Why doesn't Ash grow up? Who is Red's father? Black and white

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Kira is here, and she has prepared the top Pokemon of the anime protagonist, Ash Ketchum. It's no secret that as a coach he is rather fickle - either he takes out whole packs of legendary monsters, or he loses with his strongest fighters against ridiculous opponents. But we agree on one thing - over almost twenty years of travel, the hero has collected an impressive list of Pokemon. And today I want to distribute them to standings, from weakest to strongest. Please keep in mind that these are my subjective opinions and you do not necessarily agree with them. So, let's begin!

I gave the last fortieth place to all those Pokemon that our hero had for some time, but due to circumstances he was forced to let them go. This place is quite controversial, since some of the fighters were relatively powerful, but there were also those who could not even really attack. One way or another, in fortyth place we have Butterfree, Pidgeot, Lapras, Primeape, Haunter, Embipom, Larvitar and other Pokemon that Ash parted with.

If the previous place was more of a “consolation prize,” then the thirty-ninth position can already be safely considered an indicator of combat strength. Here is Totodile - so far the only GG Pokemon that is not in a regular Pokeball, but in a Lure Ball, created to make it easier to catch water monsters. Despite the fact that the crocodile has been on Ash's team for fifteen years, his fighting potential has never been well explored. Among Totodile’s victories, I remember only the battles against Kingdra in the tournament and against Sneasel in the League, but in both cases he was helped not so much by strength as by a successful combination of circumstances and the coach’s competent strategy. Therefore, only thirty-ninth place.

Thirty-eighth we have Scraggy. In fact, he is still a baby, since he just hatched from an egg a couple of seasons ago, and he is not much of a fighter. I remember the battle at the Unova Ice Stadium, but I didn’t remember the result. One way or another, I put Scraggy above Totodile only because of a more solid set of moves.

And the next fighter fought more than once, often won, but still his level cannot be called high. Another water Pokemon takes thirty-seventh place, and this is Oshawott. He is in many ways similar to Totodile and Scraggy, since they are all not so much fighters as comic characters. Oshawott's advantage is good techniques and large quantities fights

In thirty-sixth place is Torkoal. For some unknown reason, the turtle was “ballast” in the Hoenn GG team, which is strange, given the power of other fire fighters. Torkoal had some good victories, but he ended his most worthy match with a defeat – a fight with Brandon’s Registeel. Of course, even a super-effective type and advantage in maneuverability do not always help in a fight with a legend, so there is no need to blame the Pokemon for that loss. However, the result is unchanged - thirty-sixth position.

The first girl in our top – Bayleef – occupies the thirty-fifth line. Perhaps this is my subjective opinion, but as Chikorita she looked somehow more confident to me. Among the worthy victories are overcoming Machoke Chuck and Houndoom Harrison, as well as winning the Jot Poké Races. Alas, this is not enough for a higher place.

This is our thirty-fourth Mac. It is extremely difficult to assess his combat potential, since in twenty years of anime he fought only twice. Hypothetically, this should be one of Ash's strongest Pokémon, since thanks to its slimy body, it almost does not feel the attacks of its opponent. If your opponent is smaller than Mack, consider that the lump of dirt has won in advance. But due to limited screen time, cuddlers are only thirty-fourth.

Then we have Boldore. Quite a strong fighter who defeated the inconvenient Excadrill Clay (in the games Excadrill is generally among the Ubers, so that means something). But besides this win, I don’t remember anything special from him. Yes, and Ash used his stone crab infrequently, perhaps the situation will improve over time.

Thirty-second - Snivy. In theory, she can easily defeat any opponent, as long as he is male. In practice, Ash for some reason forgot about this profitable strategy, and by the end of Unova, instead of Attracting, the snake uses some kind of grass attack, which is of little use. Not the best solution, Ketchum.

Next comes Palpitod. I like him both as a Pokémon and as a fighter - the tadpole knows many attacks of the most different types. It’s just that his level is still rather weak, among his battles I remember the loss to Garbodor and the draw with Zebstrika, and that’s all. I hope that GG will train him again.

Another girl, Anfezant, took thirtieth place. It's a pretty good Pokemon by Unova's standards, but compared to Ash's other fighters it unfortunately pales in comparison. So far this is his weakest regional bird (I don’t count Pidgeot), but nevertheless, she also has some good fights and victories.

Twenty-ninth – Livenny. To be honest, at first I saw him lower in this top, but since this is the last stage of evolution, which at one time was great in Berg’s gym, I had to change my mind. A quite suitable Pokemon, fast, dexterous, and has a cunning technique that slows down the opponent.

Our twenty-eighth Tauros. This step is also a little controversial, since Ash has as many as thirty Tauros, he caught them in the Safari Zone. For convenience, I imagined that all those Tauros that the GG used for battles were the same bull, let’s say, their leader. A powerful Pokémon that loves to throw into the air opponents that are heavier than it, sometimes even several times larger - Venusaur, Dragonite, Metagross. The problem is still the same - Ash doesn't use his buffalo much, which is quite strange considering its strength. It is also strange that for some reason all the hero’s Tauros are not in safari balls, but in ordinary pokeballs.

Another old man, Kingler, was located a little higher. Yes, Ash had a Kingler, newcomers may not know this, since the last time we saw him in action was at the beginning of the fifth season. As a Krabi, he won his first three matches to a clean sheet and became the Indigo League's top drag queen. But in the subsequent sagas, for some reason, Ash scored a bolt on him, and it’s a pity - he didn’t have such a debut for eighteen whole seasons.

Torterra, another favorite of mine, climbed a little higher. As Tortwig, he showed impressive agility and strength, but with the evolution of the turtle, he began to look somehow faded. Okay, Grotle, he had good fights, but Torterra didn’t win a single fight! No one! Unless he sent Team R to hell, but anyone can do it, they will fly away even with a simple kick. It's a pity, it's a pity.

