Ritchie
- Hiroshi redirects here. For the character of the day in Curbing the Crimson Tide, see Hiroshi (Kanto).
| Ritchie ヒロシ Hiroshi | |
 Ritchie | |
| Gender | Male |
|---|---|
| Eye color | Blue |
| Hair color | Auburn* Blond* |
| Hometown | Frodomar City* |
| Region | Kanto |
| Trainer class | Trainer |
| Animated debut | A Friend in Deed |
| English voice actor | Tara Jayne |
| Japanese voice actor | Minami Takayama |
Ritchie (Japanese: ヒロシ Hiroshi), occasionally spelled Richie, is a recurring character in the Pokémon anime. He is a Pokémon Trainer from Frodomar City and a rival of Ash. While his first major appearance was in A Friend In Deed, he first was shown in Pokémon - I Choose You!.
History
In the Original series
Ritchie first appeared in A Friend In Deed and quickly befriended his fellow Pokémon League competitor, Ash Ketchum, in an elevator. When the elevator went out, he plugged in a device to Ash's Pikachu and got the elevator running again. Ritchie met up with Ash again outside. While Team Rocket had Trainers put in their Poké Balls in a sack, Ritchie discovered their scheme and he and Ash went after them. The two were unable to catch up to Team Rocket and camped out until the next day. Ritchie saw tire tracks and led them to Team Rocket's van. When he went inside, he was spotted by Team Rocket and the trio trapped him and Ash inside. They were able to escape with the Poké Balls retrieved from Team Rocket.
Their friendship led to problems in the next episode, Friend or Foe Alike, since the two were matched up to battle against each other. Ritchie waited for Ash in the battlefield even though Ash was unable to get there right away. Their match began when Ash was able to finally arrive. Ritchie won the match, since at the very end Ash's Charizard refused to fight Sparky and took a nap on the battlefield instead. Even though he lost in the next match to Assunta, he made it to the Top 8 position in the League.
Sometime after the League and when Ash and his friends went to Johto, Ritchie did some research of a mysterious Pokémon that can be found Whirl Islands, which turned out to be a Lugia.
Ritchie met up with Ash and friends again when they were in the Whirl Islands, starting in The Mystery is History. After spotting a baby Lugia with Oliver, Butch and Cassidy attacked with their Pokémon and Ritchie and Ash defended the baby Lugia with their Pokémon. Their actions caused Butch and Cassidy to retreat until later when a submarine was dispatched to capture the child Lugia.
In A Parent Trapped!, Ritchie told the parent Lugia about what happened to the child Lugia which caused it to briefly attack them. Ritchie and the group later found the child in a cage on a base. Ritchie and Ash re-battled Butch and Cassidy in an attempt to stall them. They were badly beaten and the parent Lugia was captured.
In A Promise is a Promise, Ritchie and the group was freed from a cage by Oliver. Ritchie and Ash took on Butch, Cassidy, and some Team Rocket Grunts with their Pokémon and easily swept through them. They went to the room where the child Lugia was but were stopped by Dr. Namba. Ritchie and Ash battled him on with their Pikachu. Ritchie was able to destroy the controller of the rage machine that was causing his Electabuzz to get stronger with his Sparky and defeat Dr. Namba. With both Lugia reunited, Ritchie remained on the island with Oliver while Ash and his friends departed to Olivine City.
In the Advanced Generation series
Ritchie took a visit to Professor Oak's lab in Oaknapped. He and Tracey found out that Professor Oak had disappeared from the TV station where he was supposed to have his live TV appearance. They found him in an abandoned warehouse with the help of Ritchie's Taillow, Rose. They battled Butch and Cassidy and when Tracey's Scyther was beaten by Butch's Mightyena, Ritchie took care of the two Team Rocket agents and won.
In Celebi and Joy, Ritchie went to Marion Town and saw some construction workers demolishing a Pokémon Center. He sent out Zippo and Sparky to prevent them from damaging the Pokémon Center any further. Inside the Pokémon Center, a Celebi appeared before him and took him back in time. Ritchie arrived in a forest where he saved a young Nurse Joy from falling off a cliff. He and Nurse Joy then arrived in the Marion Town of the past. Ritchie discovered the same Celebi from before. He also met Nick and his father.
