Ash Ketchum
Encyclopedia
Ash Ketchum, known as for all appearances in Japan, is a fictional character in the Pokémon
franchise owned by Nintendo
. He was created by, and named after, Satoshi Tajiri
as the protagonist of the anime
and manga
series, as well as on various merchandise related to the franchise. In Japanese, the character is voiced by Rica Matsumoto
; in English, he was voiced by Veronica Taylor
from 1998 until 2006 and the eighth season of the anime series, replaced by Sarah Natochenny
for the remainder of the anime and Kayzie Rogers
in The Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon
television special. His name comes from the original English motto, "Gotta Catch 'Em All". Ash's dream is to become a "Pokémon Master."
During localization of both for North American audiences, the character's name was changed in the anime to "Ash Ketchum", the first name taken from one of the possible default names players could select for the player character in Pokémon Red and Blue
, and the surname tying into 4Kids' former tagline for the series, "Gotta catch 'em all!" In regards to the video games, however, the player character was officially unnamed until the release of Pokémon Gold and Silver
, in which the localized character name was changed to Red, tying in both with the original game appearance and one of the possible default names players could select in those titles. Though Red was redesigned to look similar to Ash in Pokémon Yellow, the two characters are not to be confused with each other.
Tajiri noted in an interview that between Japanese and American reactions to the series, Japanese consumers focused on the character Pikachu
, while Americans purchased more items featuring Ash and Pikachu, his Pokémon, together. He stated that he felt the character represented the concept of the franchise, the human aspect, and was a necessity. In both the games and anime, the character was given a rival
, in the latter this rival was named Gary (named Shigeru in the Japanese version, after Tajiri's idol/mentor, Nintendo legend Shigeru Miyamoto
). In an interview Tajiri noted the contrast between the character's relationship in the games and anime; while in the games they were rivals, in the anime, Shigeru represented Satoshi's master. When asked if either Satoshi would equal or surpass Shigeru, Tajiri replied "No! Never!"
Ash's character design was initially overseen by Sayuri Ichishi, replaced by Toshiya Yamada during the Diamond and Pearl storyline arc.
provided the voice of Ash in the first eight seasons of the English adaption of the Pokémon anime, which was dubbed by 4Kids Entertainment
. After the script was translated from Japanese, the lines were adapted to fit the movements of the character's mouth (called lip flap). All the voices were recorded separately so Taylor was the only one in the booth when she recorded her lines, which took approximately six to eight hours. Taylor was often the first person to record so she had to "imagine how the previous line will be said."Luckily, I work with a great director who helps with the interpretation of the line, matching of the lip flap, and consistency of the voice." Taylor enjoyed playing Ash because of his "low, husky voice" and "energy and excitement".
Taylor commented that Ash and the other characters "loosened up" after the first ten episodes of the anime; she believed the writers were more relaxed and did no longer feel the pressure of making sure everything was done correctly. Taylor commented: "I enjoy playing [Ash] now much more than I did in the very beginning because I can have fun with him more, and we kind of know him and can work out how he really would react. We have the classic Ash responses and things like that." Sarah Natochenny
replaced Taylor in season nine when The Pokémon Company International (known at that time as Pokémon USA) took over the dubbing rights. In Japan, Rica Matsumoto
provides the voice of Ash. Ash's father is a figure shrouded in mystery, as it is never explained who or where he is.
At the start of the series, ten year old Ash started out as a beginner Pokémon trainer in Pallet Town, his hometown. After receiving Pikachu
as a starter Pokémon from Professor Oak, Ash left Pallet Town to start his journey. Since his departure, Ash has traveled the World of Pokémon, competed in many challenges, and caught newer Pokémon. He has met many companions such as Misty
, Brock
and May. During his travels with Misty and Brock, Ash still had a lot to learn as a trainer. He caught his Pokémon by merely befriending them, knew absolutely nothing about battling, and many of his gym badges were given to him out of gratitude (of the first five gym badges, the only actual victory was over Lt. Surge). Yet, Ash honed his skill as a Pokémon trainer and was able to get all 8 badges, making him capable to compete in the Indigo League. Ash was able to go to the 5th round, and achieve the Top 16—one round further than his competitive rival Gary. After his defeat, Ash traveled to the Orange Islands, obtained all 4 badges, and competed in the Orange League to battle Drake, the Orange League Champion. Ash was able to win his battle against Drake, giving him his first League Championship as a Pokémon trainer.