Twenty-fifth place was taken by another earthen heavyweight, Donphan. At first, he seemed like such a poor Pokémon to me, but then I remembered Battle Frontier and changed my mind. Perhaps such a high position is really exaggerated, but the power and speed of the bishop are really impressive, so yes, twenty-fifth place. Yeah, he also knows Hyperbeam!

Once again, a ground Pokemon is at the top, this time it's Gible. The later seasons of Sinnoh focused less on the development of Ash's confrontation with Paul and more on the dragonet's attempts to master the Draco Meteor technique, but instead of fireworks, Gible launched only one glowing sphere. By an unfortunate coincidence, the projectile always hit poor Piplop, which was good news (I love Piplops, but Dawn had a very stupid and arrogant penguin).

Twenty-third - Quilava. It seemed that at the end of the Johto League, the writers scored a bolt the size of Steelix (which, by the way, he defeated) on Ash’s Cyndaquil, but no. On the eve of the Sinnoh League, the shy Pokemon evolved, learning Eruption along the way, and in the tournament itself, he drew the battle with the powerful Armaldo. Thanks to his past achievements, Quilava climbs to twenty-third place.

Next we also have a fiery starter - Pignite. It doesn’t matter to him at all who his opponent is, what type he is or how many times he is larger than Pignite himself - the piglet will endure him. And if it doesn’t work out, he’ll push it so hard that he won’t last for a very, very long time. The list of battles and victories of this Pokemon is impressive; in the Unova League, it defeated Hydreigon and Ferrothorn, who were difficult opponents (well, Hydreigon was). In addition, Pignite showed good results in the gyms, so he rightfully deserved twenty-second place.

The wise Noctowl, the only Shiny in the GG team, flies a little higher. He doesn’t have many battles compared to other regional birds, but he is special - he hits not with pecks, but with psychic powers. In Johto he cleared out the Morty gym, in Sinnoh he defeated Likiliki, in between - uh... he probably turned his head. Twenty-first place, due to experience and uniqueness.

A huge ice head, Gleyly, crosses the equator. An unusual Pokemon for Ash, but so effective! I remember that he somehow defeated the inconvenient Charizard and Metang, drew the battle with Tyson’s powerful Sceptile, and defeated several other less significant opponents. And all this despite the fact that his attacks belong only to the ice and normal types! A strong head, you can’t say anything, although it’s half the size of its brothers, like Noctowl (seriously, according to the dex, Gleyly should be about a meter or more in diameter, but in the anime he will be smaller than Torkoal).

Our nineteenth is Noivern. He is big and strong, he stunned Zapdos, he fought well in the League, but even at the bottom of the table there are those who have more merit. I award such a high place to Batman purely because of the huge jump in level and set of useful attacks. I hope that he will show himself more than once.

Eighteenth we see Staraptor. Emo Bird was one of Ash's more used Pokémon in Sinnoh, and well deserved its high place. Staraptor is fast, strong, has defeated difficult opponents such as Weavile and Paul's Honchkrow, and his set of moves is generally almost the best among Ash's flyers.

Buizel took seventeenth place. This small Pokémon is not inferior in versatility even to the vaunted Pikachu; it can breakdance, release a fountain, deflate/inflate a collar, and much, much more. He drew the match against the strong Lucario Meylin, carried in the gyms and showed himself well in the League, for this he wins such a high position.

Another water pokemon, Corphish, overtakes him. To be honest, both he and the previous contestant seem to me to be equal in strength, but I will still give preference to the crustacean. Ash carried him on the team throughout the entire Hoenn and Battle Frontier arcs, and Corphish fully justified his trainer's trust. For the time being, he was unique, since he did not know either the Water Jet or the Hydropump, but this did not stop him from crushing opponents with his heavy claws. Golduck, Alakazam, Arcanine are just some of his opponents that the crustacean has defeated, and we hope that this list will only grow over time!

Goodra opens the top 15. This kind giant didn’t spend much time on Ash’s team, but he developed into his final stage in just ten episodes, overcoming his fear of fairies, insects, perhaps even heights... in short, of everything. The only Pokemon of GG who has 100% victories in all gym battles with his participation, he could have been much higher in the table, but participation in the League let him down a little. However, Goodra receives fifteenth place for endurance and fortitude.

In fourteenth place is a flyer with whom few can compare in speed - Talonflame. Yes, I put him above Goodra, because he has more experience, more significant victories, and teamwork is more coordinated. The bird shone in the gyms, showed itself well in the League - a very good entry into Ash’s top Pokemon!

Lucky thirteenth place goes to one of my favorite oldies, Squirtle. He's cool, he's strong, he's pretty quick, he's a gangsta. In Kanto, he was a very mediocre Pokémon, but when the Johto League was in front of him, the turtle showed what experience and self-confidence meant. He also dragged on the islands and in the Battle Frontier, and now he is most likely putting out fires somewhere in Johto with his niggas.

On the line above I put the Pokemon, which, without a doubt, is the best friend of the previous nominee. This friend is Bulbasaur. In the gyms, his results were not very bright, but in the Kanto League, the dinosaur easily took out two inconvenient insects, on the islands he defeated the strong Exegutor, in the Johto League he fought to a draw with Meganium, and in the Battle Frontier he took out Dasklops and Brandon Solrock. A more than impressive list, and this despite the fact that Bulba is only at the first stage of her development!

Heracross was one step away from the top 10. This Pokemon is always on Ash's mind when it comes to important battles in the League. Beetle defeated Magmar Harry, Cricketune Nando and a bunch of other Pokemon that I don't remember, and also held his own against Darkrai Tobias. A very powerful Pokemon, and even with a counterattack to sleep. I think it can be safely placed in the same ranks with tanks such as Goodra and Donphan, because the Hercules deserves it.

