Ash Ketchum

Ash Ketchum (Japanese:サトシ Satoshi) is the main protagonist of the Pokémon anime series who has always dreamed of becoming a Pokémon Master and as soon as he hit the age of ten, 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 listen to Ash and kept running away, so Ash had to tie him up. Then after getting chased by a swarm of Spearow, Ash tried to save Pikachu from it, and Pikachu, after seeing Ash so determined and kind, he protected Ash from the Spearow that were attacking Ash. From then on, Pikachu and Ash became best friends for life. As a completely unskilled trainer, Ash managed to go through, while meeting his friends Misty and Brock and capturing new Pokémon. Then, Ash tries to defeat the Gym Leaders in Kanto, allowing him to enter in the Pokémon League. Since then, he has continued to travel, make new friends such as Tracey, May, Max and Dawn, challenge all Gym Leaders and capture 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. Ash currently travels in the Unova region with his new friends Iris and Cilan.

Season 1: Pokémon: Indigo League
Ash finally starts his Pokémon journey because he is already ten, though he overslept and when he came to the Professor's Lab, there were no more starter Pokémon to choose, but the Professor has one Pokémon left but he says that the Pokémon isn't that friendly and he shows Pikachu. Pikachu dislikes Ash and shocks him with its Thundershock, this would be the mark of starting his journey with his Pikachu. Later Pikachu trusts Ash, and Ash also meets some friends along the way and challenging various Gyms also, he started having traveling companions which is Brock and Misty. He also regularly encounters the wacky trio Jessie, James and Meowth of Team Rocket, who keep attempting to steal Pikachu. He was in the Top 16th in the Indigo League Competition.

Season 2: Pokémon: Adventures in the Orange Islands
During this time, Ash was sent to Orange Islands by Professor Oak on an errand to retrieve the mysterious GS Ball as the transportor cannot send it to Oak's lab; Ash found out that there were gyms in the Orange Island and decided to challenge them, winning a trophy for beating the leaders of the gyms. Brock left to be with Professor Ivy, then they met a new traveling companion named Tracey. Ash befriends and catches many other Pokémon as well. Upon his return to Professor Oak's lab with the GS ball, Ash found Oak could not open it as well and was asked to delvier it to his associte Kurt in Azalea Town in the Johto region, where there are also gyms for the Johto League. Brokc returned and Tracey left to help Oak with caring for the Pokemon at his lab.

Season 3: Pokémon: Johto Journeys
Ash heard that there was a region called Johto and went there to find and catch new Pokémon that wasn't seen in the Kanto region and he battled the Gym Leaders there. He also caught the first three starter Pokémon of the Johto region just like in the Kanto region. Brock joined again and left Professor Ivy for unknown reasons and Tracey was left at Professor Oak's Lab. During this season, Ash won three badges for the Johto League.

Season 4: Pokémon: Pokémon Johto League Champions
Ash won his fourth and fifth badges, but was delayed from having his sixth gym battle as the gym leader was preoccupied with caring for an ill electirc Pokemon that fueled the lighthouse's power. Determined to get his gym battle, Ash traveled over to CInderwood City to get the medicine needed for the Pokemon; there he encountered anohter gym leader and won his (technicaly) seventh badge of the Johto region. He then left to get the medicene back to the ill Pokemon.

Season 5: Pokémon: Master Quest
During this season he has finally completed his badges for entering the Johto League. He fought his best and then fought a certain trainer with a Blaziken in the Hoenn region, then he released his Charizard both battled greatly but Ash lost. Then he decided to go to the Hoenn region but sadly both of his traveling companions have to go back and will not be traveling with him to the Hoenn region. He has reached 8th place in the Johto League.

Season 6: Pokémon: Advanced
Afterwards he went to the Hoenn region, and met two new friends that became his traveling companions, it was none other than May and Max, also Brock returned stating that he finished with his errands at home. Ash also left all of his Pokémon at home so that he can start a new challenge for himself, but he didn't leave his first Pokémon: Pikachu.

Season 7: Pokémon: Advanced Challenge
Ash finally challenged Gym Battles but is held up by May because May decided to be a Pokémon Coordinator. Now both of them are on their way to the challenges up ahead of them. It is also then Ash encounter both Team Magma and Team Aqua, two villainous crime syndicates occupying the Hoenn region.

Season 8: Pokémon: Advanced Battle
After winning his final badges, Ash became caught in a fight between Team Aqua and Team Magma as they unleashed the legendary Pokemon Groundon and Kyogre to reshape the world. However, thanks to Pikachu's connection with Groundon, both teams were stopped and the legendary Pokemon returned to rest. Now entering the Hoenn League, Ash battles with all he has after he obtained all of the badges in the Hoenn region. He meets rivals, Morrison and Tyson. He fought against Tyson in the Hoenn League but lost. He has come to the 8th place in the Hoenn League. He returns to Kanto with Brock, May, and Max and is invited to take part in challenging the Battle Frontier leaders for their symbols.

