Ritchie

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Ritchie (Japanese: ヒロシ Hiroshi), occasionally spelled Richie, is a recurring character in . He is a Pokémon Trainer from Frodomar City and a rival of . He first appeared in A Friend In Deed.
==In animation==
===Pokémon the Series===
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Ritchie first appeared in A Friend In Deed and quickly befriended his fellow Indigo Plateau Conference competitor, Ash Ketchum, in an elevator. When the elevator went out, he plugged in a device to Ash's Pikachu and got the elevator running again. Ritchie met up with Ash again outside. While had s put in their Poké Balls in a sack, Ritchie discovered their scheme and he and Ash went after them. The two were unable to catch up to Team Rocket and camped out until the next day. Ritchie saw tire tracks and led them to Team Rocket's van. When he went inside, he was spotted by Team Rocket and the trio trapped him and Ash in the van. They were able to escape with the Poké Balls retrieved from Team Rocket.
Their friendship led to problems in Friend or Foe Alike, since the two were pitted against each other in the next round. Ritchie waited for Ash on the battlefield even though Ash was unable to get there right away due to Team Rocket's meddling. Their match began when Ash was able to finally arrive. Ritchie won the match, since at the very end Ash's Charizard refused to fight Sparky and took a nap on the battlefield instead. Even though he lost in the next match to Assunta, Ritchie made it to the Top 8 position in the League.
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Sometime after the League and when Ash and went to Johto, Ritchie became fascinated with a mysterious that can be found Whirl Islands, which turned out to be a .
Ritchie met up with Ash and friends again on Ogi Isle, starting in The Mystery is History. After spotting a baby Lugia named Silver with , Butch and Cassidy attacked with their Pokémon and Ritchie and Ash defended Silver with their Pokémon. Their actions caused Butch and Cassidy to retreat until later when a submarine was dispatched to capture Silver.
In A Parent Trapped!, Ritchie told the parent Lugia about what happened to Silver which caused it to briefly attack them. Ritchie and the group later found Silver in a cage on a base. Ritchie and Ash battled Butch and Cassidy in an attempt to stall them. They were badly beaten and the parent Lugia was captured.
In A Promise is a Promise, Ritchie and the group was freed from a cage by Oliver. Ritchie and Ash took on Butch, Cassidy, and some s with their Pokémon and easily swept through them. They went to the room where Silver was being held, but were stopped by Dr. Namba. Ritchie and Ash battled him with their Pikachu. Ritchie was also able to destroy the controller of the rage machine that was powering Dr. Namba's , defeat the Team Rocket scientist and take Silver away from him. With both Lugia reunited, Ritchie remained on the island with Oliver, to continue exploring the Whirl Islands, while Ash and his friends departed to Olivine City.
====Pokémon Chronicles====
Ritchie visited Professor Oak's Laboratory in Oaknapped!. He and found out that had disappeared from the TV station where he was supposed to have his live TV appearance. They later found him in an abandoned warehouse with the help of Ritchie's , Rose. They battled Butch and Cassidy and when Tracey's Scyther was beaten by Butch's , Ritchie took care of the two Team Rocket agents and won. Professor Oak was grateful and even asked Ritchie to come back to Pallet Town to help install a security system in his lab.
In Celebi and Joy!, Ritchie was passing through Marion Town when he saw some construction workers demolishing an old Pokémon Center. He sent out Zippo and Sparky to prevent them from damaging the Pokémon Center any further, and the resident Nurse Joys were grateful. They invited Ritchie inside, revealing the Center's history, including the passing of the elder Nurse Joy's childhood friend . The Center also had an association with , who later appeared before Ritchie and took him back in time. Ritchie arrived in a forest where he saved a young Nurse Joy from falling off a cliff. He and Nurse Joy then arrived in the Marion Town of the past. Ritchie discovered the same Celebi from before. He also met Nick and his father.
Nurse Joy went missing during a storm, and Ritchie went with Nick to find her. Ritchie soon found Nurse Joy by the Celebi shrine lying down unconscious. Just as a lightning bolt was about to strike, Celebi appeared and protected Ritchie, Nick, and Nurse Joy. The next day, Ritchie went after Nick and his father on Nurse Joy's which was the day that a rock slide would have killed them. However, as Ritchie convinced the two to come back to Marion Town to be there for a party held by Nurse Joy, the rock slide that occurred passed right behind Ritchie.
With that done, Ritchie was sent back to the present with the timeline altered. He saw the same construction crew from before, who were now restoring the Pokémon Center instead of demolishing it. Nick was also alive and now the mayor of Marion Town.
Ritchie's final speaking appearance was in The Search for the Legend, where he was aboard the S.S. Anne when he met and a pair of mysterious doctors who were actually Butch and Cassidy. During a pit stop at One Island, he learned more of the trio's plan to see a , and climbed to the summit of Mt. Magma with them. When Moltres revealed itself the following day, the doctors revealed their true identities, and attempted to nab Moltres. Ritchie and Silver battled together and defeated the duo. After Silver battled with Moltres, Mt. Magma erupted and when he had Silver's fly him and Ritchie out of there, Moltres flew off. Silver was willing to wait a little longer until Moltres came back. Ritchie parted ways with Silver on a boat while Silver stayed behind on One Island.
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In Pride of a Champion!, Ritchie appeared in a brief cameo, along with Sparky, watching the Masters Eight Tournament match between and Diantha on TV.
====Character====
Ritchie is a kindhearted and sincere boy. His courageous actions helped him to develop bonds and gain respect from other characters, including and Marion Town's Nurse Joy. He values his friendships, even waiting for despite his delayed arrival for their Indigo Plateau Conference match in Friend or Foe Alike.
Ritchie balanced out Ash's more reckless approach with his cautious manner in A Friend In Deed. He thinks ahead, as seen when he packs extra supplies, and his problem-solving skills lend themselves well to his traveling lifestyle. After his Indigo League loss to Assunta, Ritchie noted that defeats were invaluable and this helped Ash to overcome his own sadness after his loss.
He is passionate about , and like Ash, he dreams of becoming a Pokémon Master. Ritchie and Ash are often compared to each other, and in Oaknapped!, Ritchie joked that he and Ash tend to catch many of the same Pokémon. Ritchie's battling strategy focuses on his Pokémon's stamina, and he uses attacks like Zippo's and 's to repel his opponent's Pokémon away before attacking. His appearance near Ogi Isle in The Mystery is History also revealed Ritchie's interest in Pokémon research and folklore.
====Pokémon====
Ritchie's Pokémon coincidentally tend to be similar to 's first captures, either in Kanto or Hoenn. Despite this, Ritchie is also seen battling with a few different Pokémon, such as and others shown during his Full Battle with Assunta. Also, Ritchie's Pokémon tend to be more obedient to their Trainer, largely due to Ritchie being a little more experienced than Ash at that time. Zippo, for example, was shown to be more obedient to Ritchie than other shown in the , such as Ash's and Trevor's.
Ritchie puts stickers on his s to differentiate his Pokémon between others and is one of Ash's only rivals to give nicknames to his Pokémon.
After meeting Ash, Ritchie is often seen accompanied by Sparky at his side, in a way similar to the relationship between Ash and his .
=====On hand=====
This listing is of Ritchie's known in :
=====Status unknown=====
=====Borrowed=====
=====Dub only=====
====Achievements====
=====Pokémon League=====
Ritchie has competed in the following Pokémon League Conferences:
* Indigo Plateau Conference - Top 8 (Friends to the End)
====Voice actors====
===A Ripple in Time===
A counterpart of Ritchie based on his counterpart in the appears in a cameo in A Ripple in Time watching Ash battle Arsham.
==In the games==
 