The top ten opens with one of my favorites – Swellow. Without a doubt it is the hardiest regional bird of the Ashe. Without the typical combination of Talonflame or Staraptor's set of attacks, the swallow wins with cunning, speed and unrealistic willpower. Realistically, after evolution, the only fight in which Swellow did not take out anyone was the fight with the legendary Latios, but this is forgivable, because yes. The bird also works very well in a team, defeating Solrock and Lunaton along with Pikachu, and Swampert in tandem with Corphish (who, in turn, defeated Arcanine). Other opponents include Winona's Shiny Swellow, Juan's Whiskash, Spencer's Venusaur, Tyson's Hariyama and Donphan, Keti's Venomoth and Scizor, and many others.

The ninth place also goes to the flyer, and this one is probably the most unusual - Kholucha. He displays excellent fighting technique both in the air and on the ground, and seems to not care who he fights. As the champion of the forest, the luchador scattered Urasrings and Machamps, and after Ash joined the team, the list of defeated ones only grew. Behind the scenes, the wrestler even defeated Mega Absol, which for some reason was given very little time. Kholucha can sometimes show off, but in battle he is always focused and cool-headed. But if his opponent offended his “little brother” Noivern, then beware!

In eighth position is another unique flyer - Glaiskor. At first, he only knew how to cry and throw sand, but after evolution, the scorpion grew stronger and pleased us with many victories. He held his own against Torterra and Electivire Paul, defeated Bastiodon Byron, but Batman’s greatest achievement was winning from Drapion Paul, who had previously easily taken out half of the GG team. Yes, and Glaiskor can also do a Gigaimpulse without a rollback and perform aerobatic maneuvers. A very versatile, and most importantly, useful Pokemon.

Another ground Pokemon is located on the seventh line, and this is Krookodile. At first, he simply pursued Ash to fight his Pikachu, but soon became one of the young trainer's strongest pets. He confidently held his own in the ice gym, and also defeated Lypard and Souk Stefan and even Dragonite Iris himself, who easily scattered super-effective opponents. Krookodile definitely drags, and the glasses give him a special coolness. Although Squirtle’s accessory will still be clearer.

So, top 6! Perhaps these Pokemon will someday enter Ash's dream team for real important battle in his life! And who will be the first to go into battle if not Ketchum’s very first pupil – Pikachu? Yellow, of course, is as fickle as his coach - sometimes he takes out entire teams solo, sometimes he loses against a fifth-level starter. One way or another, the level that Pikachu shows now (at the end of Kaloss that is) is his peak so far. Defeat two huge pseudo-legends, and after that also hit Charizard Alan a couple of times - yes please! It’s easy to punish the rather powerful Aegislash and Clovitser and beat Mega Lucario! Previously, the rodent also demonstrated “miracles on turns”, defeating Metagross, Dragonites, Gerados, Milotics, Latios... and Raichu. Perhaps, if not for ominous amnesia, the electrician would have taken first place, but so far he has only taken sixth place. But this is a more than worthy result.

Our fifth is Infernape. Everyone here watched the Sinnoh saga on Jetix, and everyone liked the primate with the burning head. After the strict Paul abandoned him, the Pokemon ended up with Ash, who raised him and made him even stronger than before. As a result, Chimchar became Monferno, and later Infernape, dragging the Sinnoh League. Half of Paul’s team is not for you to hunt Bidoofs from the first route, you know. But the monkey's biggest trump card is the Flash, which is activated at critical moments and increases the power of the fighter's fiery attacks to crazy levels. One way or another - a good Pokémon, strong, and most importantly - with a well-written story.

Sceptile finishes fourth. In general, the difference between him and Infernape is insignificant, one might even say that there is none as such. But if the primate completed its important battles on its ability, the dinosaur relied solely on endurance and reluctance to lose face. Still, he's too cool for that, isn't he? While still a Grovyle, the herbalist confidently defeated convenient and inconvenient enemies, but the greatest achievement happened, of course, after evolution. Withstand Darkrai's Ice Beam and Dream Eater, and then hit him with the Leaf Sword - not everyone, you know, can do this. Moreover, if Sceptile turned out to be the only Pokemon in the entire Sinn League who managed to defeat the legendary ghost (yes, I know that Darkrai is dark).

Ash's third most powerful Pokemon is similar to me - more than anything else, like me, he loves to eat and snort. As you may have guessed, this is Snorlax. I have no doubt that Infernape and Sceptile will be able to defeat him, but still, due to his unrealistic endurance, I make him a bronze medalist. At one time, he withstood a machine-gun fire from (attention!) super-effective (attention! x2) Focused Strikes from (attention! x3) Medichum, who could well have had the Pure Power ability. Yeah, and then Snorlax beat him. And Hariyama too. And Kingdru Claire. And Arcanine and Nidoqueen Gary. And Hypno with Harrison's Steelix. In general, it seems to me that if Ash ever prepares for the most important match in his life, then the first thing he will have to do is not take Pikachu or someone left, but Snorlax. After all, the lazy man took out at least one opponent in each of his fights. It’s also hard to take it out - either with a Hyper Beam, or a Hyper Beam ricochet, or... with a Steel Claw, yes. In short, Snorlax is awesome.

Silver goes to a Pokemon that I thought should be on the leadership podium forever. Alas, “nothing lasts forever under the sun,” but still, Charizard is one of the most powerful taschers in the GG. Once upon a time, he did not even want to fight against an opponent who did not belong to the fire type, but only after being saved by Ash from frostbite, the dragon realized the friendship and care of his trainer. Since then, the Fireman has become practically invincible (except for Dragonite, Blaziken, Dusclops... but oh well) and brought Ketchum victory after victory. In addition, of all the little loser’s wards, Charik has the most extensive range of attacks (but not the most effective, alas). And we move on, and...

