Ash Ketchum

Ash Ketchum is the main protagonist of the Pokémon anime series who has always dreamed of becoming a Pokémon Master. As soon as he turned ten years old, he rushed to Professor Oak's Laboratory to get his first Pokémon. He is the first character to be introduced in the series. Originally wanting to choose Squirtle, Ash ended up getting the Pokémon Pikachu, and left on his journey.

At first, Pikachu did not obey Ash and kept running away, so Ash had to tie him up. After getting chased by a flock of Spearow, Ash attempted to save Pikachu from them; seeing Ash so determined to help him, Pikachu protected Ash from the Spearow by electrocuting the entire flock. From then on, Pikachu and Ash became best friends for life. As a completely unskilled trainer, Ash started his adventure while meeting his friends Misty and Brock and capturing new Pokémon.

Ash eventually defeated all the Gym Leaders in Kanto, allowing him to enter in the Pokémon League. Since then, he has continued to travel, journeying through the regions, making new friends such as Tracey, May, Max, Dawn, Iris and Cilan, challenging all Gym Leaders, and catching new Pokémon while still following his goal of becoming a Pokémon Master. Since this goal is so close to his heart, he sometimes acts a bit rash and rushes to the next battle he can as fast as possible without thinking. Ash is currently traveling in the Kalos region, with his new friends Bonnie, Clemont and his old childhood friend Serena. Ash's name in the Japanese version of the anime is Satoshi, likely after Satoshi Tajiri, the creator of Pokémon. While there is much speculation, ultimately It is still unknown who Ash's father is; but according to 'Pokémon Live!', his mother dated Giovanni and was in his gang but took a better route in life when she met Ash's father.

Appearance
Ash wears a few outfits, as seen on the Pokémon anime, he also has black hair and brown eyes, and always wears a cap.

In the Original Series, Ash wears a medium blue jacket with gold trim, white collar and sleeves, dark cyan or teal T-shirt, blue jeans with light blue cuffs, black and white sneakers with red dots, green fingerless gloves with light green borders and a red and white hat with a green stylized "L".

In the Advanced Generations series, Ash appeared with new clothing - a black and red hat with a green Poké Ball on it, a blue hoodie, black gloves, new jeans and sneakers.

In the Diamond and Pearl series, Ash appeared with another new outfit, consisting of a jacket, white undershirt, new jeans, new sneakers, and his hat's Poké Ball is blue.

In the Best Wishes series, Ash appeared with a new outfit, new hat and new sneakers, wears a red and white hat with a blue Poké Ball, wears a blue and white hooded jacket with a golden zipper, black baggy jeans, black fingerless gloves with red borders and his sneakers are high tops.

In the XY series, Ash wears yet another new outfit, consisting of a blue collared shirt with short sleeves, darker blue jeans, red and white hat and red high top sneakers.

Personality
Ash is very determined to be a good Pokémon trainer as seen in every episode. He shows a lot of sympathy towards Pokémon usually helping and befriending Pokémon he meets on his long journey. He doesn't like trainers who mistreat Pokémon such as J, Jessie, and James. He is a role model to many people such as May, Dawn, N, and Serena. Ash never changes his strategy of all out attacking and using water + Electric type Moves to defeat other Pokémon. Ash is generally kind, compassionate and brave, but can be stubborn, hot-headed, reckless and impulsive at times. He has also been seen to be quite athletic, several times through the Best Wishes Series, and once in the movie Pokémon 4Ever.

Pre-Series
When Ash Ketchum was a little boy, he was enrolled in Professor Oak's Pokémon Summer Camp where he would learn about the basics of Pokémon and being a trainer when he gets older. While looking for a Poliwag, Ash happened upon a young girl and fellow camper named Serena who got lost in the forest while looking for her group. She'd fallen and injured her knee after Poliwag startled her. He wrapped a clean, blue handkerchief with a Poké Ball on each corner around her wounded knee to brace it. But she couldn't get herself up due to the pain, so Ash lent her his hand and helped her stand up. Then he guided her out of the forest and took her back to the campsite.

At some point before starting their journeys, Ash was friends with Gary Oak until they both fished out a Poké Ball on both their lines. After arguing about who keeps it, they broke it in two, each keeping one half as a reminder of that day.

Pokémon: Indigo League
Years later, Ash started his Pokémon journey when he had just turned ten years old. However, he overslept and when he got to the Professor's Lab, there were no more Starter Pokémon left. The Professor had one Pokémon left, but he said the Pokémon wasn't very friendly and released Pikachu. Pikachu disliked Ash straight away and shocked him with its Thundershock attack. (This marks the start of his journey with Pikachu). Later, Pikachu starts to trust Ash. Upon challenging various Gyms, Ash started finding traveling companions such as Brock and Misty. On his journey he regularly encountered the wacky trio Jessie, James and Meowth of Team Rocket, who kept trying to (and still try to) steal Pikachu. He finished in the Top 16 in the Indigo League Competition. During his journey he participated in a Pokémon race, was involved in a movie, got sucked into cyberspace and helped with the Flame of Moltres. Before heading to the Orange Islands, he picked up the GS Ball from Professor Ivy and bade goodbye to Brock who'd decided to stay with her.