He then travelled on to the Johto region, with Brock and Misty. He won 8 badges and competed in the Johto Conference. Ash beat Gary again, in the 3rd round of the conference, and was able to make it to the quarter-finals, and achieve Top 8. However he lost against his new rival Harrison, in the 4th round. Ash then moved on and travelled through the Hoenn region, along with Brock and two new trainers May and Max. He was able to get all 8 badges, and then competed in the Hoenn Conference. Ash was able to defeat his 1st new rival Morrison, in the 4th round, also entering in the quarter-finals, and achieving Top 8. However he lost in the 5th round against his 2nd new rival Tyson.
Having gone through several leagues and gotten lot more stronger, Ash decides to challenge the Kanto "Battle Frontier" and its 7 Brains (leaders). Ash is able to defeat all 7 of them and acquires all the 7 Battle Frontier symbols, becoming a "Battle Frontier champion" and qualifies for becoming a Frontier Brain himself. However Ash wanting to learn more about Pokémon and get even stronger, decides to continue his journey, not as a Frontier Brain, but as a trainer. However, having acquired all 7 symbols, he leaves with the privilege of becoming a Frontier Brain if and when he wants in future.
He recently traveled with Dawn and Brock in Sinnoh, before parting ways with them in Twinleaf Town. Ash gets all 8 badges, and competes in the Sinnoh conference at the Lily of the Valley Island. He eventually faced his Sinnoh rival Paul in the quarter-finals of the Sinnoh League Festival and finally defeated him, also achieving Top 4. But he lost in the semi-finals to Tobias, a trainer with the legendary Pokémon Darkrai and Latios. Despite Ash losing to Tobias in the semi-finals, he was the only trainer to defeat Tobias' Darkrai, and he also became only trainer to battle his second Pokemon, Latios, and beat it too, but at the "Point of Defeat" —as Tobias obtained all 8 gym badges and swept all of his opponents' Pokémon using just his Darkrai.
Ash continues his journeys in the new anime
arc Pokémon: Best Wishes!
, which debuted on September 23, 2010 in Japan. In the Unova region, where the Pokémon Black and White video games
and this new series are based, he travels with two new companions: a female trainer named Iris who replaces Dawn, and a new male trainer named Cilan, a gym leader who replaces Brock. Ash is currently on his thought to be last Pokémon journey.
Ash has considerably improved his abilities as a trainer over the course of the series. However, his earnestness and determination remain the same. During the first season of the series, Ash trained to catch more Pokémon than his childhood rival, Gary Oak, although Gary was always shown to be the stronger trainer. He soon began to focus more on each of his Pokémon's abilities. Ash's primary nemesis is a group of antagonists named Team Rocket. Ever since the second episode, "Pokémon Emergency!", two Team Rocket operatives named Jessie and James, along with a talking Meowth
, have tried to steal his first Pokémon, Pikachu
as well as many others, but have always failed. Despite their constant antagonism, they occasionally put their differences aside and work together against a common adversary, such as in Pokémon: The Movie 2000
, where they aid Ash in retrieving the three treasures in order to save the world.
, where he tries to become a Pokémon Puzzle Master. This game was never produced in Japan, so it was only made for North American and European markets.
and Brock
in Indigo sometimes. Misty is the only one to join Ash in the Orange Islands. The Ash & Pikachu manga is similar, although it has the episodes from the anime like "The Fortune Hunters" and "A Goldenrod Opportunity" combined, but with a couple of changes. In Pocket Monsters Zensho, Satoshi (as Ash is known in Japan) starts with Charmander instead of Pikachu. The manga ends at the Indigo Plateau, where Satoshi defeats the Elite Four. Manga author Toshihiro Ono
cited Ash as one of his favorite characters to draw for the series, stating, "I want to go on a trip with Misty just like him! (And forget about job, rent, etc.)".