...and we come out on top! Of course, you guessed who is located here - yes, it's Greninja. Despite the fact that I don’t like it, I won’t deny that at the moment this is Ash Ketchum’s strongest (and maybe even fastest) Pokemon. And this is a frog. Ninja. Water. With a tongue that she uses instead of a scarf. Not a dragon, not a dinosaur - a frog. And this frog has special form, in which even a champion will not have any difficulty in performing, the main thing is synchronization with the trainer and stable blood pressure. Yes, Grenya lost to Alan's Charizard in the League. Yes, his set of attacks is very poor. But still, for now, the blue shinobi takes the title of Ash’s strongest Pokemon and becomes practically inaccessible to the rest of his teammates. But who knows, maybe the hooded owl will overtake him (no)?

Like everything, yes. Something like this. What are your opinions?

Appearances

Before the events of the series

In episode 28 of the nineteenth season (Pokémon: XYZ), "Answers in the Snowy Forest!" The true story of why Ash Ketchum loved Pokemon so much is shown: when Ash was a little boy, he wanted to meet and make friends with all the Pokemon and one day he went on an excursion to the forest. However, during the trip it began to rain and Ash became separated from his group. Scared to tears, the boy was forced to take cover under a hollow tree and wait for help. However, he noticed a group of wild Pokémon who were also seeking shelter from the rain. He invited them inside the tree, and the Pokémon joined him to keep him warm, safe, and cheerful. Ash was so happy that he even thought about how much he wanted to become a trainer so he could travel the world with his Pokémon.

In episode 7 of the seventeenth season (Pokemon: XY), "Chased at Rhyhorn Races!" It is also revealed that at some point during Ash's childhood, he visited summer camp Professor Oak's Pokémon in Pallet Town, where he previously met his childhood friend Serena. At some point while relaxing at camp, Serena injured her knee from a fall after being scared by Poliwag. Ash bandaged her injury with his handkerchief, which she saved and returned to Ash in this episode.

In anime

In the anime, Ash is a very energetic and outgoing person. He is firm in battle with rivals, soft and affectionate with friends and Pokémon. Ready to fight anyone who challenges him to the very end. He is easily angered, but knows how to pull himself together when necessary. He is distinguished by his caring nature; he does not consider it shameful to inquire about the health of his opponent’s Pokemon after a battle. Ash is not the smartest or most outstanding trainer, however, he learns from his mistakes. He does not like to give up and tries to find a way out of even the most difficult situation. Sometimes he makes truly extraordinary decisions, but still often loses. Among many fans, there is an opinion that Misty is not indifferent to Ash: in the song American version"Misty's Song" says this directly, and there are many facts, according to fans, that hint at this. However, anime co-creator Masamitsu Hidaka said that Ash and Misty's relationship is closer to that of a brother and sister than a romantic one. In addition, many fans are wondering who Ash's father is. Masamitsu Hidaka responded that Ash's father is a Pokémon trainer and will appear in the series if the writers decide to develop Ash's character. Besides Pikachu, Ash has Rowlet, Torrokat (formerly Litten), Dusk Lycanroc (formerly Rockruff) and Meltan, accompanied by a Rotom Pokédex. Professor Oak's laboratory contains Talonflame (formerly Fletchling and Fletchinder), Hawlucha, Noivern (formerly Noibat), Anfezant (formerly Pidaw and Tranquil), Oshawott, Pignite (formerly Tepig), Snivy, Scraggy, Leavanny (formerly Sevadl and Swadlun), Palpitod , Boldore (formerly Rogenrolla), Krookodile (formerly Krokorok), Staraptor (formerly Starly and Starevia), Torterra (formerly Turtwig and Grotle), Infernape (formerly Chimchar and Monferno), Buizel, Glaiskor (formerly Glyger), Gible, Swellow (formerly Tailow), Sceptile (formerly Treecko and Grovevile), Corphish, Torcal, Glaley (formerly Snorunt), Heracross, Bayleaf (formerly Chikorita), Quilava (formerly Cyndaquil), Totodile, shiny Noctowl, Donphan (formerly Phanpy), Snorlax, Bulbasaur, Charizard (formerly Charmander and Charmeleon), Kingler (formerly Krabby), Mack and 30 Tauros. Ash gave other trainers Squirtle, Primeape, Haunter (whom he didn't catch), Beedrill, released Butterfree (formerly Caterpie and Metapod), Pidgeot (formerly Pidgiotto), Lapras, Larvitar, Goodra (formerly Goomy and Sliggu), Greninja (formerly Froakie and Frogadier) and Poipole (one of the Ultra Beasts). Ash also had Raticate, which was traded for Butterfree, but Ash immediately traded it back, and Apom, which Ash traded from Dawn to Buizel.

At the beginning of the series, Ash, who is ten years old, gains the right to train Pokémon. Since he overslept and the starting Pokemon were sorted out before him, Professor Oak gives him Pikachu as his first Pokemon. Ash and Pikachu didn't get along at first, but later became best friends. Ash traveled through the Kanto region with his friends Misty and Brock. He is followed on his heels by members of Team Rocket (Jesse, James and Meowth), who throughout the series intend to kidnap Pikachu, but fail over and over again (since they usually fly into the sky for various reasons, they shout that find themselves in flight). Ash received new Pokemon mainly not by catching them, but by becoming friends with them, he had little understanding of Pokemon battles, and many of the badges that he received, he did not receive in a fair fight, but thanks to an unforeseen combination of circumstances. Nevertheless, he became a strong enough coach and entered the list of the 16 best coaches of the Indigo League championship (and his rival Gary Oak, who was always several steps ahead of Ash, was included only in the list of 32). After losing the championship on the Indigo Plateau, Ash goes to the Orange Islands to retrieve the GS-Ball - a mysterious Pokeball - for Professor Oak. Having learned that the Orange Islands have their own Pokémon League, Ash decides to participate in it and becomes the champion of the Orange League, defeating Drake.