Pokémon: Adventures on the Orange Islands
During this time, Ash was sent to the Orange Islands by Professor Oak on an errand to retrieve the mysterious GS Ball as the transporter cannot send it to Oak's lab. Ash found out that there were Gyms in the Orange Islands and decided to challenge them, winning a trophy for beating the Gym Leaders. During his time in the Orange Islands, Ash gained a new travelling companion in Tracey Sketchit, a "Pokemon Watcher", who observes Pokemon in their natural habitats and draws them in his sketchbook, and caught new Pokémon, Snorlax and Lapras, as well. He battled the Orange Crew in a style of battling much different than what he was used to. Eventually he battled Drake and became the next Orange League Champion. Upon Ash's return to his lab with the GS Ball, Professor Oak couldn't open it either and asked Ash to deliver it to his associate Kurt in Azalea Town in the Johto region, where there are also Gyms for the Johto League. Brock returned and Tracey remained behind to help Professor Oak at his lab. Team Rocket tried to catch Pikachu again, but they were stopped by Gary.

Pokémon: The Johto Journeys
Ash heard that there was a region called Johto and traveled there to find and catch new Pokémon unseen in Kanto. He battled the Gym Leaders there and caught the three Starter Pokémon, just as he'd done in Kanto. Brock returned and left Professor Ivy (for unknown reasons) and Tracey remained at Professor Oak's Lab. During this season, Ash won two badges for the Johto League, by facing Falkner of the Violet Gym and Bugsy of the Azalea Town Gym. He also catches a Shiny Noctowl, had another battle with Misty and said goodbye to his Charizard as he left it at the Charicific Valley so it could become stronger.

Pokémon: Johto League Champions
Ash won three more badges, but was delayed from having his sixth Gym Battle as the Gym Leader was preoccupied with caring for an ill Electric Pokemon, Ampharos, that fueled the lighthouse's power. Determined to get his Gym Battle, Ash traveled over to Cianwood City to get the medicine needed for Ampharos. Along the way he meets Whitney, Morty, Jasmine and Chuck, along with some new friends like Sakura, an aspiring Trainer and one of the 5 Kimono Sisters and reunites with Casey, whose Chikorita evolved into Bayleef. After his Gym Battle with Chuck, Ash and his mates traveled to the Whirl Islands on Chuck's suggestion to take part in the Whirl Cup Competition, a tournament for Water-type Pokémon.

Pokémon: Master Quest
During this season, Ash finally collected the remaining three badges to enter the Johto League by beating Jasmine, Pryce and Clair. He also met Lance and stopped Team Rocket's latest scheme at the Lake of Rage and brought a Larvitar back to its mother. In the Johto League, he battled his old rival Gary and finally defeated him, bringing their long rivalry to an end, then fought Harrison from the Hoenn region, who had a Blaziken, a Fire-type Pokémon Ash had never seen before. To face it, Ash chose his trusty Charizard: the two Fire-types fought fiercely, but ultimately Charizard fainted and Ash lost. (However, Charizard managed to wound Blaziken badly enough to prevent Harrison from using it in his next match, which led to his defeat.) Ash then decided to travel to the Hoenn region, but sadly both of his friends had to return home and thus would not be traveling with him this time.

Pokémon: Advanced
Starting a new journey, Ash received new clothes from his mom, trading his familiar button-up shirt for a sleeveless hoodie, his green gloves for black ones and got a new cap. Breaking with what he'd done previously when he left for Johto, Ash left the rest of his team with Professor Oak and Tracey, intent on capturing new Pokemon in Hoenn, taking only Pikachu, his Starter, with him from home - the idea being to recapture the feeling of first leaving Pallet Town as a new Trainer. Upon arrival, he gained two new traveling companions in May, a beginner Trainer starting out on her journey with no clue what to do, and her younger brother Max, who has an extensive, impressive knowledge of Pokémon that far exceeds his years. Brock also returned, having finished his errands at home. Ash won his first three badges by the end of the season: the Stone Badge from Roxanne of the Rustboro Gym, the Knuckle Badge from a rematch with Brawly from the Dewford Gym, and the Dynamo Badge from Wattson of the Mauville Gym.

Pokémon: Advanced Challenge
Ash was eager to challenge more Gyms but was held up by May as she decided to be a Pokémon Coordinator. Ash encountered both Team Magma and Team Aqua, two villainous crime syndicates occupying the Hoenn region for the first time. Ash also won the Heat Badge from Flannery, the Balance Badge from Norman, May and Max's father, and a Feather Badge from Winona.

Pokémon: Advanced Battle
Before winning his last few badges, Ash was caught in a clash between Teams Magma and Aqua as they unleashed the legendary Pokémon Groudon and Kyogre to reshape the world. Due to Pikachu's connection with Groudon, both teams were stopped and the legendary Pokémon returned to rest. After that, Ash beat the twin Gym Leaders Tate and Liza for the Mind Badge and Grand Festival winner Juan for the Rain Badge. Prior to entering the Hoenn League, Ash declined an offer from Professor Oak to trade in his current Pokémon with his previous captures on the grounds that his new team had earned it for themselves. He gained two new rivals in Morrison and Tyson, the former he would beat, but the latter he would lose to. He placed among the Top 8.

