Ash Ketchum

"Hi! My name is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town, and this is my buddy Pikachu!"

**Ash Ketchum (Japanese: サトシ *Satoshi*)** is the overall main protagonist of the *Pokémon* series, mostly the anime. His signature Pokémon was always a Pikachu. He is also the anime counterpart of Red, the player character of the Gen I games. This will focus on seasons 1-13, and 17-present of the show.

## Why He's Great

1. Ash made a lot of really good friends in the past seasons; especially in the original series.
2. His voice actors from both the Japanese and English dubs, Rica Matsumoto (JP), Veronica Taylor (First EG Dub), and Sarah Natochenny (Second EG Dub), do a great job playing/voice providing him.
3. His character designs are highly imaginative and colorful.
4. His Pikachu was so iconic, it became Pokémon's mascot and also one of the most iconic characters in gaming history, he however became the anime's mascot. In general, Pikachu has always become the best friend of his owner, Ash Ketchum.
5. Ash's Pokémon, such as Pikachu, Charizard, Heracross, and Greninja are awesome (Especially Charizard and Greninja).
6. Like a lot of kids, he only got more mature as the episodes went on.
7. He has saved many lives and many legends. He has such a big heart, he even carried Mewtwo's dying body in *Mewtwo Returns.*
8. He won the Battle Frontier and was wanted for Frontier Brain, but he turned it down so he could keep travelling the world, which was a great and adventurous choice.
9. He believes in treating Pokémon with respect and has the right reasons to get angry at anyone who abuses their Pokémon. For example: in one episode during the first series, AJ was abusive to his Sandshrew by whipping it and treating it like a slave.
10. He starts fresh each time he goes to a new region with brand new Pokémon (with the exceptions of Pikachu, Aipom and possibly any others), which shows that he likes to play fair.
11. His relationship with Serena is extremely heartwarming.
	* Lets not forget the romantic and heartwarming kiss they had in "Till We Compete Again!", and Ash smiles after this, showing that he enjoyed the kiss.
12. His character is so faithful to the games, that people consider Ash to be the anime version of Red.
13. He has a tendency of surprising people with out-of-the-box thinking and unpredictable strategies in grave situations, one of the most notable being in a battle against Viola when Pikachu stuck its tail into the ground to avoid getting blown away.
14. In Pokémon Journeys, he now has a Riolu of his very own after its egg was hatched. However, that wasn't the first time he has a Pokémon that he first got as an egg. It was notably Phanpy.
15. Though he is often saddened when he is defeated in a battle, he seldom ever gives in, and is always determined to improve upon his own skills and abilities. As such, he is always quick to attempt a rematch, and, whenever he loses a Pokémon Championship, is rarely ever disappointed for long. He is always well aware that he and his Pokémon done their best on these occasions, and is always determined to try again another time.
16. On the twenty second season of the series, he finally won a Pokémon Championship Finals League in Alola, much to the joy of a lot of fans.
17. He is the most amazing in the Kids' WB commercials. One time, he managed to play poker against the Joker.
18. He has greatly redeemed himself since XY (Season 17) and has remained his lovable self since then.

## Bad Qualities

1. Ash was sadly flanderized in Black & White (seasons 14-16), becoming a very immature and bratty trainer, and his English dub voice is also at its worse during these seasons. Thankfully, he has redeemed himself since XY (season 17).
	* Even before Black & White, Kayzie Rogers is without a doubt, Ash’s worst voice actor, as she sounds nothing like him. Thankfully, it was only during the first airing of Mastermind of Mirage Pokemon.
	* Sarah Natochenny, while tolerable and definitely better than Kayzie, isn’t exactly perfect, and not the same as Veronica. But at least she still made it work for the most part (with the exception of seasons 14-16).
2. Disappointingly, he rarely wins in Pokémon leagues, the only leagues he won are only two:
	* The Orange Islands league.
	* The Alola League (where he finally won a general league).
		+ Which we hope he does win the Champion Cup in Galar now that he won the Alola League.
3. He has done a lot of stupid things and made a lot of mistakes in the past.
4. He can be kind of a jerk towards his friends at times, especially when he was around May.
5. His Sun and Moon design looks pretty off-looking to most people, but it's mainly the face. Luckily, his personality was still the same (unlike the beginning of the Unova era), but after Sun and Moon, his face design thankfully changed to a much better looking one in the currently running Journeys series.
6. In the episode “Pallet Party Panic” he released his Pidgeot to protect the Pidgey and Pidgeotto from the Spearow and Fearow, although he promised to come back for it after he returns from the Orange Islands, he never did...
	* This is only the case in the English version. In the original Japanese version, he never promised to come back for his Pidgeot.

## Trivia

* His English name, Ash is derived from his Japanese name Satoshi as those letters came from that name (S**a**to**sh**i).
	+ In turn, he is named after his creator, Satoshi Tajiri.
		- In fact, his Japanese name meant "wisdom" or "reason".
		- When Pikachu says "Pika-pi", especially when Ash is around, he is calling Ash's Japanese name.
* His outfit varies as he travels through regions (His Kalos/Gen VI outfit pictured).