Emboldened, Ash, along with Misty and Brock, travels to the Johto region. He wins all eight Johto badges and competes in the Silver Conference competition, where he reaches the quarterfinals. At the championship, he defeats Gary and thereby knocks down his arrogance, after which they become friends, as they were in childhood. Ash then travels to the Hoenn region, accompanied by Brock, May's aspiring trainer-turned-Pokémon coordinator, and her younger brother Max; While traveling through the Hoenn region, the friends encounter two criminal groups - Team Magma and Team Aqua, seeking to conquer the world with the help of the legendary Groudon and Kyogre. With the help of Lance, the champion of the Johto region and a member of the Kanto Elite Four, they are defeated. Ash collects all eight Hoenn badges, competes in the regional championship, and is defeated again in the quarterfinals. Accompanied by his friends, he travels to the Battle Frontier in Kanto and obtains all seven symbols by defeating the seven Frontier Heads. He is offered to become the Head of the Battle Frontier, but Ash refuses and goes to the Sinnoh region, traveling there with Brock and Dawn, the Pokemon coordinator; During the journey, the friends encounter Team Galactica, led by Sirius, seeking to create a new universe with the help of Palkia and Dialga. Thanks to the help of Cynthia, the champion of the Sinnoh region, as well as Detective Luker from the International Police, the threat is stopped. Ash collects all eight Sinnoh badges and participates in the regional Pokémon Championship and, having eliminated his main Sinnoh rival Paul in the quarterfinals, advances to the semifinals, where he loses to Tobias, a skilled Pokémon trainer who has the legendary Pokémon Darkrai and Latios as his partners.

After participating in the Sinnoh Championship, Ash travels to the Unova region. This time Ash is accompanied by Iris, who dreams of becoming a dragon master, and Cilan, a Pokemon connoisseur, one of the leaders of the stadium in Striaton City (in the Russian dubbing of the TNT channel, the name Iris was translated as Iris). As before, Ash wins all eight Unova Badges and competes in the Regional Championship, losing to Cameron in the quarterfinals due to his Riolu evolving into Lucario. Then Ash, Iris and Cilan along with mysterious man named N travel to the White Ruins to see the legendary Reshiram, simultaneously fending off the attacks of Team R and Team Plasma, who are trying to subjugate Reshiram to their will and conquer the world. After the complete defeat of Team Plasma, Ash's friends travel with him to the Kanto region through the Decolor Islands, where they part, following their dreams.

Ash then traveled to the Kalos region to challenge the local Pokémon League, as well as learn more about Mega Evolution, a transformation that causes most fully evolved Pokémon to take on a more powerful temporary form. While there, he began traveling with Clemont, the leader of the Lumiose City stadium, and his little sister Bonnie, as well as Serena, whom he met at a Pokémon summer camp when they were much younger. They meet new opponents such as Sawyer, Shauna, Tierno, Trevor and Alan. Among the other Pokémon he found or purchased was Froakie, who later evolved into the powerful Greninja. Although Ash does not yet have a Pokémon that can Mega Evolve, the group discovers that his Greninja is capable of exhibiting the "Link Phenomenon", a transformation where Ash and Greninja connect to each other psychically and Greninja's body takes on color scheme, reminiscent of Ash. Like Mega Evolution, this transformation is temporary and makes "Ash-Greninja" much more powerful and well-capable of defeating Mega-Evolved Pokémon. Currently, no other known Pokémon is capable of the Link Phenomenon, and several rivals have shown great interest in competing with it in the Kalos League with their own Mega Evolved Pokémon. As before, Ash earns all eight badges to participate in the Kalos League, and with the help of new Pokémon, defeats many opponents and their Mega-Evolved Pokémon, reaching the finals and thus increasing his previous high ranking, but is defeated by Alan. After the tournament, Ash and his friends took part in a battle against Team Flash, a local villainous organization bent on taking over the region. During the crisis, Ash is captured by Team Flash along with his Pokémon. Lysander, the leader of the organization, wanted to use him and Greninja to carry out his criminal plans. Team Flash used a mini version of their device capable of controlling Zygarde, the Legendary Pokémon of Order, in an attempt to control Ash along with Greninja and their Link Phenomenon. But Ash, who was able to hear Pikachu's voice, and Greninja resisted Team Flash's control. The villains failed to break their fighting spirit and break their connection, thanks to which they activate the Connection Phenomenon and break out of captivity. Alan freed Ash's other Pokémon and helped him destroy Team Flash. It turned out that he was a member of it, but left the group after realizing its true essence (including thanks to Ash). Once Team Flash was finally defeated, Ash released his Greninja to help protect Kalos from other threats. Ash and his friends went their separate ways: Clemont and Bonnie stayed in Lumiose City to work at the stadium, Serena went to the Hoenn region to improve her skills as a Pokémon performer, and Ash returned to his native Pallet Town.

While vacationing with his mother in the Alola region, Ash encounters Tapu Koko, one of the local Guardian Pokémon, who gives him a Z-Ring, an item that allows a trainer to unleash special abilities from his Pokémon. When Ash first uses the Z-Ring on Pikachu, it produces a huge burst of energy that overloads and destroys the Z-Crystal powering it, causing Ash to realize that he must learn to control it. To master the power of the Z-Ring and prove that he is worthy of wielding it and using it to protect people and Pokémon, Ash decides to stay in Alola and enters the Melemele Island Pokémon School, lives with Professor Kukui and studies with his new classmates: Lana, Mallow, Lily, Sophocles and Kiawe, fighting against Team Rocket and Team Skull. During his time in Alola, Ash not only met many new varieties of Pokémon, some of which became part of his new team Pokémon, but also competed in the Alola Island Trials, each of which led to Grand Trials against each of the island's chieftains; After winning the Preliminary and Grand Trials, Ash received various Z-Crystals. With the discovery of Pokémon from other dimensions known as Ultra Beasts appearing through wormholes, Ash and his classmates became part of a team called the Ultra Guardians tasked with capturing the Ultra Beasts and returning them to their own dimensions.