Returning to Kanto with Brock, May and Max, Ash was invited to partake in the Battle Frontier, battling Frontier Brains for Frontier Symbols. Upon encountering the first Frontier Brain, Factory Head Noland and his Articuno, Ash left his friends for a quick bit while the Factory Head took Max and Pikachu up in his airplane, telling them "I had to make a phone call." Later that night as the gang was watching Noland's Pokémon eat dinner, they speculated which of Noland's Pokémon Ash would challenge: Max guessed Venusaur, May guessed Rhyhorn, but Ash, aiming high, boldly decided on Articuno. Wondering which of Ash's Pokémon he would use against a Legendary, the gang was excited when they saw his pick; Ash had gone straight to the top and brought in the big guns, calling in Charizard from the Charicific Valley to take on the Ice/Flying-type head-to-head. Despite the Type advantage being set against it, Noland's Articuno demonstrated its ability to quickly recover after taking direct hits from Charizard's Flamethrower and DragonBreath attacks and managed to gain an advantage over the fiery behemoth with an Ice Beam to the wingtip and repeatedly combining its Ice Beam and Water Pulse attacks, the latter move being strong enough to counter Charizard's newest move: Overheat. Ultimately though, Charizard managed to withstand Articuno's Steel Wing attack, and as the Legendary Bird came in for one last strike, it grabbed its wings in midair, stopping the attack before it could connect and topped it off with its signature Seismic Toss, knocking out Articuno for the win and earning Ash the Knowledge Symbol.

Pokémon: Battle Frontier
Ash battled all of the remaining Frontier Brains, Arena Tycoon Greta, Dome Ace Tucker, Pike Queen Lucy, Palace Maven Spenser and Salon Maiden Anabel, and earned their Frontier Symbols. The last Frontier Brain however, Pyramid King Brandon, proved to be more difficult for Ash to defeat; Their first official battle saw Brandon's Registeel defeating Ash's Torkoal in spite of a new move it learned. For their rematch, which would be four-on-four, Ash took a "back to your roots" approach, once again calling in Charizard but also this time bringing in Bulbasaur and Squirtle to reunite his trio of Kanto Starters. Putting them together with Pikachu, Ash formed a team of aces from his early days: pitting the four aces against Brandon's Dusclops, Ninjask, Solrock and Regice, he finally claimed victory and the final Frontier Symbol - the Brave Symbol - completing the set and winning the Battle Frontier. After his victory, Scott offered Ash the position of Frontier Brain when one of them retired but he declined, opting instead to continue his journey. Before saying goodbye to May, Ash competed against her in the Terratta Pokemon Contest, their match ending in a tie. There was only one ribbon and they couldn't decide who to give it to. Ash had his Sceptile use Leaf Blade to cut the ribbon in half, choosing to split it with May before they all parted ways. Returning home, Ash met up with Gary again and saw the latter's new Electivire. Gary informed Ash about the region of Sinnoh, to which he immediately decided to travel next on his journey.

Pokémon: Diamond and Pearl
Departing for Sinnoh, Ash once again left his previous captures at Professor Oak's laboratory, with the exception of his Aipom who'd snuck along. After arriving in Sinnoh by boat and reuniting with Brock, he gained yet another new traveling companion in Dawn, a confident girl interested in following in her mother's footsteps as a Pokemon Coordinator. After receiving new clothes from his mother in the mail, Ash gained a new rival in a Trainer named Paul. Later in the season, Ash misses meeting Team Galactic due to moving on with his journey too soon. He won his first two Sinnoh Gym Badges: a Coal Badge from Roark and a Forest Badge from Gardenia. Ash encountered J, who temporarily kidnapped Pikachu by turning it into stone. Ash's first Sinnoh capture was a Starly which evolved into Staravia, and a Turtwig. His final Sinnoh acquisition came when he adopted Paul's Chimchar by the end of the season.

Pokémon: DP Battle Dimension
In this season, Ash continued battling and earning badges while Dawn continued to earn contest ribbons. They also encountered Team Galactic and tried to stop them from stealing the Adamant Orb. During this time, Ash earns his fifth Gym Badge. For most of the season, Ash had to wait for Gym Leader Fantina to return to her Gym in order to challenge her. Ash reunited with May during the Wallace Cup and took part as a coordinator once again (per Wallace's request). Late one night with Pikachu, he saw the spirit of Azelf rise out of the lake the contest was being held at. He tied with Maylene but earned a Cobble Badge from her and defeated both Crasher Wake and Fantina for the Fen and Relic Badges. He also acquired a new rival in Barry, a somewhat clumsy boy who insists on fining people. Ash acquired a few more Pokemon during this season; at the suggestion of Zoey, he traded his Aipom for Dawn's Buizel, the only trade so far he hasn't reversed; his Turtwig evolved into Grotle; and he caught a Gligar which became a Gliscor.