Pokémon
is a media franchise published and owned by the video game company Nintendo and created by Satoshi Tajiri in 1996. Originally released as a pair of interlinkable Game Boy role-playing video games developed by Game Freak, Pokémon has since become the second most successful and lucrative video...
franchise owned by Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
. He was created by, and named after, Satoshi Tajiri
Satoshi Tajiri
is a Japanese video game designer best known as the creator of Pokémon and the founder of development company Game Freak, Inc. An avid fan of arcade games, Tajiri wrote for and edited his own video gaming fanzine Game Freak with Ken Sugimori, before evolving it into a development company of the...
as the protagonist of the anime
Pokémon (anime)
, abbreviated from , is a children's TV anime series, which has since been adapted for the North and South American, Australian and European television markets...
and manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
series, as well as on various merchandise related to the franchise. In Japanese, the character is voiced by Rica Matsumoto
Rica Matsumoto
is a Japanese voice actress and J-pop singer who was born in Yokohama, Japan. Her name is also sometimes romanized as Rika Matsumoto. She was one of the original members of the popular vocal group JAM Project. After the way of the stage, she embarked on voice acting and a singing career...
; in English, he was voiced by Veronica Taylor
Veronica Taylor
Veronica Taylor is an American voice actress. Taylor is best known for her dubbing work in English-language anime adaptations, in particular for voicing Ash Ketchum in the English dub of the Japanese anime, Pokémon....
from 1998 until 2006 and the eighth season of the anime series, replaced by Sarah Natochenny
Sarah Natochenny
Sarah Natochenny is an American actress and fashion model. She is known for providing the voice of Ash in the Pokémon anime metaseries. and movies since 2006, taking over for Veronica Taylor. Natochenny also voiced the lead role Alicia on the Xbox 360 video game Bullet Witch...
for the remainder of the anime and Kayzie Rogers
Kayzie Rogers
Kayzie Rogers is an American voice actress. She is best known for her work in animated television series....
in The Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon
The Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon
Pokémon: The Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon, later released in Japan as is a special hour-long episode of the Pokémon anime series created for the tenth anniversary of the franchise. This special premiered on Kids' WB! on April 29, 2006...
television special. His name comes from the original English motto, "Gotta Catch 'Em All". Ash's dream is to become a "Pokémon Master."
Concept and creation
Named after Pokémon creator Satoshi Tajiri, Satoshi was designed by Ken Sugimori and Atsuko Nishida, and intended to represent how Tajiri was as a child, obsessed with collecting creatures.During localization of both for North American audiences, the character's name was changed in the anime to "Ash Ketchum", the first name taken from one of the possible default names players could select for the player character in Pokémon Red and Blue
Pokémon Red and Blue
Pokémon Red Version and Blue Version, originally released in Japan as , are role-playing games developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy. They are the first installments to the Pokémon series. They were first released in Japan in 1996 as Red and Green, with Blue being...
, and the surname tying into 4Kids' former tagline for the series, "Gotta catch 'em all!" In regards to the video games, however, the player character was officially unnamed until the release of Pokémon Gold and Silver
Pokémon Gold and Silver
are the second installments of the Pokémon series of role-playing video games developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Color. The games have dual-mode capabilities allowing them to also be played on earlier Game Boy models. They were first released in Japan in 1999 and to...
, in which the localized character name was changed to Red, tying in both with the original game appearance and one of the possible default names players could select in those titles. Though Red was redesigned to look similar to Ash in Pokémon Yellow, the two characters are not to be confused with each other.
Tajiri noted in an interview that between Japanese and American reactions to the series, Japanese consumers focused on the character Pikachu
Pikachu
is one of the species of Pokémon creatures from the Pokémon media franchise—a collection of video games, anime, manga, books, trading cards, and other media created by Satoshi Tajiri. As do all Pokémon, Pikachu fight other Pokémon in battles central to the anime, manga, and games of the series...
