Ash Ketchum: Difference between revisions

==In the anime==

===History===

Ash enrolled in {{an|Professor Oak}}'s Pokémon Summer Camp when he was young. One day, another camper named {{an|Serena}} got lost in the forest and wounded her leg after getting startled by a {{p|Poliwag}}. Ash, who was looking for the Poliwag, came to her rescue and wrapped a handkerchief around the wounded knee to brace it. He then helped her up and guided her out of the forest.

Years later, Ash began his [[Pokémon journey]] at the age of 10 as a warm-hearted and well-intentioned but stubborn, rash, and amateur [[Pokémon Trainer]]. He was forced to accept a [[Obedience|stubborn]] {{AP|Pikachu}} from Professor Oak as his [[starter Pokémon]] because he  woke up late on the day he was set to get his first Pokémon. He was determined to achieve his goal, however, and when Pikachu saw that he was willing to compromise his own safety to keep it safe, the two of them formed an [[Friendship|extremely strong bond]] that has been noticed and remarked upon by many characters in the anime. This unbreakable friendship would set his course for the future.

Ash encountered Gary occasionally in Johto, and while they were still rivals, Gary seemed to view Ash with slightly more respect than before. Indeed, Ash's growth of character was evident throughout this story arc as he continued to think more and more about his Pokémon and less and less about himself. After earning eight Johto Gym Badges, Ash entered the Silver Conference along with Gary. Finally, the two rivals battled in the tournament in a [[Full Battle]]. Although it was very close indeed, Ash emerged victorious against his rival for the first time in his career as a Pokémon Trainer, marking one of the biggest turning points in said career. After the battle, Gary and Ash departed on good terms with each other, finally overcoming their boyhood animosity and recognizing each other as equals. However, Ash's journey through Kanto and Johto came to an end when he was forced to split up with Brock and Misty when the two of them received messages to return home.

After hearing about a more distant region called [[Hoenn]] from {{jo|Harrison}}, the opponent he lost to in the Silver Conference, Ash decided to journey there and take only Pikachu with him this time. In Hoenn, Ash met a girl named {{an|May}} and her brother, [[Max]], who he later learned were [[Norman]]'s (the [[Petalburg City Gym]] Leader) children, and both of whom decided to join Ash on his travels. Shortly after the three companions left [[Petalburg City]], {{an|Brock}} rejoined the group when he saved them from a flock of angry {{p|Taillow}} and their {{AP|leader|Taillow}}. From that point onward, Ash journeyed through Hoenn with one old friend and two new friends, collecting Gym Badges in much the same fashion as before. Once May set her sights on becoming a {{DL|Grand Festival|Top Coordinator}}, Ash supported her whenever he could while maintaining his focus on winning Badges. During these journey's Ash and his friends ended up being entwined in the plots of the regions two rivaling [[villainous teams]], [[Team Aqua]] and [[Team Magma]], with Pikachu actually getting possessed by {{p|Groudon}} in the summit of their conflict. However, thanks to theirs, as well as {{TRT}}'s (unintentional) help, they actually helped save the entire Hoenn region.  

While Ash had no major recurring rival in Hoenn, he did encounter certain Trainers multiple times and form friendly rivalries with them. One such friend is [[Morrison]], who is very similar to and just as competitive as Ash and was first introduced close to the end of the group's travels in Hoenn. Just like the Indigo Plateau and Silver Conferences, Ash did not win the [[Ever Grande Conference]], although he came very close before losing to [[Tyson]], who went on to win the tournament. After parting ways with May, Max, and Brock, Ash returned to Pallet . As he passed through [[Viridian City]] on his way back home, where he met [[Scott]] and [[Agatha]] and learned about the {{Gdis|Battle Frontier|III}} in Kanto. He decided to take on the Battle Frontier and was surprised but happy to learn that Brock, May, and Max would join him on this adventure as well. Eventually, Ash conquered the seven [[Frontier Brain]]s and was offered the opportunity to become a Frontier Brain himself, but declined in favor of continuing his Pokémon journey.