Pokémon: DP Galactic Battles
Continuing his journey in Sinnoh, Ash managed to beat Byron, winning the Mine Badge and Candice, winning the Icicle Badge. Along the trip to Sunyshore City, Ash and his friends encounter International Policeman Looker and were recruited to help stop the plans of Team Galactic as the three of them were chosen to share a bond with the three Lake Spirit Pokémon, during which Brock managed to find Uxie. Managing to find Team Galactic in the middle of creating a new universe with the captive Lake Trio controlling Palkia and Dialga, Ash, Dawn and Brock freed the trio and Team Galactic was arrested while their leader vanished into the collapsing new world, effectively disbanding Team Galactic. At the end of the season, Ash caught himself a Gible which was learning Draco Meteor.

Pokémon: DP Sinnoh League Victors
After the Team Galactic incident, Ash entered the Sinnoh League after beating Volkner and earning the Beacon Badge. He also reunited with Jasmine from the Olivine Gym before heading to Lily-of-the-Valley. Taking a different approach in this League than he did in Hoenn, Ash combined his previous captures with his current Pokemon to form well-balanced teams of new and old. The Sinnoh League was one of the hardest and most intense Leagues he ever competed in, as he had rivals Paul and Barry to compete with, and a mysterious trainer who joined with the Legendary Pokémon Darkrai. He battled against most of his rivals save for Barry, who battled Paul and lost, so Ash's next match was against Paul. The battle was intense as Paul showed Pokémon that he didn't normally use while Ash had reassembled his team of six from their earlier battle at Lake Valor. The fight came down to Paul's Electivire and Ash's Infernape. Despite taking heavy damage, Infernape won the match for Ash with its ability Blaze. After defeating Paul, Ash faced an opponent other Trainers in the League dreaded to face as he was hard to defeat: the Trainer with the Darkrai, Tobias. After losing three of his Pokemon to it, Ash was able to defeat Tobias' Darkrai with Sceptile and even knocked out Tobias' Latios with Pikachu. However, as the rest of Ash's Pokémon had fainted, he lost the match and was eliminated. To this day, the Sinnoh League remains Ash's most impressive performance in a Pokemon League Tournament: he reached the Top 4 - the farthest he'd ever gotten in any Pokemon League - and was the only one of Tobias' opponents to defeat two of his Pokemon, let alone his Darkrai. After the Sinnoh League, Ash bade farewell to Dawn as she wished to continue entering contests, and also parted ways with Brock, his oldest friend and longest-running traveling companion for the final time, as Brock now wished to become a Pokémon Doctor.

Pokémon: Black & White
At home in Pallet Town, Ash received new clothes and was invited along with his mother by Professor Oak to take a trip to the far away Unova region for a scientific expedition. Upon arrival, a more formidable Team Rocket - no longer fooling around and acting in a more serious capacity - once again tried to capture Pikachu. This was prevented by the timely intervention of Zekrom, one of Unova's two Legendary Pokemon. Zekrom caused a storm that scared away Team Rocket and temporarily knocked Pikachu out. Arriving at Professor Juniper's lab, Ash encountered a new rival named Trip, an insolent boy with an intolerant attitude towards Trainers from Kanto. Ash battled Trip, but lost as Pikachu's Electric attacks had been temporarily disabled from the encounter with Zekrom. Ash later decided to go out on a new quest to win the Unova League. After leaving on his new journey, Ash gained new traveling companions in Iris, an up-and-coming Dragon Master with keen eyesight, and Cilan, one of the three optional Gym Leaders of the Striaton City Gym who utilized Grass-Type Pokemon and also a Pokemon Connoisseur. Ash continued his inadvertent tradition of catching all three Starter Pokemon of a region, something not done since Johto: He adopted an Oshawott that had snuck away from Professor Juniper's lab and an abandoned Tepig whose Trainer no longer wanted it. Last but not least, Ash caught a very strong Snivy which acts like the mother of his team. Ash won the Trio Badge, Basic Badge and Insect Badge. As the season continued, he acquired a mysterious egg which later hatched into his Scraggy.

Pokémon: BW Rival Destinies
Continuing on his journey through Unova with Iris and Cilan, after they stopped Team Rocket from stealing Pokémon from the Nimbasa Pokémon Center, Ash and co. met up with Bianca and encountered both the Gym Leader Elesa and Bianca's father. After he allowed both his daughter and Ash to continue their respective journeys, Ash battled Elesa and won the Bolt Badge. Then he had the honor of meeting Alder, the Unova League Champion. He also saved Unova from being torn apart by Tornadus and Thundurus by summoning Landorus. Following this, Ash had a Gym Battle with Clay after getting him some Revival Herbs. During the battle Ash's Roggenrola evolved into a Boldore; using its ability, Sturdy, Ash defeated Clay, earning him the Quake Badge. After that he helped Bianca with her newly evolved Escavailer and met Cedric Juniper. He managed to catch the Krokorok that followed him, adding it to his team. Finally, he had a Gym battle with Skyla, duuring which his Tranquill evolved into Unfezant and managed to beat her, winning the Jet Badge. He participated in a race to the top of Celestial Tower and came in a close second losing to Stephan, as well as the Donamite tournament and ranked Semi-finalist. He also confronted Tepig's original trainer, Shamus, during which Tepig evolved into Pignite. He also had to endure a harsh training session from Brycen, which paid off as he won the Freeze Badge. His plans to go to Opelucid City were on hold as he found out the Gym was closed and had to go to Virbank City instead, where he battled Roxie and won his final badge, the Toxic Badge. He also met and befriended a Meloetta and reunited with his old friend Dawn from his time in Sinnoh and stopped Team Rocket's latest plot involving Meloetta. Along the way he met Cameron who faced off against Marlon, the Humilau City Gym Leader.