, while Americans purchased more items featuring Ash and Pikachu, his Pokémon, together. He stated that he felt the character represented the concept of the franchise, the human aspect, and was a necessity. In both the games and anime, the character was given a rival
Sports rivalry
A sports rivalry is intense competition between athletic teams or athletes. This pressure of competition is felt by players, coaches, and management, but is perhaps felt strongest by the fans. The intensity of the rivalry varies from a friendly competition on one end to serious violence on the...
, in the latter this rival was named Gary (named Shigeru in the Japanese version, after Tajiri's idol/mentor, Nintendo legend Shigeru Miyamoto
Shigeru Miyamoto
is a Japanese video game designer and producer. Miyamoto was born and raised in Kyoto Prefecture; the natural surroundings of Kyoto inspired much of Miyamoto's later work....
). In an interview Tajiri noted the contrast between the character's relationship in the games and anime; while in the games they were rivals, in the anime, Shigeru represented Satoshi's master. When asked if either Satoshi would equal or surpass Shigeru, Tajiri replied "No! Never!"
Ash's character design was initially overseen by Sayuri Ichishi, replaced by Toshiya Yamada during the Diamond and Pearl storyline arc.
Voice acting
Veronica TaylorVeronica Taylor
Veronica Taylor is an American voice actress. Taylor is best known for her dubbing work in English-language anime adaptations, in particular for voicing Ash Ketchum in the English dub of the Japanese anime, Pokémon....
provided the voice of Ash in the first eight seasons of the English adaption of the Pokémon anime, which was dubbed by 4Kids Entertainment
4Kids Entertainment
4Kids Entertainment is an American film and television production company in bankruptcy since April 2011. It is known for English-dubbing Japanese anime and specializing in the acquisition, production and licensing of children's entertainment around the United States...
. After the script was translated from Japanese, the lines were adapted to fit the movements of the character's mouth (called lip flap). All the voices were recorded separately so Taylor was the only one in the booth when she recorded her lines, which took approximately six to eight hours. Taylor was often the first person to record so she had to "imagine how the previous line will be said."Luckily, I work with a great director who helps with the interpretation of the line, matching of the lip flap, and consistency of the voice." Taylor enjoyed playing Ash because of his "low, husky voice" and "energy and excitement".
Taylor commented that Ash and the other characters "loosened up" after the first ten episodes of the anime; she believed the writers were more relaxed and did no longer feel the pressure of making sure everything was done correctly. Taylor commented: "I enjoy playing [Ash] now much more than I did in the very beginning because I can have fun with him more, and we kind of know him and can work out how he really would react. We have the classic Ash responses and things like that." Sarah Natochenny
Sarah Natochenny
Sarah Natochenny is an American actress and fashion model. She is known for providing the voice of Ash in the Pokémon anime metaseries. and movies since 2006, taking over for Veronica Taylor. Natochenny also voiced the lead role Alicia on the Xbox 360 video game Bullet Witch...
replaced Taylor in season nine when The Pokémon Company International (known at that time as Pokémon USA) took over the dubbing rights. In Japan, Rica Matsumoto
Rica Matsumoto
is a Japanese voice actress and J-pop singer who was born in Yokohama, Japan. Her name is also sometimes romanized as Rika Matsumoto. She was one of the original members of the popular vocal group JAM Project. After the way of the stage, she embarked on voice acting and a singing career...
provides the voice of Ash. Ash's father is a figure shrouded in mystery, as it is never explained who or where he is.
Anime
Pikachu
is one of the species of Pokémon creatures from the Pokémon media franchise—a collection of video games, anime, manga, books, trading cards, and other media created by Satoshi Tajiri. As do all Pokémon, Pikachu fight other Pokémon in battles central to the anime, manga, and games of the series...
as a starter Pokémon from Professor Oak, Ash left Pallet Town to start his journey. Since his departure, Ash has traveled the World of Pokémon, competed in many challenges, and caught newer Pokémon. He has met many companions such as Misty
Misty (Pokémon)
Misty, known as in Japanese versions, is a fictional character in the Pokémon franchise. She has appeared as a Gym Leader in the Pokémon video games, several seasons of the Pokémon anime, The Electric Tale of Pikachu manga, the Ash & Pikachu manga, toys, books, and other media.-Design:Misty's...