When Nurse Joy went missing, Ritchie went with Nick to find her. Ritchie found Nurse Joy by the Celebi shrine lying down unconscious. When the shrine was on fire, Celebi appeared and protected Ritchie, Nick, and Nurse Joy from the fire. The next day, Ritchie went after Nick and his father on Nurse Joy's Ponyta which was the day that a rock slide would have killed them. However, as Ritchie convinced the two to come back to Marion Town to be there for a party held by Nurse Joy, the rock slide that occurred passed right behind Ritchie.
With that done, Ritchie was sent back to the present with the timeline altered. He saw the same construction crew from before but did not demolish the Pokémon Center but instead, restore it.
In The Search for the Legend, Ritchie rode on the S.S. Anne. He went to Knot Island and caught up to Silver after he and two people dressed up as doctors got off. He, Silver, and the doctors climbed up a volcano and made their way to the top. When Moltres revealed itself, the doctors revealed themselves as Butch and Cassidy, and attempted to nab Moltres. Ritchie and Silver battled together and defeated the duo. After Silver battled with Moltres, the volcano erupted and when he had Salamence fly him and Ritchie out of there, Moltres flew off. Silver was willing to wait a little longer until Moltres came back. Ritchie parted ways with Silver on a boat while Silver stayed behind on Knot Island.
Pokémon
This listing is of Ritchie's known Pokémon in the anime:
| Debut | A Friend in Deed |
|---|---|
| Voice actors | |
| Japanese | Yūji Ueda |
| English | Eric Stuart |
- Main article: Zippo
Zippo (Japanese: ジッポ Zippo) is Ritchie's Charmeleon. It first appeared as a Charmander, and evolved by the next time Ash and Ritchie met in the Whirl Islands.
| Debut | A Friend in Deed |
|---|---|
| Voice actors | |
| Japanese | Rikako Aikawa |
| English | Rikako Aikawa |
Happy (Japanese: パピー Papi) is Ritchie's Butterfree. After Ritchie and Ash had foiled Team Rocket's plan to steal the Pokémon of everyone competing in the Pokémon League, the van they were driving was about to go over a cliff. Ash and Ritchie decided to use their Pokémon to help them land safely. Ash used his Pidgeotto, while Ritchie sent out Happy. Thanks to their Pokémon, the two Trainers were able to land safely.
Happy also appeared in Friend and Foe Alike during Ash and Ritchie's battle at Indigo Plateau. It was up against Squirtle. It easily defeated the Water type by using Sleep Powder, which caused Squirtle to become disqualified. Happy was then defeated by Pikachu using his Thunder Shock.
Happy was last seen in Friends to the End during Ritchie's battle with Assunta. It was seen battling with her Venomoth. It hasn't been seen or mentioned since that episode.
Happy's known moves are Sleep Powder and Whirlwind.
| Debut | The Mystery is History |
|---|---|
| Voice actors | |
| Japanese | |
| English | Eric Stuart |
Cruise (Japanese: クルーズ Cruise) is Ritchie's Pupitar. When it first appeared, Butch and Cassidy were attempting to steal a baby Lugia, but Ash and Ritchie refused to let that happen. To stop them, Ritchie sent out his Pupitar. It was very strong in battle, and it caused the two Team Rocket members to retreat.
Ritchie also used Cruise in A Promise is a Promise. Butch and Cassidy were once again trying to prevent the kids from rescuing Silver and its mother. Ritchie called upon Cruise to take care of them and the other Team Rocket Grunts in the area. After it defeated them, Cruise helped Ash and Misty free Silver from its cage by tackling the bars after Ash's Cyndaquil, Totodile and Poliwhirl had weakened them.
| Debut | Oaknapped |
|---|---|
| Voice actors | |
| Japanese | Chinami Nishimura |
| English | Kayzie Rogers |
Rose (Japanese: ローズ Rose) is Ritchie's Taillow. When Ritchie, Tracey and Officer Jenny were looking for the missing Professor Oak, Ritchie sent out Rose for help. Tracey commented that Ash also has a Taillow, and Ritchie replied that he and Ash tend to catch a lot of the same Pokémon (referring to their Pikachu, Charmeleon, and Butterfree).
Rose's known moves are Gust* and Double Team.
Status unknown
| Debut | Friends to the End |
|---|
Ritchie had at least 3 other Pokémon during the Indigo League competition. It is uncertain which ones belonged to him. However, the beginning scene in Friends to the End narrowed the situation a bit, revealing that he owns either Spearow or Tentacool.
None of Spearow's moves are known.
Tentacool's only known move is Bubble*.