Pokémon: BW Adventures in Unova
Ash finally arrived at and competed in the Unova League, placing in the Top 8 as he'd done before. He made a new friend, N and learned about Team Plasma and another Legendary Pokémon, Reshiram. With N's help, Ash was able to stop Team Plasma. With his adventures in Unova behind him, it was time for him to head home again: fortunately for Ash, Professor Juniper scored him boarding tickets to the Queen Decolore which traversed through the Decolore Islands. Along the way he met Alexa, a reporter from the Kalos region and briefly reunited with Clair from the Blackthorn Gym to help find a Shiny Druddigon. After arriving in Vermillion City, he parted ways with Iris and Cilan as the two were headed to Johto, and returned home to Pallet Town once again with Alexa.

Pokémon the Series: XY
Ash traveled to the Kalos region to compete in the Kalos League and to continue his dream of becoming a Pokémon Master. He gained new traveling companions in the siblings Clemont and Bonnie and later reunited with his childhood friend Serena, who still remembered Ash rescuing her a long time ago and would travel with him as well. Despite being childhood friends with Serena, he had no memory of their relationship until Serena showed him the handkerchief he used to mend her knee when they were little kids in the episode, Giving Chase at the Rhyhorn Race!. Ash also caught five new Pokémon: his first Kalos capture was a Froakie followed by a Fletchinder, Hawlucha, Goomy and Noibat.

Within the first five episodes of the season, Ash faced Alexa's sister Viola, the Gym Leader of Santalune City who specialized in Bug-type Pokémon. During their battle, Ash faced difficulty against Viola's Surskit, who gained an advantage over Pikachu by freezing the arena, turning it into an ice field. Ash decided that what needed improving was his Pokémon's balance, and with Alexa's help, engaged in special training designed to combat this flaw. Clemont also tried to help using one of his latest devices, but the machine backfired and exploded. In a rematch, Ash ultimately defeated Viola and claimed the Bug Badge, his first badge from a Kalos Gym. Much later, Ash battled against the Cyllage City Gym Leader Grant and his Rock-Type Pokémon. Having seen Grant defeat Viola at the Battle Chateau, Ash sought a way to defeat Grant's Rock Tomb. When he faced Grant, this ended up becoming Rock Tomb Climb, the use of which earned Ash his second Kalos Badge, the Cliff Badge. Some time later, Ash battle Moria, a Sky Trainer who specializes Sky Battles, and her Talonflame. During the battle his Fletchling evolved into a Fletchinder and won.

At the Pokémon Summer Camp, Ash and his friends met Shauna, Trevor, and Tierno. He later had a first-touch-battle against Tierno's Squirtle with Froakie and lost. After spending a good time at the Pokémon Summer Camp, Ash went to Shalour City and battled Korrina, a Gym Leader who previously traveled with Ash and his friends in order to help her understand Mega Evolution with her Lucario. Despite a failed attempt of using Tierno's dancing strategy, Ash managed to win his third Kalos Badge, the Rumble Badge.

Pokémon the Series: XY Kalos Quest
Soon, he teamed up with a ninja named Sanpei and battled against Saizo and his Barbaracle. During the battle, his Froakie evolved into a Frogadier and won the battle using its newly-learned Aerial Ace move. Three episodes later, Ash and co. encountered a wild Goomy who had fled its home on the back of a Swanna. The Goomy was frightfully timid, even being scared of Dedenne. After taking some time to care for it, Ash and the others discovered using one of Clemont's inventions that Goomy's home had been attacked by Bug-type Pokémon, which left the poor creature traumatized, and possibly having some deeper issues. Wanting to help it, Ash invited it to travel with him. Delighted, Goomy accepted, becoming Ash's fourth capture.

Finally arriving in Coumarine City, Ash had to first deal with Team Rocket trying to kidnap the Vanillite evolutionary line. In searching for Vanillite, its evolved forms had covered the city in ice, which was stopped by the Coumarine Gym Leader Ramos. In the very next episode, Ash faced down Ramos in his Gym battle... after enduring sitting through tea and helping the old man water and weed his garden. During this time Ramos saw Ash impatiently yanking out weeds without a second thought and slowed him down, telling him that if he rushes, he will miss the important things. Ash later had to apply this lesson in the Gym battle: Figuring his Type-advantaged Fletchinder would easily win, Ash had to endure both it and Hawlucha succembing to Ramos' Weepinbell's Poison Powder; Ash managed to defeat Weepinbell with Frogadier before facing down Ramos' Gogoat. While Frogadier was surrounded by a torrent of Gogoat's Razor Leaf, Ash remembered what the older man had told him about missing the important things. Using this lesson, Ash slowed himself down and was able to guide Frogadier more effectively; he won the battle and the Plant Badge and celebrated his fourth Kalos Gym victory.