Season 9: Pokémon: Battle Frontier
Ash battles all of the Frontier Brains, although he has a hard time battling the last Frontier Brain, but in the end, he won and collected all the symbols. He is even offered the chance to become a new Frontier Brain when one of them retires. However, Ash declines and soon learns of a new region filled with new Pokemon. May and Max depart and so does Brock.

Season 10: Pokémon: Diamond and Pearl
Ash soon arrives in Sinnoh with Pikachu (and Aipom who snuck along) and soon reunites with Brock again. Along the way, he meets yet another new traveling companion, Dawn (who was interested in entering Super Contests). He also receives new clothes from his mother in the mail and gains yet another new rival in a trainer named Paul.

Season 11: Pokémon: DP Battle Dimension
In this season, Ash continued battling and earning badges, while Dawn continues to earn contest ribbons, they also see Team Galactic and try to stop them from committing crimes. During this time, Ash earns up to his sixth Gym Badge. Most of the season, Ash had to wait for Gym Leader Fantina to return to her Gym in order to challenge her. Also, Ash encountered Pokemon Hunter J who temporarily managed to kidnap Pikachu.

Season 12: Pokémon: DP Galactic Battles
In this season, Ash reuniting with May during the Wallece Cup and took part as a coordinator once again (per Wallece's request). He also saw the spirit of Azelf rise out of the lake the contest was being held at. Along the trip to Sunnyshore 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 Pokemon. Managing to find Team Galactic in the middle of creating a new universe with the captive Lake Trio controlling Palkia and Dialga, each freed the trio and Team Galactic was arrested while their leader vanished into the collapsing new world.

Season 13: Pokémon: DP Sinnoh League Victors
Finally Ash is entering the Sinnoh League, this may be the hardest and intense league he ever joined as he has many rivals to compete with and also there is a mysterious trainer who joined with a legendary Pokémon: Darkrai. He battled against most of his rivals except for Barry which battled Paul and lost, so Ash's next match was against Paul, the battle was intense as Paul showed Pokémon that he doesn't normally use and until the fight was only Electivire and Infernape but Ash won with Infernape's ability, Blaze. Though he faced an opponent that was hard to defeat, it is none other than the trainer with a Darkrai: Tobias. He was able to defeat Tobias' Darkrai but got a draw with Tobias' Latios. However, as Ash had no Pokémon left, he was defeated. He reached the top four in the Sinnoh League, and many people are amazed because he was the only trainer who battled against Tobias and at least defeated his Darkrai because no one was able to defeat his Darkrai. Then afterwards he heads back home. Ash bid farewell to Dawn as she wished to continue entering contests and for the last time and Brock, who now wishes to become a Pokemon doctor.

Season 14: Pokémon: Black and White
After returning home to 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, Team Rocket (now serious and less goofy) once again tried to capture Pikachu. However, the legendary Pokemon Zekrom caused a storm that scared them away and temporarily knocked Pikachu out. Arriving at Professor Juniper's lab, Ash encountered a new rival named Trip (who won a battle against Pikachu as Zekrom temporarily kept Pikachu from using Electric attacks) and decided to go out on a new quest to win the Unova league. After leaving for his new journey, Ash met Iris and began traveling with her. After winning his first Gym battle, Ash gained yet another new traveling companion in Cilan (one of the three optional Gym Leaders). Currently he has won the first 4 badges. As the season continues, he gets a mysterious egg and similar to the Kanto and Johto series, he also gets all of the starter Pokémon in there; unlike Hoenn and Sinnoh. Also, he has forgotten most of the important lessons in Pokemon battles along with how to capture them.

Pokémon
As a Trainer, Ash has captured and befriended a sizable number of Pokémon over the course of the anime. His philosophy on training is that Pokémon are individuals and that a combination of trust, friendship and hard work are needed to overcome adversity. He seems to battle best with Pokémon that are similar to Pikachu: ones that are speedy and maneuverable, yet able to perform high-powered attacks; however, he is willing to work with any Pokémon that comes into his care. Ash's battle style is generally spontaneous, unpredictable, and fairly unorthodox, and his Pokémon often reflect these traits. Ash currently has six Pokémon with him since his capture of Sewaddle. Any additional Pokémon he catches, will be transferred and looked after by Professor Juniper. The first Pokémon sent was his Tranquill but later he traded it for Swadloon. Later Ash makes a rotate for his Pokémon.

