Ash Ketchum

**Ash Ketchum** is the main character in both the Pokemon Anime (from the original series to Pokemon Journeys; he retired at the end of Journeys, his role as the protagonist being taken by Liko) and Pokemon: Wars Of The Dark. Ash is a Pokémon Trainer who travels the world with his friends and potential romantic partners in order to collect badges and compete in Pokémon League tournaments. Ash hails from Pallet Town.

## History

### The Old Timeline

It's revealed that on the first day of his journey, Ash accidentally made a wish on Ho-Oh that his adventures will never end. This led to Palkia taking the piece of Ash's heart that allows him to age, use Aura and notice that girls get romantically interested in him. This, in turn, led Ash to lose most of the Pokemon Leagues he's been participating into, with his only wins being the Orange Islands and Alola Leagues, both of them frowned upon by other regions.

Ash did manage to make up for a good load of his losses by winning the World Coronation Tournament, but shortly afterwards Ho-Oh's actions were discovered, forcing the world to be reset. However, Arceus and Dialga made sure Ash retained his memories of the old timeline and had the ability to "traverse bonds to find memories" so he could stop Cyrus, who used the manipulations of Ho-Oh, Palkia and Dialga to obtain the power to warp all reality. However, Ash couldn't do it on his own, so Arceus enlisted MissingNo to guide him.

### The New Timeline (Past)

Ash was born on May 22, 1998. He was named after his maternal grandfather, Ashton Ketchum, who died shortly before his birth.

At age 4, Ash got a Pichu egg. The Pichu in question hatched when Ash turned 5.

At age 6, Ash went to Professor Oak's Summer Camp. There, Ash befriended and started a rivalry with the Professor's grandson, Gary Oak, and also met Serena. Ash got into an accident with some Rhyhorns, with Pichu evolving to save Ash from the rampage, and Serena nearly got expelled for it, if not for an anonymous tip from MissingNo revealing that the true interloper was someone Ash beat in a baseball match earlier. Ash, Gary and Serena managed to impress the Professor enough so they'd be able to get Starter Pokemon from him, though Serena had to get one from Professor Sycamore since she was from Kalos. However, Ash's mother Delia put the condition Ash took Pikachu, and Roo the Kangaskhan with him. Ash and Serena then became pen pals.

### Kanto Saga

Ash wakes up in his room in Pallet Town, and realizes he's in an older body. Thanks to guidance from a dark, red-eyed figure, Ash finds out that Pikachu was with him. Ash woke Pikachu up and restored Pikachu's memories of the old timeline, confusing Pikachu. The next day, he was confused by the presence of two Kangaskhans, but ultimately agreed to take Roo with him.

Ash then went to Professor Oak's lab, where he chose Charmander and Gary, who was the only other trainer Professor Oak found eligible that year for a Starter Pokemon, chose Squirtle. Ash then went on Route 1 and tried to find Misty, only to fail. The dark figure explained it's too early for Ash to find Misty, so Ash went to the Pokemart in Viridian City to deliver Professor Oak a parcel. Once Ash did so, he and Gary received a Pokedex and five complimentary Pokeballs each, with Ash using two of his for Pikachu and Roo.

The next day, Ash fully encounters MissingNo for the first time, as well as meets Ho-Oh again for the first time in the new timeline. Ho-Oh instructs Ash for him and his friends to catch as many Legendary Pokemon as possible. MissingNo explains how his memory-restoring abilities work. Ash then finds Misty, but fails to restore her memories. Deciding to start over instead, Ash introduced Misty to Serena. At MissingNo's anonymous tip, Ash then went to catch several Pokemon on Route 22, where he also had a battle with Gary. Gary then explained to Ash that Gym Leaders choose their teams based on the number of Badges the trainer has. Ash, Serena and Misty, who wanted to accompany the two, then went to Viridian Forest.

In the Viridian Forest, Ash started getting the hang of his ability, which allowed him to find his Butterfree and Pidgeot in their pre-evolved states (Caterpie and Pidgeotto respectively). After that and some training, in which he also caught a Weedle and evolved Caterpie and said Weedle into Metapod and Kakuna, respectively, he stumbled across MissingNo battling a guy dressed as a samurai. Unamused, Ash had Charmander promptly curb-stomp the samurai's Pinsir and Metapod. Afterwards, MissingNo, knowing Ash's intent to challenge the Pewter Gym, challenges Ash to a Pokemon Battle, which Ash barely won and during which Metapod evolved into Butterfree. Ash then headed for Pewter City.

## Ash's Pokemon

### In rotation at Professor Oak's lab

* Charmeleon
* Roo
* Butterfree
* Pidgeotto
* Clefairy
* Riolu
* Ivysaur
* Wartortle
* Krabby
* Galarian Farfetch'd
* Nidoran (F)
* Rattata
* Spearow
* Beedrill

### Confirmed future captures

* Giratina
* Gengar
* Primeape
* Snorlax
* Muk
* Tauros
* Lapras
* Heracross
* Chikorita
* Cyndaquill
* Totodile
* Noctowl (shiny)
* Phanpy
* Latias
* Larvitar
* Taillow
* Treecko
* Corphish
* Torkoal
* Snorunt
* Aipom
* Starly
* Turtwig
* Chimchar
* Gligar
* Gible
* Zekrom
* Pidove
* Oshawott
* Tepig
* Snivy
* Scraggy
* Sewaddle
* Palpitoad
* Roggenrola
* Krokorok
* Froakie
* Fletchling
* Hawlucha
* Noibat
* Goomy
* Rowlet
* Rockruff
* Litten
* Meltan
* Dragonite
* Dracovish

## List of badges

### Kanto

* Boulder Badge
* Cascade Badge
* Thunder Badge

## Family

* Sir Aaron (maternal ancestor)
* Delia Ketchum (mother)
* Misty Waterflower (lover)
* Serena Yvonne Gabena (lover)
* Giselle Yuto (lover)
* Erika (future lover)
* Melody (future lover)
* Casey (future lover)
* May Maple (future lover)
* Jasmine (future lover)
* "Bianca" (future lover)
* Flannery (future lover)
* Zinnia (future lover)
* Anabel (future lover)
* Dawn Berlitz (future lover)
* Zoey (future lover)
* Angie (future lover)
* Candice (future lover)
* Iris (future lover)
* Skyla (future lover)
* Korrina (future lover)
* Miette (future lover)
* Lillie (future lover)
* Lana (future lover)
* Mallow (future lover)
* Bea (future lover)
* Glitchy Red (split personality)

## Trivia

* According to Arceus, Ash is "the first, but not the original". This is in reference to how he's the anime counterpart of Red, the protagonist of the first Pokemon game,
* There's a connection between Ash and "Master Red", the current Kanto champion. This connection, however, is unknown.
	+ It is confirmed this connection has nothing to do with Glitchy Red.

## References

1. ↑  https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/EP001