Ash's main goal in life, as described in the first episode, is to be the world's greatest Pokémon Master. Ash began his 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 the cheeky Pikachu from Professor Oak as his starter Pokémon because he carelessly broke his alarm clock in his sleep and 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 he formed a strong bond of friendship with Pikachu. This would set his course for the future
ash in original season
However, from that point, Ash still had a lot to learn about becoming a Trainer. The first Pokémon he caught, was caught by luck, as he knew absolutely nothing about battling, and was hesitant to admit it whenever he was wrong. Many of his first Gym Badges were given to him merely out of gratitude for his assistance rather than claiming an actual victory in battle over the Gym Leaders; of his first five Gym battles, only his victory over Lt. Surge was an actual victory. Every time he thought he was doing well, he would somehow cross paths with his childhood rival, Gary Oak. He always reminded Ash that he was always a step or seven behind, with Gary catching around forty-five Pokémon by the time Ash had only caught his seventh. This hampered matters further when, owing to his inexperience, his Charizard, one of his most powerful Pokémon, refused to listen to him until Ash could prove himself to the powerful Fire-type.
ash getting chased by spearow
Over time, Ash's dedication to his goal paid off. After earning his first eight Badges he went on to compete in the Indigo League, advancing to the fifth round - one further than Gary, and ending up in the top 16. After recovering from his defeat, he continued on to improve his skills; take on new challenges; and compete in more Pokémon League competitions - triumphing in the Orange League and the Battle Frontier.
Ash season 2
Ash has changed a great deal over the course of the series, particularly in regards to his skill at Pokémon training, but his earnestness, rashness, and determination have remained. Never straying from his goal, he has remained loyal to his friends, his family, and his supporters, but most of all his Pokémon. Ash became a great Trainer by learning to find and use the inner strength of each of his Pokémon by bonding with them. For example, when he received a banner filled with prints from his Pokémon in The Unbeatable Lightness of Seeing!, he knew which Pokémon placed specific prints, showing his close bond with them. He also learns where their hidden abilities lie, as well as resorting to unorthodox strategies when fighting particularly challenging opponents. For example, he uses his Pikachu's speed to outmaneuver larger foes and attack. In another instance, his Charizard defeated Gary's Blastoise by causing the field to overheat before mounting a close-quarters attack while Blastoise was blinded by the steam. He also prefers to train a Pokémon to be the best it can without forcing it to evolve, as evidenced by his treatment of Gligar in Fighting Fear With Fear!. He is happy when his Pokémon evolve but lets them choose whether or not they want to evolve instead of forcing them.
Ash using Aura inside the Tree of Beginning
Early on, Ash originally trained not to further himself but instead to catch more Pokémon than Gary. He later slowed his pace which allowed him to focus on the individual traits of each Pokémon. At the Johto League Silver Conference, with great humility and maturity, Ash finally won a battle against his old rival, signifying a great milestone in his history. His maturity has also increased in his dealings with Pokémon. This is shown when a Mankey stole his hat in Primeape Goes Bananas, he screamed and yelled at it, even climbing trees just to get his hat back, but when an Aipom did the same in Slaking Kong, he stated merely that he would feel strange without a hat. When Aipom stole his hat again in Setting the World on its Buneary, however, while it was under his ownership, he chased after it in the same manner as before.
In most episodes of the anime, especially those during the Johto League saga, Ash befriends someone who will influence him and cause him to strive to become a better Trainer. Although he is not a dependent individual, he is still young and has learned to make his way relying on his friends, particularly the maternal skills of Brock. The honor of "best friend" is usually reserved for Pikachu but Ash has come to see his closest human friends in the same light over time; using the term for Misty and Brock in Gotta Catch Ya Later as well as May and Max in Battling the Enemy Within.
He has traversed much of the Pokémon world and has thus far participated in four Pokémon League regional competitions, but he is still learning new things about Pokémon all the time.