===In the ===
====Pokémon Puzzle League====
Ritchie appears as a character in Pokémon Puzzle League, where he is the first member of the Elite Four. He also appears in Puzzle University.
=====Pokémon=====
		
====Pokémon Zany Cards====
Ritchie appears in Pokémon Zany Cards for the Pokémon mini, in which his name is misspelt "Ricky".
==In the manga==
===The Electric Tale of Pikachu===
Ritchie is a character in The Electric Tale of Pikachu. first met Ritchie in Welcome To The Big Leagues at a diner while noticing that his was with Ritchie's Pikachu. Ritchie was also a competitor in the Pokémon League and even though he saw Ash win his match with , Ash missed out on his. The next day, Ritchie has moved on from the third round. During the fourth round, he was paired with Ash's rival, . After Ash defeated Jeanette Fisher, he ran to see if Ritchie won or not, and was surprised to find out that he had actually beaten Gary.
Ritchie was then paired with Ash in the fifth round. They battled with and first, which resulted in a tie. The two sent out their Pikachu and tied again. When Ritchie sent out Charley against Ash's Charizard, but his Pokémon was badly hurt by Ash's. Unable to stop his Charizard's violent behavior, Ash was forced to recall it and surrender the match, making Ritchie the winner. Ritchie apologized to Ash for challenging him. Even though Ash felt bad for allowing his Charizard to be uncontrollable, he supported Ritchie on his further matches.
Ritchie's briefly reappeared in Pikachu's Plan after Ash won his match with .
====Character====
Ritchie's personality is very similar to that of his counterpart. However, he expresses more personal insecurities and is shown to be more ruthless in battle. He also has blond hair instead of auburn.
====Pokémon====
This listing is of Ritchie's known Pokémon in the manga:
====Achievements====
=====Pokémon League ranking=====
Ritchie has competed in the following Pokémon League Conferences:
* Indigo Plateau Conference - N/A (The Indigo Finals)
==Trivia==
* Despite changes in the Pokédex's design, Ritchie continues to use the oldest model as of The Search for the Legend.
* Ritchie's outfit features the colors green and yellow, while Ash's clothes are predominantly red and blue.
* All of Ritchie’s confirmed Pokémon he owns were owned by Ash at one point aside from , although Ash did travel with a .
==Names==
Two versions of his name can be seen in official materials, Richie and Ritchie. Pokémon Puzzle League, as well as Pokémon Chronicles subtitles, spell his name Ritchie, while Pokémon.com episode descriptions, The Electric Tale of Pikachu, Extreme Pokémon: The Guide for the Ultimate Fan, and Charizard, Go! spell his name Richie. Additionally, in Pokémon Zany Cards, he is referred to as Ricky.
Language 	Name 	Origin
Japanese 	ヒロシ Hiroshi 	Means "far and wide" (広).
English 	Ritchie 	A diminutive for Richard, which is generally agreed to mean "brave power" in Germanic (from the elements ric "power, rule, ruler" and hard "brave, hardy").
French, German, Italian	Richie 	Similar to English name.
Korean 	훈 Hun 	
Chinese () 	阿弘 Ā Hóng 	From the name 弘 Hiroshi. Means "great" or "broad".
Russian 	Ричи Richi 	Transliteration of his English name
==Related articles==
* Images on the Bulbagarden Archives
Category:Animation characters
Category:Electric Tale of Pikachu characters
Category:Characters named after real people
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