Ash and the gang later heard about a festival where Trainers give gifts to their Pokémon. Ash agreed to go with Serena to shop for things to get for their Pokémon, but alone as he wanted the gift to be a surprise. To Serena's disappointment, Ash frequently ran off during their time together to see if a gift would be good to give his Pokémon, or later when he finally found out what to get them. Between these two moments, Ash ended up winning a blue ribbon from the monorail company. After dealing with Team Rocket yet again, Ash and his friends gave their Pokémon their gifts. For his Pokémon, Ash had done the simple thing and gotten them all a nice bounty of berries. Later, while watching the fireworks, Ash took Serena completely by surprise when he handed her a gift from himself, saying it was because of her that he was able to find a gift for his Pokémon. This marks the first and to date only time Ash has ever given a present to one of his female companions.

While traversing the Lumiose Badlands, Ash and co. happened upon a wounded Spoink. After Clemont gave it medical aid, it led the gang to an oasis where it lived that had been taken over by a rogue Grumpig that was being manipulated by Team Rocket, who used the Spoink as leverage to force Ash to hand over Pikachu. Goomy escaped and faced down Grumpig but was losing for a time. When Grumpig was about to hit Goomy with an Iron Tail, Ash intercepted the attack and took it to the chest in Goomy's stead. Moved by Ash's willingness to protect it from danger at his own expense, Goomy evolved into Sliggoo and defeated both Grumpig and Team Rocket with its newly-learned Dragon Breath attack.

Later, the gang happened upon the Lumiose Power Plant. Team Rocket had hijacked the plant and were using its microwaves to control Electric-type Pokemon, including Pikachu, Dedenne and Luxio. After the ordeal was over, Ash, Serena and Bonnie temporarily bade goodbye to Clemont, who wished to return to Lumiose City to train and become stronger so that he could give Ash a worthy Gym battle.

As time went by, Ash reunited with his rival from Pokémon Summer Camp, Tierno. They proposed a practice battle in order to help Ash get stronger for his promised battle with Clemont. But it was interrupted when Team Rocket showed up and captured their Pokémon. However, while battling Team Rocket, an explosion causes a wild fire which engulfed around Ash and the others. Sliggoo, who was determined to not let its trainer meet the same traumatizing fate, summoned a rainstorm to douse the fire, evolving into Goodra in the process. After blasting Team Rocket off with its newly-learned Dragon Pulse attack, Ash and Tierno resumed their practice battle, which resulted in Ash winning the match.

Later, after arriving in Lumiose City, and after resolving a crisis concerning the Clembot, Ash and Clemont faced each other in their promised gym battle. Despite Clemont electrifying the field with his Luxray's Electric Terrain, Ash managed to win the battle and earn his fifth badge, the Voltage Badge.

After leaving Lumiose City, Ash and his friends came across Goodra's old home in the wetlands. There, Ash learned about Goodra's home being taken over by a Blue Flower Florges and her army of Bug-type Pokémon. Goodra challenged Florges to a battle for leadership, which resulted in Goodra learning Ice Beam and winning the battle. However, the celebration was cut short when Team Rocket injured Goodra and blackmailed Florges into capturing Pikachu, Dedenne and Goodra's friend, Wooper. When Ash went off to save the Pokémon, he learned from Team Rocket that Florges blamed on the Pokémon for draining the water and was trying to save her sick child, a Blue Flower Floette. After resolving the crisis and saving the wetlands from Team Rocket, Floette was successfully cured and Goodra and Florges made a truce, bringing peace to both sides at last. Ash decided to leave Goodra in the wetlands so it could be happy with its friends and serve as their protector.

Shortly after, Ash and his friends made it to Laverre City and met Sawyer, a young trainer who knew Clemont from when the latter was training for Ash's battle. During their time together Ash and Sawyer had a Double Battle, but were interrupted by the fashion show hosted by the Laverre City Gym Leader Valerie. As the boys watched the show they were surprised to see Bonnie and Serena in it. At the end of the show, Valerie challenged Sawyer to a battle which she easily won with her Spritzee due to its Fairy-type immunity to Dragon-type moves.

The next day, Ash and Valerie faced each other in the Gym Battle for the Fairy Badge. Despite Valerie having a Type advantage and defeating Fletchinder with the effect of Spritzee's Trick Room, Ash came around from behind and surprised everyone by using his Hawlucha to destroy the Psychic-type move with its newly-learned Bug-type move X-Scissor before it knocked out Spritzee with Hi Jump Kick to give Ash the win.

While the gang was picnicking, Hawlucha stumbled upon a Pokémon Egg which hatched into a Noibat. Since Ash was the very first person Noibat saw, it imprinted on him and thought he was its parent. As the baby Noibat was a poor flyer, Ash called on Hawlucha and Fletchinder to act as its mentors. After saving both Hawlucha and Noibat from Team Rocket, Ash offered to take Noibat with him to help it learn how to fly which it eagerly accepted, becoming the new fifth member of Ash's Kalos team.