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 Ash's_Four_Unova_Badges.jpg
 * 2) Basic Badge
 * 3) Insect Badge
 * 4) Bolt Badge

Symbols

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

Pokémon League Status

 * Kanto Conference (Indigo League) Loses to Ritchie: Top 16
 * Silver Conference (Johto League) Loses to Harrison: Top 8
 * Ever Grande Conference (Hoenn League) Loses to Tyson: Top 8
 * Lilly of the Valley Coference (Sinnoh League) Loses to Tobias: Top 4

Pokémon Championship Battles

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

Contests

 * Bug-Catching Contest: Champion
 * Extreme Pokémon: Champion
 * Fuchsia Pokémon Race: Champion
 * P1 Grand Prix: Champion
 * Pokémon Balloon Race: Champion
 * Pokémon Contests
 * Terracotta Contest (unofficial): (Winner - Tied with May)
 * Wallace Cup: Top 8


 * Hearthome Tag Battle: Champion-with Paul
 * Pokémon Summer Academy Triathlon: Winner
 * Pokémon Swap Meet Tauros-Battling competition: Champion
 * PokéRinger - Crossgate Town: Champion
 * PokéRinger - Squallville: Champion
 * Rota Tournament: Champion
 * Sumo Conference: Champion
 * Twinleaf Festival Battle Tournament: Champion
 * Sinnoh Pokéthlon Tournament: Runner-Up
 * Club Battle Tournament: Runner-Up.

Other Voice Actors

 * 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)

Gallery

 * See Ash Ketchum/Gallery

Trivia

 * Every time Ash battles and defeats a rival, he constantly loses to the next one in league tournaments, usually because his opponents are older, more experienced trainers with Pokémon that Ash has never seen or battled before.
 * Ash is based on the Generation I video game character, Red.
 * Ash has had thirty Pokémon throughout the series. (Not counting evolution and the thirty extra Tauros as one) 49 including different evolutionary forms.
 * Ash's personality matches Azelf; the Willpower Pokémon.
 * Ash's last name, Ketchum, may have come from the phrase "Gotta catch 'em all".
 * Ash has caught at least one of the Starter Pokémon in every region, and has caught one bird Pokémon that appears in that region's Pokédex.
 * When one of Ash's friends captured the other starters, he would capture another Pokémon to fill in the missing types.
 * Ash has a different outfit in every region (Besides Johto and Kanto).
 * Since the beginning of the series, Ash's skin has gotten progressively darker, perhaps due to the constant exposure to the sun, as he and his friends that he journeys with walk almost everywhere, and are normally outside.
 * Other than the Orange League, Ash has never won a league tournament.
 * Ash is the only trainer who has ever defeated Tobias' Darkrai. Sceptile was the Pokémon that he used to accomplish this.Ash hat back wards 13th season.PNG
 * Ash is said to be 10 in Black & White, but he was revealed to be older than 11 in the Pokémon 3rd movie short, evidant that Ash has aged a bit. It was believed that Ash has been on his journey for possibly approximately three years. The answer to this age problem is currently unknown.
 * Ash has the ability to sense and control aura, as it was shown in the movie and once again in an episode of DP Galactic Battles. 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 is shown to be very oblivious to practically any girl who develops feelings for him. This has been pointed numerous times in the anime specifically by his female companians. It is believed by fans that even his female companions have also developed feelings for Ash as well, though they never admit it or because is too oblivious realize this.
 * Ash is also shown to not understand the idea or concept of love between Pokémon as he claims that they like each other all the time and that he does not know what the "big deal" is.
 * Ash's hair look similar to Goku's hair (from Dragon Ball Z).
 * Ash's Japanese name, Satoshi, comes from Satoshi Tajiri, the creator of Pokémon.
 * Ash's Pikachu and his Unova Starter Pokémon have never been rotated, only Tranquill, Swadloon, Scraggy, Palpitoad, and Roggenrola.
 * Ash seems to catch less Pokémon when he is traveling with a new trainer.
 * While traveling with May he caught 6 Pokémon, and while traveling with Dawn he caught 5 and obtained Buizel by trading with Dawn.
 * While traveling with Misty he caught 18 Pokémon not counting Pikachu which he obtained by Professor Oak, and so far while traveling with Cilan and Iris he has caught 7 Pokémon and hatched Scraggy from an egg.
 * Ash has had a rival throughout his whole journey through every region but the Hoenn region.
 * Through the Kanto and Johto regions his rival was Gary Oak, through the Sinnoh region his rival was Paul, and in the Unova region his rival is Trip.
 * Ash is somewhat like Tyson Granger from the Beyblade original series.
 * Ash has the most Types of any trainer in the series, having every type at least once, except for Steel, Ghost and Psychic.
 * Although, he did train a Haunter in Kanto but gave it to Sabrina
 * Ash has seen every legendary pokemon from Kanto to Sinnoh
 * A feat that is supposed to be impossible.
 * It is possible that he will see the rest of the Unova's Lengend's later in the series.

Ash Ketchum