, Brock
Brock (Pokémon)
Brock, known as in Japanese versions, is a video game character in the Pokémon franchise. In the Pokémon video games, he is the Gym Leader of Pewter City and mainly uses Rock -type Pokémon; in the anime series, he left his position as a Gym Leader to travel alongside Ash Ketchum and become a...
and May. During his travels with Misty and Brock, Ash still had a lot to learn as a trainer. He caught his Pokémon by merely befriending them, knew absolutely nothing about battling, and many of his gym badges were given to him out of gratitude (of the first five gym badges, the only actual victory was over Lt. Surge). Yet, Ash honed his skill as a Pokémon trainer and was able to get all 8 badges, making him capable to compete in the Indigo League. Ash was able to go to the 5th round, and achieve the Top 16—one round further than his competitive rival Gary. After his defeat, Ash traveled to the Orange Islands, obtained all 4 badges, and competed in the Orange League to battle Drake, the Orange League Champion. Ash was able to win his battle against Drake, giving him his first League Championship as a Pokémon trainer.
He then travelled on to the Johto region, with Brock and Misty. He won 8 badges and competed in the Johto Conference. Ash beat Gary again, in the 3rd round of the conference, and was able to make it to the quarter-finals, and achieve Top 8. However he lost against his new rival Harrison, in the 4th round. Ash then moved on and travelled through the Hoenn region, along with Brock and two new trainers May and Max. He was able to get all 8 badges, and then competed in the Hoenn Conference. Ash was able to defeat his 1st new rival Morrison, in the 4th round, also entering in the quarter-finals, and achieving Top 8. However he lost in the 5th round against his 2nd new rival Tyson.
Having gone through several leagues and gotten lot more stronger, Ash decides to challenge the Kanto "Battle Frontier" and its 7 Brains (leaders). Ash is able to defeat all 7 of them and acquires all the 7 Battle Frontier symbols, becoming a "Battle Frontier champion" and qualifies for becoming a Frontier Brain himself. However Ash wanting to learn more about Pokémon and get even stronger, decides to continue his journey, not as a Frontier Brain, but as a trainer. However, having acquired all 7 symbols, he leaves with the privilege of becoming a Frontier Brain if and when he wants in future.
He recently traveled with Dawn and Brock in Sinnoh, before parting ways with them in Twinleaf Town. Ash gets all 8 badges, and competes in the Sinnoh conference at the Lily of the Valley Island. He eventually faced his Sinnoh rival Paul in the quarter-finals of the Sinnoh League Festival and finally defeated him, also achieving Top 4. But he lost in the semi-finals to Tobias, a trainer with the legendary Pokémon Darkrai and Latios. Despite Ash losing to Tobias in the semi-finals, he was the only trainer to defeat Tobias' Darkrai, and he also became only trainer to battle his second Pokemon, Latios, and beat it too, but at the "Point of Defeat" —as Tobias obtained all 8 gym badges and swept all of his opponents' Pokémon using just his Darkrai.
Ash continues his journeys in the new anime
Pokémon (anime)
, abbreviated from , is a children's TV anime series, which has since been adapted for the North and South American, Australian and European television markets...
arc Pokémon: Best Wishes!
Pokémon: Best Wishes!
This is a list of episodes of Pokémon: Black & White, the fourteenth season of the Pokémon anime television series, covering the continuing adventures of series protagonist Ash Ketchum as he travels to the new region of Unova. In Japan, this is the first portion of the branding of the anime series...
, which debuted on September 23, 2010 in Japan. In the Unova region, where the Pokémon Black and White video games
Pokémon Black and White
are role-playing games developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. They are the first installments in the fifth generation of the Pokémon series of role-playing games...
and this new series are based, he travels with two new companions: a female trainer named Iris who replaces Dawn, and a new male trainer named Cilan, a gym leader who replaces Brock. Ash is currently on his thought to be last Pokémon journey.
