Ash Ketchum


 * Ash redirects here. For the item attached to Ho-Oh, see Sacred Ash. For the ash found at the foot of Mt. Chimney, see volcanic ash.

Ash Ketchum (Japanese: サトシ Satoshi) is the main character of the Pokémon anime. He is also the main character of various based on the anime, including The Electric Tale of Pikachu, Ash & Pikachu, and.

He is a Pokémon Trainer from Pallet Town whose goal is to become a Pokémon Master. He shares his Japanese name with the creator of the Pokémon franchise, Satoshi Tajiri. His English surname is a pun of the English motto, "Gotta catch 'em all!."

Pokémon
As a Trainer, Ash has and befriended a sizable number of Pokémon over the course of the anime. His philosophy on is that Pokémon are individuals and that a combination of trust, friendship and hard work are needed to overcome adversity. In fact, several of Ash's Pokémon were caught because they allowed him to, after he befriended them. He seems to best with Pokémon that are similar to Pikachu: ones that are speedy and maneuverable, yet able to perform high-powered attacks; however, he is willing to work with any Pokémon that comes into his care.

Ash's battle style is generally spontaneous and fairly unorthodox, and his Pokémon often reflect these traits. He has been shown to use unusual strategies. For instance, during the, he incorporated a twisting-spinning type maneuver in his Pokémon's offensive and defensive techniques, which eventually lead to him creating the original technique, Counter Shield. Also, sometimes he would use someone else's battle strategies as shown with Paul and, though when using the latter, Ash stated that his own unique strategy is the one he can truly count on, instead of simply mimicking others.

Ash is very attached to his Pokémon, and prefers to fight and train with them personally. Furthermore, he cares for their opinion, even giving them the option of whether they should evolve or not. As such, the majority of his Pokémon also share Ash's stubborn and reckless nature, persistently attempting to rise and continue the battle, even after receiving great amount of damage and being at the end of their rope. However, if it is by their own wish, or if he believes it is best for them, Ash will (if sometimes reluctantly) trade or release them, and in some cases, leave them with experienced individuals so that they could get stronger.

Though Ash normally catches five or more Pokémon per region (not including when he traveled through the Orange Archipelago and challenged the in his second tour of Kanto), he rarely ever switches the Pokémon in his current party with those in storage at 's. He usually only did so when he participated against powerful opponents (such as Trainers in the Pokémon League Conferences, and Frontier Brains), or when attending certain events that requires a specific Pokémon (like at the Pokémon Swap Meet or  at the Sumo Conference). However, during the, Ash actively cycled through the nine Pokémon he managed to catch in Unova, although these Pokémon, when not in his party, were instead kept in storage at Professor Juniper's lab in Nuvema Town. Near the end of his journey in Unova, Professor Juniper transferred all of Ash's Pokémon to Professor Oak's lab. Ash did not use this system of training in the following series.

Ash currently has ownership of 70 Pokémon, including all 30 of his Tauros. Including pre-evolutions, traded, released and given away Pokémon (and not including the additional Tauros), in total, Ash has currently officially owned a total of 84 different Pokémon species.

Travel with
This section is for the Pokémon that Ash currently travels with, but has not caught.

With Professor Oak
This section shows the Pokémon that Ash keeps at Professor Oak's Laboratory.

In training
This section is for the Pokémon that Ash still owns but are in the care of another Trainer.

Released
This section is for the Pokémon that Ash formally into the.

Traded away
This section is for the Pokémon that Ash traded away.

Given away
This section is for the Pokémon that Ash gave to another Trainer to keep for themselves.

Unofficial
This section is for the Pokémon that Ash had bonded with over the course of several episodes but never officially caught.

Ride Pokémon
This section is for the Ride Pokémon Ash used.

Temporary
This section is for the Pokémon that Ash temporarily partnered with, many of which were rented and belong to another Trainer, or were wild Pokémon that Ash temporarily teamed up with.