Ash has greatly improved his abilities as a trainer over the course of the anime. However, his seriousness and determination remain unchanged. During the first season of the anime, Ash trained to catch more Pokémon than his childhood rival, Gary Oak, although Gary was always the stronger trainer. He soon began to pay more attention to each of his Pokémon's abilities.

Achievements

Badges won

During his journey to achieve the title of Pokémon Master, Ash collected 8 badges from each of the major regions of Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, and Kalos. In addition, he also received 4 badges from the Orange Archipelago and defeated the Orange Islands champion to receive the Winner's Trophy. He also collected all 7 frontline characters of the Generation III Martial Frontier and was offered a position as the future Head of the Frontier, which he refused. In the Alola region, he completed all the Great Trials of Melemele Island, Akala Island, Ula'Ula Island, and Poni Island.

Ratings in Pokemon Leagues

Ash has proven himself skillfully in the Pokémon Leagues, entering the Top 16 in the Indigo Plateau tournament, Top 8 in the Silver Town tournament, Top 8 in the Ever Grand City tournament, semi-finals in the Lily Island tournament, Top 8 in the Vertress City tournament and finishing second in the Lumiose City tournament.

In games

Although Ash himself does not appear in the main series games, he is based on the main character of the first games in the series Pokémon Red And Blue- Rede. Red, like Ash, travels through the Kanto region, collecting badges, competing with Professor Oak's grandson Blue, confronting Team Rocket and striving to become the Pokémon League champion. IN Pokémon Yellow, addition Red And Blue, Red's starting Pokemon is Pikachu, in addition, like Ash in the anime, he receives all three Kanto starting Pokemon: Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle, and he is also opposed by Jessie and James. Red is the main character of the remakes Red And Blue Pokémon FireRed And LeafGreen and appears as the final boss in the sequels Pokémon Gold, Silver And Crystal and in their remakes Pokémon HeartGold And SoulSilver, as well as in Pokémon Stadium 2 in the Silver Mountain location. There, Red has Pikachu, as well as Venusaur, Charizard, and Blastoise, the evolved forms of Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle, respectively. Red appears as one of the heroes in Nintendo's crossover fighting game Super Smash Bros. Brawl under the name "Pokémon Trainer".

The only game where Ash appears by himself is Pokémon Puzzle League for the Nintendo 64 game console. IN Puzzle League Ash is the main character.

In the manga

Ash appears in the manga The Electric Tale of Pikachu, based on the first two seasons of the anime series, as well as another manga Ash & Pikachu, also based on the anime. In the manga, Ash mostly travels alone, with Misty and Brock joining him only occasionally. Manga author The Electric Tale of Pikachu Toshihiro Ono said that Ash is one of his favorite characters to draw and added that he "would like to go on a journey just like him! And forget about work, rent, etc.” . A character named Satoshi is the main character of the manga. Pokémon Zensho.

Ash's prototype, Red, appears in the manga Pokémon Adventures, where he is one of the main characters. IN Pokémon Pocket Monsters The main character is Isamu Akai, nicknamed "Red".

History of creation

The character was based on Red, the main character of the games Pokémon Red And Blue. Red was designed by Ken Sugimori, a character designer for the main series games. In the Japanese original, he was named Satoshi, after Satoshi Tajiri, the creator of Pokémon. For the anime, his image was slightly changed by artist Sayuri Ichishi. In the American version, Satoshi was renamed Ash, in addition, he was given the surname "Ketchum" - a derivative of the slogan of the media franchise "Gotta" Catch'Em All!” (With English-  “Catch them all!”).

Tajiri noted in an interview that in Japan they buy more things with Pikachu, and in the USA - things with Ash and Pikachu at the same time. The creator of "Pokemon" concluded that in America his idea is better understood, since humans are no less important than Pokemon. Ash, like Red, has a rival - Professor Oak's grandson Gary Oak (Blue in the games), who in the Japanese version of the anime is named Shigeru, in honor of Shigeru Miyamoto, whom Tajiri considers his teacher. Tajiri emphasized the difference between the relationships of Red and Blue and Ash and Gary: while the first two are real rivals, then Gary is more like Ash's older friend. When asked if Ash will ever surpass Gary, Tajiri replied, “No! Never!" . Ash's age does not change throughout the series: he is always 10 years old. The anime's creators explain that otherwise the series would have been aimed at a more mature audience.

Voice acting

In the Japanese version of the anime, Ash is voiced by voice actor Rika Matsumoto. As she herself said, it is easy for her to voice the main boy characters, since she had a very lively personality as a child, and that is why she enjoys voicing Satoshi. In the American dub by 4Kids Entertainment, Ash is voiced by Veronica Taylor, after the eighth season, in the dub of The Pokémon Company by Sarah Natochenny. After the dialogues are translated from Japanese, they are changed to suit the length. The dubbing took place in complete isolation, so Taylor spent six to eight hours in the dubbing room. Her voice was often recorded first, so she had to imagine the lines spoken before her words. “Luckily, I worked with a good director who helped me understand the meaning of the dialogue and maintain intonation.” Taylor said she enjoyed voicing Ash because of his "husky and deep voice" and "energy and joie de vivre." In addition, Taylor noted that Ash and his friends "got into a frenzy" after the first ten episodes of the anime: she felt that the writers' work became less stressful, which is why she enjoyed voicing Ash more in the later episodes. In the Russian version, Ash was voiced by Anna Levchenko in the first seasons, and since 2008 by Larisa Nekipelova.

