Ash's Bayleef

Ash's Bayleef is a -type Pokémon owned by Ash. It is one of the Starter Pokémon Ash caught while traveling through Johto.

Johto
Bayleef made her first appearance in The Chikorita Rescue when she was a wild Chikorita who Ash and his friends came across while walking through the mountains. Despite her small size, she proved to Ash that she was very tough by defeating his Bulbasaur with a single Vine Whip. Chikorita even went against very high odds to fight against Ash's Charizard. This in turn left her injured and although she wanted to continue fighting, she eventually fainted, forcing Ash and his friends to bring her to a Pokémon Center for treatment. Chikorita later developed a crush on Ash and began constantly seeking his approval, whenever she was released from her Poké Ball to engage in battle or stop Team Rocket.

It was later revealed in Chikorita's Big Upset that Chikorita was female and that she was jealous of Ash giving so much time to Pikachu. This caused her to accidentally knock Ash over on several occasions and Ash eventually snapped in Turning Over a New Bayleef, angrily telling Bayleef to get away and stay away from him. His harsh words left Bayleef in tears and she ran away from Ash, her feelings hurt.

When Ash, Misty and Brock found her after spending many hours searching for her, she'd been taken in by a kind old woman and she refused to accept Ash's apology. Ash, guilty over his treatment decided to stay put in hopes of getting Bayleef to forgive him but she refused his offers, ignoring and even refusing him. On such occasion, she even hit Ash with her leaf.

Since evolving from Chikorita, Bayleef has still kept her longing feelings and crush for Ash which did end up getting her in trouble on several occasions. However after getting used to her size, she managed to become a vital part of Ash's team and helped win many Gym and League battles.

Ash left her at Professor Oak's Lab when he decided to make a fresh start when he left for Hoenn.

Sinnoh
In An Old Family Blend, Bayleef was one of the Pokémon Professor Oak sent to Ash and Bayleef tackled Barry when it got separated from Ash. However despite being called up, Bayleef didn't take part in the Lily of the Valley Conference.

Voice actress
Mika Kanai (Japanese and English)

Trivia

 * Bayleef is the first confirmed female Pokémon that Ash has captured.
 * Interestingly, while Bayleef was a Chikorita, she always said "Chika" instead of "Chikorita". This changed after she evolved into a Bayleef when she has started saying "Bay" despite her full name being Bayleef. (Except in Current Events, when she went "Chikori" when evolving.)
 * Bayleef is the first Pokémon to develop a crush on Ash.