Ash has considerably improved his abilities as a trainer over the course of the series. However, his earnestness and determination remain the same. During the first season of the series, Ash trained to catch more Pokémon than his childhood rival, Gary Oak, although Gary was always shown to be the stronger trainer. He soon began to focus more on each of his Pokémon's abilities. Ash's primary nemesis is a group of antagonists named Team Rocket. Ever since the second episode, "Pokémon Emergency!", two Team Rocket operatives named Jessie and James, along with a talking Meowth
Meowth
Meowth, known as in original Japanese language versions, is a Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's Pokémon franchise. Created by Ken Sugimori, Meowth first appeared in the video games Pokémon Red and Blue and subsequent sequels, later appearing in various merchandise, spinoff titles and...
, have tried to steal his first Pokémon, Pikachu
Pikachu
is one of the species of Pokémon creatures from the Pokémon media franchise—a collection of video games, anime, manga, books, trading cards, and other media created by Satoshi Tajiri. As do all Pokémon, Pikachu fight other Pokémon in battles central to the anime, manga, and games of the series...
as well as many others, but have always failed. Despite their constant antagonism, they occasionally put their differences aside and work together against a common adversary, such as in Pokémon: The Movie 2000
Pokémon: The Movie 2000
Pokémon: The Movie 2000, originally released in Japan as , is a 1999 Japanese animated film directed by Kunihiko Yuyama as the second Pokémon feature-length film, complementing the Orange Islands saga of the series and featuring several new Pokémon, including Lugia and Slowking...
, where they aid Ash in retrieving the three treasures in order to save the world.
Video games
The only video game Ash has truly appeared in to date is Pokémon Puzzle LeaguePokémon Puzzle League
Pokémon Puzzle League is a puzzle game for the Nintendo 64 console. It is based on Nintendo's Panel de Pon puzzle games, but with Pokémon likenesses. It was only available in North America starting in 2000, and in Europe in 2001, making it the first Pokémon game produced for North America first...
, where he tries to become a Pokémon Puzzle Master. This game was never produced in Japan, so it was only made for North American and European markets.
Printed adaptations
The portrayals of Ash in the manga The Electric Tale of Pikachu, Pocket Monster Zensho, and Ash & Pikachu, are very similar to the one in the anime. There are key differences in the manga, though. The Electric Tale of Pikachu is based on Ash's journey up until the end of the Pingas Islands travel. Ash is usually seen traveling by himself during the course of this manga although he is joined by MistyMisty (Pokémon)
Misty, known as in Japanese versions, is a fictional character in the Pokémon franchise. She has appeared as a Gym Leader in the Pokémon video games, several seasons of the Pokémon anime, The Electric Tale of Pikachu manga, the Ash & Pikachu manga, toys, books, and other media.-Design:Misty's...
and Brock
Brock (Pokémon)
Brock, known as in Japanese versions, is a video game character in the Pokémon franchise. In the Pokémon video games, he is the Gym Leader of Pewter City and mainly uses Rock -type Pokémon; in the anime series, he left his position as a Gym Leader to travel alongside Ash Ketchum and become a...
in Indigo sometimes. Misty is the only one to join Ash in the Orange Islands. The Ash & Pikachu manga is similar, although it has the episodes from the anime like "The Fortune Hunters" and "A Goldenrod Opportunity" combined, but with a couple of changes. In Pocket Monsters Zensho, Satoshi (as Ash is known in Japan) starts with Charmander instead of Pikachu. The manga ends at the Indigo Plateau, where Satoshi defeats the Elite Four. Manga author Toshihiro Ono
Toshihiro Ono
is a Japanese manga artist and graphic novelist. He was born in Aichi, Japan.He is best known for the Pokémon manga based on the animation series: "The Electric Tale of Pikachu" published by Viz Media...
cited Ash as one of his favorite characters to draw for the series, stating, "I want to go on a trip with Misty just like him! (And forget about job, rent, etc.)".