Pokémon Max has borrowed either for a battle or an event.
===Pokémon competitions===
Max has competed in the following :
* Trick House Contest - N/A (A Poké-BLOCK Party!)
* Pokémon Orienteering - N/A (Off the Unbeaten Path)
===Voice actors===
===Artwork===
 	
Official artwork from	Artwork from "After the story" https://twitter.com/anipoke_PR/status/1591672205040943105
==In the manga==
===Ash & Pikachu===
Max became a traveling partner of Ash beginning in The Keeper Of The Tree, Treecko!!. He served a similar role in the manga as in the animated series episodes it adapted.
====Pokémon====
=====Befriended=====
=====Borrowed=====
===Movie adaptations===
Max appeared in all of the Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire movie adaptations.
====Pokémon====
=====Befriended=====
		
====Gallery====
File:Max M07 manga.png|Max in 
==Trivia==
* A person with a resemblance to Max appeared in Cruisin' for a Losin'.
* Max's appearance may have been based on the from .
** The Schoolkid artwork from Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire closely resembles Max.
** When Max is first seen, he is even standing in the pose of a School Kid who challenges the player.
** According to an interview with Tsunekazu Ishihara, Max was created during a conversation with Satoru Iwata. His glasses are the same model Iwata wore then, and his overall design was based on Iwata's son.
* In (but not Ruby or Sapphire), the rival character ( or depending on the player's gender) has a little brother, who can be seen in the first floor of their house alongside their mother. This is most likely a reference to Max.
* Although Max took 's role of pinching 's ear when he sees a pretty girl, he didn't start doing that until he saw Misty do it in The Princess and The Togepi. However, he did drag Brock by the pants once in A Different Kind of Misty!.
* Max was the first besides Ash to have a lead role in a Pokémon movie, as all movies before Jirachi: Wish Maker had either Ash or a character of the day with the lead role.
* Max befriending a mirrors Wally's first Pokémon. Max also finds it sick, which is the reverse of the sickly Wally Ralts.
** This may also be due to two School Kids using a Ralts in .
* Max is the youngest male protagonist.
* Max is Ash's first companion who is too young to be a Pokémon Trainer. The second would be , although she does care for a Pokémon.
* Max is the only one of Ash's traveling companions introduced prior to Pokémon Journeys: The Series who has not reunited with him following his departure from the main cast.
** Max is also Ash's only traveling companion introduced before Pokémon Journeys: The Series to not have received a speaking appearance outside their debut series.
** Max is also the only one of Ash's traveling companions whose name is never mentioned in Pokémon Journeys: The Series.
==Names==
Language 	Name 	Origin
Japanese 	マサト Masato 	Can be taken from 正人, a Japanese given name which literally means correct/elegant man, possibly referring to his intelligence
English, Brazilian Portuguese, French, GermanSpanish, Italian, Turkish	Max 	Similar in sound to "Masato". Shares the first two letters with May
Korean 	정인 Jeong'in 	From the name 正人 Masato, which can be read as 정인 in Korean Hanja reading
Chinese () 	小勝 / 小胜 Xiǎo Shèng 	勝 may be taken from 勝人, an alternate spelling of Masato. Can mean "small victory" or "young success"
Chinese () 	小勝 Síu Sīng 	Same as Mandarin name.
Russian 	Макс Maks 	Transcription of English name
Thai 	มาซาโตะ Masato 	Same as Japanese name
==References==
==Related articles==
* 
* Images on the Bulbagarden Archives
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