Ash Ketchum

Ash Ketchum (Japanese: サトシ Satoshi) is the main protagonist of the Pokémon anime series who has always dreamed of becoming aPokémon Master. As soon as he turned ten years old, he rushed toProfessor Oak's Laboratory to get his first Pokémon. He is the first character to be introduced in the series. Originally wanting to chooseSquirtle, Ash ended up getting the Pokémon Pikachu, and left on his journey. It is currently unknown how old he is as of the latest episode, although he was canonically 10 from seasons 1-3. Though it is said in the first episode of the Best wishes series(on the TV) that Ash is ten. Which means that, yes, the directors have confirmed that Ash is still 10.

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, make new friends such as Tracey, May, Max, Dawn, Iris and Cilan, challenging all Gym Leaders and capturing 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 is currently traveling in the Kalosregion, with his new friends Bonnie, Clemont and his old childhood friend Serena. Ash's name in the Japanese version of the anime isSatoshi, likely after Satoshi Tajiri, the creator of Pokémon. It's unknown who Ash's father is, but according to 'Pokémon Live!', his mother datedGiovanni and was in his gang but took a better route in life when she met Ash's father.

His Room
Main Article : Ash's Room

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 once he gets older. One day, a young girl namedSerena, who was also enrolled, got lost in a forest while trying to look for her group and injured her knee after a Poliwag startled her. But at the very same moment, Ash, who was looking for the Poliwag, arrived and found her. He wrapped a clean, blue handkerchief with a PokeBall 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, guiding her out of the forest and taking her back to the campsite.

Pokémon: Indigo League
Years later after attending Pokémon Summer Camp, 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 asBrock 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 Moltres flame. 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 mysteriousGS 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 leftProfessor 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 Pokemon.

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 Pokemon 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 Townas a new Trainer. Upon arrival, he gained two new traveling companions inMay, 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 Magmaand 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 Groundon, 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 inMorrison 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, 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 Pulseattacks, 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 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 Squirtleto 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, Solrockand 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 newElectivire. 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 fromGardenia. Ash encountered Pokemon Hunter 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 ofAzelf 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 beatingVolkner 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 theLegendary 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 a couple of 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 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 ofZekrom, one of Unova's two Legendary Pokemon. Zekrom caused a storm that scared away Team Rocket and temporarily knocked Pikachu out.