Borrowed
| Debut | Celebi and Joy |
|---|
Ritchie rode Nurse Joy's Ponyta from Marion Town, successfully changing the past by preventing Nick's death.
None of Ponyta's moves are known.
Mentioned
Ritchie mentions that he has an Eevee in the dub. He consults Professor Oak for advice on evolving his Eevee in the Pokémon Chronicles episode Oaknapped. It was not mentioned in the Japanese version, making it presumably non-canon.
Achievements
Badges obtained
- At least eight Kanto Badges (prior to All Fired Up!).
Pokémon League
Ritchie has competed in the following Pokémon League Conferences:
- Indigo Plateau Conference - Top 8 (Friends to the End)
Voice actors
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In the games
The only games Ritchie appears in are Pokémon Puzzle League, where he is the first member of the Puzzle League's Elite Four; and in Pokémon Zany Cards for the Pokémon mini, in which his name is misspelt "Ricky". Some have speculated that, like Ash, he was based on the hero from Pokémon Red and Blue. In fact, besides differences in color, his outfit closely parallels that of Red's original design.
In the manga
In The Electric Tale of Pikachu manga
Ritchie is a character in the The Electric Tale of Pikachu manga. His personality is very similar to that of his anime counterpart, however, he expresses more personal insecurities and is shown to be more ruthless in battle. He also has blond hair instead of auburn.
Ash met Ritchie in a diner while noticing that his Pikachu was with Ritchie's Pikachu. Ritchie was also a competitor in the Pokémon League and even though he saw Ash win his match with Kingler, Ash missed out on his. The next day, Ritchie has moved on from the third round. During the fourth round, he was paired with Ash's rival, Gary. After Ash defeated Jeanette Fisher, he ran to see if Ritchie won or not and to his surprise, Ritchie was able to defeat Gary.
Ritchie was then paired with Ash in the fifth round. They battled with Butterfree and Squirtle first, which resulted in a tie. The two sent out their Pikachu and tied again. When Ritchie sent out his Charizard against Ash's Charizard, his Charizard was badly hurt by Ash's. Despite Ash winning, he resigned from the battle and made Ritchie the winner automatically. Ritchie apologized to Ash for challenging him. Even though Ash felt bad for allowing his Charizard to be uncontrollable, he supported Ritchie on his further matches.
He briefly reappeared with Chuchino after Ash won his match with Drake.
Pokémon
- Main article: Sparky
Chuchino was the first revealed Pokémon of Ritchie's where it was mistaken for Ash's Pikachu at first. Later, it was used against that same Pikachu.
| Debut | The Indigo Finals |
|---|
- Main article: Zippo
Charley was used against Ash's Charizard in the Indigo League. It lost to Ash's Charizard after it was badly beaten. As a result, Ash resigned from the challenge.
| Debut | The Indigo Finals |
|---|
Happy was used against Ash's Squirtle in the Indigo League where it was able to tie with Squirtle after a long fight.
Happy's only known move is Sleep Powder.
Trivia
- Ritchie puts stickers on his Poké Balls to differentiate his Pokémon between others.
- Despite changes in the Pokédex's design, Ritchie continues to use the oldest model as of the last episode it was seen in.
- He is the only rival to nickname his Pokémon.
- Ritchie's outfit features the colors green and yellow, while Ash's clothes are predominantly red and blue.
- He is named after Hiroshi Yamauchi, former president of Nintendo.
Names
Two versions of his name can be seen in official materials, Richie and Ritchie.
Pokémon Puzzle League, as well as Pokémon Chronicles subtitles, spell his name Ritchie, while Pokémon.com episode descriptions, The Electric Tale of Pikachu, Extreme Pokémon: The Guide for the Ultimate Fan, and Charizard, Go! spell his name Richie. Additionally, in Pokémon Zany Cards, he is referred to as Ricky.
| Language | Name | Origin |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ヒロシ Hiroshi | Means "far and wide" (広). |
| English, Italian | Ritchie | A diminutive for Richard, which is generally agreed to mean "brave power" in Germanic (from the elements ric "power, rule, ruler" and hard "brave, hardy"). |
| French, German | Richie | Similar to English name. |
| Korean | 훈 Hun | |
| Chinese (Mandarin) | 阿弘 Ā Hóng | From the name 弘 Hiroshi. Means "great" or "broad". |
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| Status unknown: | ||||||
| Borrowed: | ||||||
| Trainers in League Conferences | ||||||||||||||
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This article is part of Project Anime, a Bulbapedia project that covers all aspects of Pokémon animation. |