Ash has gained a close connection with many legendary Pokémon, including Mewtwo, Ho-Oh, Lugia, Latias, Azelf, Shaymin, Giratina, Arceus, Victini, Reshiram* and Zekrom*. In the English dub of the second movie, he was revealed to be "The Chosen One" - the one who would bring balance back to the world when it was disrupted. Although viewed as a normal human, Ash does have some special abilities, as he is said to have the same aura as Sir Aaron, a legendary hero, and is theoretically able to manipulate it in much the same way. Therefore, he made a connection with Sir Aaron's Lucario. However, he has not received any training in this field, opting to continue his Pokémon journey instead. He has also been likened to an ancient aura guardian in The Keystone Pops!, who also had a partner Pikachu. Later, in Pokémon Ranger and the Kidnapped Riolu! Parts 1 and 2, Ash uses aura again to locate a lost Riolu and read Riolu's mind as well.
Ash in the Diamond & Pearl series
Ash has also participated in contests. He has a Contest Pass for the Sinnoh region, as well as one for the Hoenn region as it was required to watch one of the contests held there. Ash carries half of a broken Poké Ball with him everywhere, while Gary has the other half, as a symbol of their ongoing, but now friendly, rivalry; Misty's special lure, which she sent to him as a gift; and half of a ribbon he received in a contest against May before she left the group to compete in Johto. Ash also participated in the Wallace Cup on the suggestion of Wallace but he lost in the third round.
Ash soon obtained all of the Sinnoh Gym Badges. During his battles in the Lily of the Valley Conference, he managed to advance to the Top 4, during which time he defeated his long-time Sinnoh rival Paul for the first time, and fought against Tobias, becoming the only known Trainer to defeat his Darkrai. Though he lost later on in the battle, he seems to be okay with losing, as he has become closer to his Pokémon than ever before. Ash, Dawn, and Brock then set off on their own paths to follow their respective dreams, with Brock saying he will no longer be joining Ash on his next journey.
In the Best Wishes series, Ash came with Professor Oak and his mom on a trip to the Unova region. After losing in a battle to Trip and seeing the power of the legendary Zekrom, Ash became interested in traveling Unova to meet new Pokémon, as well as new friends. He is now currently in journey in Unova, first bringing along only his Pikachu as he did in Hoenn.
Ash competed in the Club Battle in Reunion Battles In Nimbasa! - Club Battle Finale: A Hero's Outcome!. He battled against Burgundy and her Stoutland in the first round and won using his Palpitoad. He then battled Georgia and her Pawniard in Cilan Versus Trip, Ash Versus Georgia!. Ash used his Snivy. Although she struggled at first, Snivy managed to defeat Pawniard and advance Ash to the next round. Next, in Club Battle Finale: A Hero's Outcome!, Ash battled Dino and his Darumaka with his Palpitoad again and won easily. In the final round, Ash went up against Iris and her Excadrill. Ash used Pikachu, but lost the match and became runner-up in the tournament. He didn't feel bad, though, and was happy to see Iris win the tournament.
Red (Japanese: レッド Red) is the first main character of the manga series Pokémon Adventures. His first Pokémon was a Poliwag, which evolved into a Poliwhirl when saving him from drowning prior to the beginning of the story, and evolved once more into a Poliwrath in Buzz off, Electabuzz!
Red is eleven years old at the beginning of the Red, Green & Blue chapter. He is first seen in A Glimpse of the Glow, when he shows a group of children the proper way to catch a Pokémon. He demonstrates by using his Poliwhirl to battle a wild Nidorino. Red is very sentimental, as shown in the battle versus Blue in the ninth annual Pokémon League tournament. He believes that defeating an opponent is no fun if they are at a disadvantage, as seen in both The Secret of Kangaskhan and Make Way for Magmar!. At the beginning of the series, he is quite cocky, as shown in Suddenly Starmie. However, this cockiness has subsided by the end of the RGB saga.