When Ash and Frogadier met Olympia in Cloudy Fate, Bright Future!, she read his memories and along with seeing a vision of it gaining a new power, she revealed that at the Froakie breeding facility, as a Froakie, he preferred being alone to train instead of socializing with the others. When he was asked to join, he politely refused, which was then met with him getting attacked by rest of the Froakie. This made him distant towards others despite doing good, and it wasn't until Ash showed him love that made him finally connect to a trainer that understood him.

In All Eyes on the Future!, Frogadier was used to battle along aside Talonflame in a Gym Battle against Olympia and her male and female Meowstic, defeated them both and allowing Ash to win the Psychic Badge.

Pokémon XY & Z
Shortly after as the group head towards Snowbelle City, the group comes across a mysterious Pokémon, dubbed Squishy by Bonnie, who was being pursued relentlessly by the villainous organization, Team Flare, prompting the group to put it under their own protective custody.

Kanto League

 * 1) Boulder Badge
 * 2) Cascade Badge
 * 3) Thunder Badge
 * 4) Marsh Badge
 * 5) Rainbow Badge
 * 6) Soul Badge
 * 7) Volcano Badge
 * 8) Earth Badge

Orange Islands

 * 1) Coral-Eye Badge
 * 2) Sea Ruby Badge
 * 3) Spike Shell Badge
 * 4) Jade Star Badge

Johto League

 * 1) Zephyr Badge
 * 2) Hive Badge
 * 3) Plain Badge
 * 4) Fog Badge
 * 5) Storm Badge
 * 6) Mineral Badge
 * 7) Glacier Badge
 * 8) Rising Badge

Hoenn League

 * 1) Stone Badge
 * 2) Knuckle Badge
 * 3) Dynamo Badge
 * 4) Heat Badge
 * 5) Balance Badge
 * 6) Feather Badge
 * 7) Mind Badge
 * 8) Rain Badge

Sinnoh League

 * 1) Coal Badge
 * 2) Forest Badge
 * 3) Cobble Badge
 * 4) Fen Badge
 * 5) Relic Badge
 * 6) Mine Badge
 * 7) Icicle Badge
 * 8) Beacon Badge

Unova League

 * 1) Trio Badge
 * 2) Basic Badge
 * 3) Insect Badge
 * 4) Bolt Badge
 * 5) Quake Badge
 * 6) Jet Badge
 * 7) Freeze Badge
 * 8) Toxic Badge

Kalos League

 * 1) Bug Badge
 * 2) Cliff Badge
 * 3) Rumble Badge
 * 4) Plant Badge
 * 5) Voltage Badge
 * 6) Fairy Badge
 * 7) Psychic Badge

Hoenn Battle Frontier

 * Knowledge Symbol
 * Guts Symbol
 * Tactics Symbol
 * Luck Symbol
 * Spirit Symbol
 * Ability Symbol
 * Brave Symbol

Pokémon League Status

 * Indigo Plateau Conference (Indigo League) Loses to Ritchie: Top 16
 * Silver Conference (Johto League) Loses to Harrison: Quarter-Finals
 * Ever Grande Conference (Hoenn League) Loses to Tyson: Quarter-Finals
 * Lily of the Valley Conference (Sinnoh League) Loses to Tobias: Semi-Finals
 * Vertress Conference (Unova League) Loses to Cameron Quarter-Finals

Pokémon Championship Battles

 * Orange League: Champion
 * Hoenn Battle Frontier: Champion (Frontier Brain offer declined)

Contests

 * Bug-Catching Contest: Champion
 * Extreme Pokémon race: Champion
 * Big P Pokémon race: Champion
 * P1 Grand Prix: Champion
 * Pokémon balloon race: Champion
 * Pokémon Contests
 * Jubilife City Pokémon Contest: Quarter-Finals
 * Terracotta Town Pokémon Contest (unofficial): (Winner - Tied with May)
 * Wallace Cup: Quarter-Finals
 * Hearthome City Tag Battle Competition: Champion-with Paul
 * Hearthome Collection Contest: Runner-up
 * Pokémon Summer Academy Triathlon: Winner
 * Pokémon Swap Meet Tauros-Battling competition: Champion
 * Fire and Rescue Grand Prix - Unknown
 * Grass tournament: Runner-up
 * Pokémon Orienteering: Unknown
 * Pokémon Dress-Up contest: Runner-up
 * Tour de Alto Mare: Unknown
 * Whirl Cup: Top 32
 * Seaking Catching Day - Unknown
 * Hoenn PokéRinger - Crossgate Town: Champion
 * Sinnoh PokéRinger - Squallville: Champion
 * Rota tournament: Champion
 * Sumo conference: Champion
 * Twinleaf Festival Battle tournament: Champion
 * Sinnoh Pokéathlon Tournament: Runner-Up
 * Pokémon ping-pong tournament: Top 32
 * Club Battle: Runner-up
 * Wishing Bell Festival Contest: Runner-up
 * Clubsplosion: Runner-up
 * Pokémon World Tournament Junior Cup: Runner-up
 * Marine Cup tournament: Winner
 * Scalchop King competition: Disqualified due to Oshawott's shell being broken
 * Grand Harvest Festival Pokémon Sumo tournament: Winner
 * Pokémon Summer Camp: Winner (along with Clemont, Bonnie, and Serena)
 * Pokémon Sky Relay: Runner-up

