Ash Ketchum

Biography
Ash has always dreamed of becoming a Pokémon Master and as soon as he hit the age of 10 he rushed to Professor Oak's Laboratory to get his first Pokémon. Originally wanting to choose Squirtle, Ash ended up getting the Pokémon Pikachu and left on his journey. Starting off as a completely unskilled trainer, Ash managed to go through, with the assistance of his friends Misty and Brock and capture new Pokémon and defeat the gyms in Kanto, allowing him to enter in the Pokémon League. Since then he has continued to travel, make new friends 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 Unova Region with his friends Iris and Dento.

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.

Kanto League

 * Boulder Badge
 * Cascade Badge
 * Thunder Badge
 * Marsh Badge
 * Rainbow Badge
 * Soul Badge
 * Volcano Badge
 * Earth Badge

Orange Islands

 * Coral-Eye Badge
 * Sea Ruby Badge
 * Spike Shell Badge
 * Jade Star Badge

Johto League

 * Zephyr Badge
 * Hive Badge
 * Plain Badge
 * Fog Badge
 * Storm Badge
 * Mineral Badge
 * Glacier Badge
 * Rising Badge

Hoenn League

 * Stone Badge
 * Knuckle Badge
 * Dynamo Badge
 * Heat Badge
 * Balance Badge
 * Feather Badge
 * Mind Badge
 * Rain Badge

Sinnoh League

 * Coal Badge
 * Forest Badge
 * Cobble Badge
 * Fen Badge
 * Relic Badge
 * Mine Badge
 * Icicle Badge
 * Beacon Badge

Unova League

 * Tri Badge

Symbols

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

Pokémon League Status

 * Kanto Conference (Indigo League): Top 16
 * Silver Conference (Johto League): Top 8
 * Ever Grande Conference (Hoenn League): Top 8
 * Suzuran Tournament (Sinnoh League): Top 4

Pokémon Championship Battles

 * Orange League: Champion
 * Battle Frontier: Champion

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: Winner
 * PokéRinger - Crossgate Town: Champion
 * PokéRinger - Squallville: Champion
 * Rota Tournament: Champion
 * Sumo Conference: Champion
 * Twinleaf Festival Battle Tournament: Winner
 * Sinnoh Pokéthlon Tournament: Runner-Up

Other Voice Actresses

 * German: Caroline Combrinck (1st-3rd Season & 12th- ), Veronika Neugebauer (4th-11th Season, dec.)

Trivia

 * Everytime he battles and defeats a rival he always loses to the next one in league tournaments.
 * Ash is based off of the Generation I video game character, Red.
 * Ash's first pokemon choice was a Squtile, which Gary got.
 * Ash has had 30 Pokémon throughout the series. (Not counting evolution and the thirty extra Tauros as one) 49 including different evolutionary forms.
 * Mamepato is the 5th bird pokemon Ash has captured. Pidgeot, Noctowl, Swellow, Staraptor are the others.
 * Ash's personality matches Azelf; the Willpower Pokémon.
 * Ash's last name, Ketchum, may have come from the phrase "Gotta catch 'em all".
 * There is a parody of Ash in Johnny Test called Blast Ketchup.
 * In a game called Adventure Quest Worlds there was a parody version of Ash named Bash Ketchup.
 * Ash has caught at least 1 of the starter pokemon in every League, and has caught every bird pokemon that first appears in that region's Pokdex.
 * So far, Ash has caught all known -type starters.
 * When one of Ash's friends captured the other starters, he would capture another pokemon to fill in the missing types.
 * Brock capturing a Mudkip and May choosing a Torchic, he captured a Corphish and a Torkoal for a water and fire type pokemon.
 * When Dawn chose Piplup as her starter, Ash later obtained Buizel when he traded Aipom for it.
 * Ash has a different outfit in every region (Besides Johto and Kanto).
 * Ash is made fun of everywhere but he is actually the most loved Pokemon character.
 * 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.
 * Ash has seen almost every legendary Pokemon.
 * Ash has never won a league battle
 * Ash is the only trainer who defeated Tobias's Darkrai
 * Ash always has a normal pokemon on his team.

Gallery
Ash Ketchum