Reviews and popularity

Book The Japanification of Children's Popular Culture called Ash an example of a collective image of all players: like the players, he is a newcomer to the gaming world and is just discovering it for himself. In addition, the book notes that throughout the anime series, Ash becomes more and more experienced and his character develops. UGO.com ranked Ash as the fifteenth most memorable hat wearer, noting that "love him or hate him, everyone knows Ash Ketchum for his red and white cap." The 2011 Guinness Book of Records - Gamer's Edition placed Ash in 37th place on the list of readers' favorite computer game characters, although Ash himself almost never appeared in games.

Notes

1. Ivanov, Boris. Satoshi/Ash (undefined) . Anime and manga in Russia. Retrieved July 2, 2012. Archived August 7, 2012.
2. Water Pokémon Master. Interview with Masamitsu Hidaka at Anime Expo (undefined) (July 3, 2008). Retrieved April 3, 2012. Archived May 20, 2012.
3. The name "Ash" in the American version of the games and "Satoshi" in the Japanese version are the default name options for Red.
4. Animerica Interview Toshihiro Ono (undefined) . VIZ Media. Retrieved August 5, 2009. Archived May 10, 2000.
5. Pokeani Data (undefined) . Retrieved March 20, 2008. Archived March 21, 2008.
6. Tobin, Joseph Jay. ISBN 0-822-33287-6.
7. Tobin, Joseph Jay. Pikachu's Global Adventure: The Rise and Fall of Pokémon. - Duke University Press, 2004. - P. 16. - ISBN 0-8223-3287-6.

Even if the Pokémon cartoon screensaver doesn't fill your heart with nostalgia, you may still have Pokémon GO installed on your smartphone and often wander around the city in hopes of catching the next monster. Pokémon GO doesn't require knowledge of the context of the original series - however, for those especially interested, we decided to put together a guide to the most important episodes of the TV show.

The stated mission of the Pokémon anime, aimed at elementary school students, is to bring goodness to children, teach them compassion, self-sacrifice, honesty and, oddly enough, the basics fire safety and life safety. It is difficult to recommend the series to everyone, given its target audience. At the same time, in just a few hours, you can watch a dozen major episodes that will fill gaps in your knowledge (the first 52 episodes are available on Netflix).

#1 “Pokemon! I choose you!"

In the first episode, we are introduced to the protagonist Ash Ketchum - a bungler with a big heart, living in a world where there is no sport more popular than Pokemon battles. Each child, upon reaching the age of ten, receives from a local specialist (in the Kanto region, where Ash lives, this is Professor Oak) the right to his first Pokemon.

On the most important day of his life, Ash wakes up. Arriving at the professor, he discovers that all the worthy Pokemon have already been taken away. Ash begs the scientist to give him at least something and receives a naughty electric mouse, the icon and face of the franchise - Pikachu. According to the logic that only cartoons obey, the mother of our young hero sends him on a journey around the country, which to date has already lasted 930 episodes.

On the road, Ash realizes that without the help of his pet he will not become an honored trainer, so he does not give up trying to find a common language with him. Pikachu, as befits the embodiment of electricity, does not recognize authorities, does not want to get into the pokeball and constantly shocks Ash. The episode ends with a dramatic confrontation that can give chills to more than just a second grader. The viewer receives the first lesson out of a thousand: we are responsible for those we have tamed.

#10 “Bulbasaur and the Hidden Village”, #11 “Charmander - Abandoned Pokemon”, #12 “Squirtle Squad Arrives”

At the beginning of each of the Pokémon series games for Nintendo handheld consoles, the player is asked to choose his first Pokémon - Grass, Fire or Water. In the early parts, these are Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle, respectively. The choice does not greatly affect the difficulty of the passage or the plot, but by choosing one, you forever give up the other two, so it is very difficult to decide. Ash is lucky, he meets these Pokemon one after another.

All three Pokémon, upon closer inspection, turn out to be not entirely wild. All of them were let down by former coaches, so they are wary of people. Ash receives Bulbasaur from the owner of a shelter for abandoned Pokémon, Charmander joins the company after he realizes that the former owner sees him only as a tool, and Squirtle goes on a journey with Ash only after he returns his lost faith in people. The triptych draws attention to an important problem: not all Pokemon in this world are equally loved and appreciated. Ash, of course, makes it his mission to fix this.

#14 “The Decisive Lightning Strike”

Every major city has a stadium - the venue for official battles Pokemon, one of the key locations in both games and anime. For defeating the strongest trainer in the city, other trainers receive a badge - you need to collect eight to be allowed to participate in the Pokemon League. This is Ash's main goal. "The Decisive Lightning Strike" is not the first episode in which Ash gets to compete for the badge. So, in “The Fight in Pewter” and “Water Flowers of Cerulean” he has already obtained two insignia and met two true friends in the person of the Pokémon breeder Brock and the water Pokémon trainer Misty. But since the episodes about stadiums are very monotonous, it makes sense to watch only one of them.

In Decisive Lightning Strike, Ash's Pikachu encounters Raichu, a stronger and larger version of itself, a Pokémon that Pikachu can evolve into when it comes into contact with a rare mineral, the Lightning Stone. Raichu's master - Lieutenant Sarge, an American veteran who settled in Japan and runs a stadium in the city of Vermilion - defeats Ash without much effort. The beaten Pikachu finds himself at a crossroads: remain himself and re-engage in an unequal battle, or gain mass through evolution, increasing his chances of winning. This is another emotional moment that the series is so rich in, and Pikachu teaches us another lesson: the strongest does not always win.