[[File:Ash Wallace Cup.png|thumb|left|220px|Ash in the Wallace Cup]]

Following Ash's victory over the Battle Frontier, May set her sights on [[Pokémon Contest]]s in the Johto region and traveled there while Max returned home to Petalburg City in Hoenn. After encountering and battling his old rival, Gary (who has now become a Pokémon researcher), and learning of a new region with new Pokémon, Ash decided to leave for the [[Sinnoh]] region to earn the Gym Badges available there. Like before, he took only Pikachu with him at first, but brought his {{AP|Aipom}} along when she snuck onto the ship Ash was leaving on. While Brock did not accompany Ash to Sinnoh, he did travel with him through Sinnoh like he had for Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn. This time, they were accompanied by another aspiring [[Pokémon Coordinator]] named {{an|Dawn}}. Like he did for May, Ash enthusiastically supported Dawn in her endeavors to become a Top Coordinator, just as she supported him in his Gym battles.

Ash eventually obtained all of the Sinnoh Gym Badges he needed to enter Sinnoh's [[Pokémon League Conference]]. During his battles in the [[Lily of the Valley Conference]], he managed to advance to the Top 4. For the second time since meeting Paul (the first being in a [[PokéRinger]] tournament during which Ash's {{p|Staravia}} evolved into a {{AP|Staraptor}} and defeated Paul's {{TP|Paul|Honchkrow}}), Ash managed to defeat his bitter rival, using {{p|Infernape}} (who had evolved from the {{p|Chimchar}} Paul abandoned) to deal the finishing blow. This caused Paul to finally acknowledge Ash as a Trainer of some merit, thus ending their arguments. Ash later fought against {{si|Tobias}}, becoming the only known Trainer to defeat his {{p|Darkrai}}. Although Ash ultimately lost the battle, he was not overly upset, as he was closer to his Pokémon than ever before. At the conclusion of the {{series|Diamond & Pearl}}, Ash, Dawn, and Brock split up and went their separate ways, with Brock confirming that he would not be joining Ash on his travels to Unova as he decided to pursue his new dream of being a Pokémon doctor.

In the {{series|Best Wishes}}, Ash traveled with [[Professor Oak]] and [[Delia Ketchum]] on a trip to the [[Unova]] region. After losing in a battle to [[Trip]] and seeing the power of the [[Legendary Pokémon]] {{p|Zekrom}}, Ash became interested in traveling Unova to meet new Pokémon, as well as new friends. In Unova, he brought along only his Pikachu as he did in Hoenn.

After the Conference, the three friends decided to check out some ruins that [[Professor Juniper]]'s father, [[Cedric Juniper]] discovered, and on the way they met with a strange young man named {{an|N}}. They soon became entwined in the plots of [[Ghetsis]], [[Colress]] and [[Team Plasma]] as they sought to takeover the world using {{p|Reshiram}}'s power. However Ash and his friends, along with Looker, the Team Rocket trio, Professor Cedric, as well as N, [[Anthea and Concordia]], managed to foil Plasma's evil scheme.

As their adventures started coming to a close, Ash and his friends decided to take the long way back to Kanto, by sailing on a series of luxury liners through a chain of islands called the [[Decolore Islands]]. On the way, Ash met [[Alexa]], a Pokémon Journalist, from whom he learnt of the [[Kalos]] region. Soon after they reach Kanto, Ash splits up with Iris and Cilan, who wish to go in separate directions to follow their own dreams.

In the {{series|XY}}, Ash traveled to the Kalos region with Alexa, first visiting [[Lumiose City]] in ''[[XY001|Kalos, Where Dreams and Adventures Begin!]]'', where he parted ways with with the journalist and tried to challenge the [[Lumiose Gym]] at Prism Tower. However he was forcibly ejected from the tower when the computerized security system, later revealed to be the [[Clembot]], found out that he didn't have any Kalos Badges. He was rescued by {{an|Clemont}} and {{an|Bonnie}}, who started to travel with him after he calmed down a rampaging {{p|Garchomp}} at the top of Prism Tower. In ''[[XY006|Battling on Thin Ice!]]'', Ash won his first Kalos Badge, the [[Bug Badge]], after defeating the {{ci|Santalune}} [[Santalune Gym|Gym]] Leader [[Viola]].