Voice actors and actresses

 * English: Veronica Taylor (Seasons 1 - 8, Movies 1 - 8) (4kids)
 * English: Sarah Natochenny (Season 9 - present, Movie 9 - present) (PUSA/DuArt)
 * English: Kayzie Rogers (The Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon first dub only)
 * Japanese: Rica Matsumoto
 * German: Caroline Combrinck (1st-3rd Season & 12th- ), Veronika Neugebauer (4th-11th Season, dec.)
 * Italian: Davide Garbolino
 * Greek: Voula Kosta
 * Dutch: Christa Lips (Season 1 - present)
 * Arabic: Buthaina Shaya (Season 1 & 2)
 * Filipino: Klariz Magboo (All Seasons)
 * Brazilian Portuguese: Fábio Lucindo (Season 1-14, present)
 * Latin America: Gabriel Ramos (EP001-DP090) Irwin Daayán (DP091-DP104) Gabriel Ramos (DP105-DP157) Rommy Mendoza (young, DP138), Miguel Ángel Leal (DP158-present), Pablo Gandolfo (movies 6 and 7), Alan Fernando Velázquez (movie 12)
 * Danish: Mathias Klenske
 * European Spanish: Adolfo Moreno (all seasons), Rafael Alonso Naranjo Jr. (Pokemon 3 and Mewtwo Returns)
 * French: Aurelien-Ringelheim and Sebastien Redin

Design
Ash's design is based on the player character from Generation I, Red.

Etymology
Ash's Japanese name, Satoshi, comes from Satoshi Tajiri, the creator of Pokémon. Ash may be a shortening of Satoshi and his last name, Ketchum, may have come from the phrase "Gotta catch 'em all".

Trivia

 * Ash has had 49 Pokémon including different evolutionary forms (78 if all Tauros are included).
 * Ash has caught at least one of the Starter Pokémon in every region, and has caught the main bird Pokémon that appears in that region's Pokédex.
 * He caught Pidgeotto in Kanto that later evolved into Pidgeot (Ash also almost captured a Spearow and later that same Pokémon evolved into Fearow) which he soon released to protect and lead a flock Pidgey and Pidgeotto.
 * It is interesting to note that Ash must have accidentally evolved the Spearow into a Fearow a few episodes after its first appearance.
 * He captured a Shiny Noctowl in Johto.
 * He captured Taillow that later evolved into Swellow in Hoenn.
 * He captured Starly that later evolved into Staravia then Staraptor in Sinnoh.
 * He caught a female Pidove that evolved into Tranquill then Unfezant in Unova.
 * He caught a Fletchling that evolved into Talonflame in Kalos.
 * With the exception of the Orange League, Ash has never won a league tournament.
 * Ash's skin has tanned in the beginning of the Master Quest episodes from being outside in the sun all the time.
 * Ash is the only known trainer to have ever defeated Tobias' Darkrai.
 * In the Kanto region, Ash often turned his cap backwards when preparing for a battle or to capture a Pokemon. This habit wore off as time went on. However he was shown turning his cap backwards when he was battling Tobias, presumably because Tobias was arguably the strongest trainer he'd ever faced, being the only one who was capable of beating all six of his Pokemon using only two of his own. Although in the Best Wishes series, Ash is seen turning his cap backwards more often. He recently turned his hat around in A Battle of Aerial Mobility! when he used Froakie to help defeat and capture Fletching.
 * Ash's birthday is on May 22.
 * Ash has the ability to sense and control aura, as it was shown in Lucario and the Mystery of Mew and once again in the Diamond and Pearl episodes, "Pokémon Ranger and the Kidnapped Riolu! Part 1" and "Pokémon Ranger and the Kidnapped Riolu! Part 2". Aaron's Lucario has stated that Ash's aura is the same as Aaron's, and Ash was able to use his aura to find and save Riolu. Ash only used his aura abilities when it has something to do with either Riolu or Lucario.
 * Ash has seen every legendary Pokémon from Kanto to Unova.
 * Ash is one of the default name options for the player in Pokémon Red and Blue.
 * In Tekken 6, there is a female character named Eleonore "Leo" Kliesen, who can be customized to look like Ash Ketchum. Coincidentally, both characters were voiced by Veronica Taylor and sounded very similar.
 * Almost every character in the Pokémon anime are featured in the games, such as Misty (who even appeared as a trophy in Super Smash Bros. Melee), Brock (who appeared in Pokémon Red/Blue version), and Lyra (from Diamond & Pearl), as a Trainer♀ in Pokémon HeartGold/SoulSilver version and Gary, who appeared as main rival in Pokémon Red/Blue version default named as Blue. However, the only game Ash has ever appeared was in Pokémon Puzzle League for the Nintendo 64.
 * According to Climbing the Walls!, Ash's favorite move is Thunderbolt, mostly since this is his Pikachu's most notable move throughout the entire series.
 * Among all of Ash's Pokémon, he had only one -type Pokémon and that is his Pikachu.
 * Ash was Veronica Taylor's favorite role to voice in her career.
 * Despite not quite understanding the concept of romance, a lot of girls in the anime have shown an interest in Ash.