#21 “Goodbye Butterfree!”

Butterfree is the first Pokemon that Ash caught with his own hands. More precisely, he caught the caterpillar Pokemon Caterpie, and it evolved into Butterfree, a big-nosed purple butterfly. While traveling, the friends notice a swarm of Butterfries flying over the sea - it's mating season for the Pokémon, and Ash decides to let his butterfly join his.

Butterfree falls in love and flies off into the sunset, leaving Ash and millions of schoolchildren in tears - after all, there is hardly a stronger experience for a child than the loss of a pet. "Goodbye Butterfree!" not only teaches you how to come to terms with loss, but also answers some questions about how Pokemon reproduce.

#27 “Hypno-Pokemon Dream”

If you play Pokémon GO, you've probably already hated the tapir-like Drowzee and his evolution Hypno for being so ubiquitous. Despite the title, this episode is not about them. Here we are introduced to a more important character - Psyduck, a Pokemon with a persistent migraine. Psyduck - an awkward, ugly, useless upright platypus - meets Ash and friends in the Pokémon hospital, where those suffering from the waves emitted by Hypno have gathered. It turns out that not all Pokémon are equally desirable for trainers, and Misty tries with all her might not to catch Psyduck, but she fails - the platypus still joins the company.

#35 “The Legend of Dratini”

The first of two banned episodes: Ash and his friends end up in the safari zone. This is a special place where Pokemon can only be caught with special Pokeballs. There, the heroes are met by a man named Kaiza and the first thing he does is point a gun at ten-year-old children - this is the first reason why the episode caused public indignation.

Kaiza thought that the children were poachers who had come to catch the legendary Pokémon Dratini, who lived somewhere in the reserve. Ash convinces Kaiza that they don't want to hurt anyone, and then catches a whole herd of Tauros, buffalo Pokémon - isn't it poaching. Propaganda of poaching is the second reason why “The Legend of Dratini” was removed from broadcasting. Not a very important episode for understanding the phenomenal popularity of Pokemon, but it is possible that if you watched Pokemon as a child, then you did not see this episode.

#38 “Electronic warrior Porygon”

In this episode, Ash, Misty, and Brock travel to cyberspace to cure a virus in the Pokémon Center's computers. The cause of the virus turns out to be Porygon, the world's first artificially created Pokemon, a Pokemon program. It turns out that not all pocket monsters are creatures of nature. In addition, the episode is interesting for its influence on the public perception of the series and on the Japanese animation industry as a whole.

Many people remember horror stories about how, after watching enough anime, children buried themselves alive in sandboxes or jumped out of windows. All of these, of course, are either myths or isolated cases, in which, most likely, it was not the fault of the series. “Electronic Warrior Porygon” is a different story: during the premiere, almost seven hundred Japanese children were urgently hospitalized, some with epileptic seizures, some simply with sharp deterioration well-being. The reason was a scene during which the viewer is exposed to red and blue strobe light. The broadcast of the series was interrupted for several months, which the television company spent investigating the incident. Based on the results of the investigation, they compiled a set of rules governing the use of flickering light in animation. “Electronic Warrior Porygon” is the second banned episode, and we, of course, do not recommend watching it.

#43 “Song of Jigglypuff”

On the way to the fictional analogue of Las Vegas, the city of Neon, the friends meet Jigglypuff, a Pokémon singer with a soporific voice who dreams of an audience that will not snore at the very beginning of the performance. Jigglypuff's voice turns out to be the key to solving Neon's big problem - insomnia, which affects all the city's residents, making them irritable and rude. The series about the benefits of sleep gave the franchise a second mascot, albeit an unofficial one - Jigglypuff appears in almost every episode until the end of the season.

#46 “The Sacred Bonds of Marriage”

This is the first episode to focus on Team Rocket, the recurring antagonists of the first season. Jesse, James and the unique talking Pokémon Meowth are a gang of misfits: in the hope of getting rich, they unsuccessfully try to capture Ash's Pikachu and any other Pokémon that come to hand with the help of ridiculous wunderwaffes. Why the Rocket team needs money is unclear - their budget for wild gadgets and camouflage suits, new in each episode, already seems inexhaustible.

In this episode, James's parents force him to marry with the promise of a huge dowry. Jessie and Meowth, of course, support them in every possible way. It turns out that for James, wealth is not the main thing: he was brought to Team R by a thirst for adventure - and puns, which the gang members often throw around in conversations.

#48 “Who will get Togepi?”

The world of Pokémon, already a mysterious place, becomes even more mysterious when it comes to breeding. For example, over time it became clear that Pokémon do not have to belong to the same species in order to leave offspring. No one has ever seen a Pokémon lay eggs, but most of them hatch from them.

In this episode, the mechanics familiar to you from Pokémon GO come into play - if you walk around with an egg in your backpack for enough time, then something will definitely hatch from it. In the egg that Ash finds four episodes ago in "Attack of the Prehistoric Pokémon" , it turns out to be Togepi, a Pokémon that our heroes have not previously encountered and about which there is no information in the Pokédex (a trainer’s pocket guide).

#60 “The Tale of Clefairy”

We've already learned that not all Pokemon appear naturally - and in "The Tale of the Clefairy" it turns out that some Pokemon even came from outer space. Clefairies' bodies vaguely resemble stars, and they fall to Earth in meteorites falling on its surface. Tired of life on the planet, a group of clefaeries clean out the city's inhabitants and build a spaceship from all the rubbish they can collect.

#64 “Blizzard”

If you only have the strength and patience for one episode, then let the last one be “Blizzard.” It's the emotional pinnacle of the first season, with all the love Ash gave to Pokémon coming back to him at a vital moment.

text: Philip Timofeev

photos: cover, 1, 2 – Nintendo