Red's special skill, as described by Professor Oak, is Pokémon battling. As such, he is called the "Fighter" (戦う者 Fighter).
In later adventures, Red has been viewed as a leader amongst the Pokédex holders, second only to Professor Oak.
In this saga, Red is the main protagonist, and his main rival is Blue. Red was first seen showing off his catching abilities to a group of little kids, but once they mentioned Professor Oak and his grandson, they left. He then sees a few Team Rocket Grunts and overhears them talking about Mew. He manages to find it, only to see that Blue, who he didn't know yet, was already battling it with a Charmander. Seeing Blue quickly recalling his Pokémon angers Red to a point where he sends out his own Poliwhirl on it and is easily defeated. He then receives some words of wisdom from Blue and decides to suck up his pride and go to see Professor Oak.
Red enters the seemingly empty lab and notices a Bulbasaur, only to be found by Professor Oak and mistaken for a thief. All of the Professor's Poké Balls are then set loose, and Red volunteers to get all of them back. He does so, except for one last Pokémon - the same Bulbasaur from earlier, which he eventually finds in the Viridian Gym. He manages to calm Bulbasaur down only to be attacked by a wild Machoke. Red then figures out how to use SolarBeam on his own, impressing Oak to the point of giving him a Pokédex and Bulbasaur to keep. He is then sent along by Professor Oak to capture as many Pokémon as he can, and encounters Blue again in the Viridian Forest. The two boys fight over a Kangaskhan, and Red finally learns Blue's name and status as Oak's grandson, beginning a rivalry with him.
Red later manages to catch a menacing Pikachu that was destroying industry in Pewter City. He then runs into Blue again, learns of the Boulder Badge and decides to challenge Brock and earn Gym Badges. After blowing through the preliminaries with Saur and Poli Red realizes that he needs his newly caught Pikachu to beat Brock's Onix. After a rocky first part of the match, Red earns Pikachu's trust and he defeats Brock. He later encounters Misty and her Gyarados which had been stolen and went into an intense rage, horribly injuring Misty and her Staryu in the process. After re-capturing the Gyarados for Misty, Red learns about Team Rocket through Misty and Oak, and sets off to Mt. Moon after them with Misty. They win a battle against Team Rocket even after the admin Koga uses an injection to make his Rhyhorn evolve into a Rhydon. While staying in Misty's mansion, Misty whoops Red to make him see that they need to be stronger if they want to defeat Team Rocket. After several days of training, he defeats her and wins the Cascade Badge.
After stowing away and getting kicked off the S.S. Anne, Red meets the Pokémon Fan Club Chairman, learning from him that his Abra, along with other Pokémon, are being stolen. This leads him back to the S.S. Anne, where he runs into the owner, Lt. Surge. Lt. Surge, another one of Team Rocket's admins, throws Red and Poli overboard, only to trigger Poli's evolution into a Poliwrath, saving Red from drowning.
Later, Red enters a bike racing contest and uses his Pokémon to give him a good lead, until he and several of the racers are stopped dead by a Snorlax. By using his Bulbasaur covered in honey he catches the Snorlax and wins the race, however all of his prize money is spent to feed it. He then journeys into the Pokémon Tower in Lavender Town to rescue Blue who has mysteriously disappeared. He finds Blue possessed by a Gastly owned by Koga. Red then watches Blue defeat and slice Koga's Arbok in half, and gains some respect towards Blue.
Later, Red is scammed out of his money for fake items by a mischievous girl called Green. He chases her down and gets his money back, only to realize that his first two badges, the Boulder Badge and the Cascade Badge, are gone. He then deduces that the stolen Squirtle mentioned by Professor Oak must have been taken by Green and evolved into Wartortle. Upon hearing some Team Rocket grunts mentioning her, Red infiltrates Team Rocket to see what they know about Green, and finds her surrounded by a group of Team Rocket members looking for a mysterious chip she stole, containing information about Mew. Even after everything Green did to him, Red saves her from Team Rocket. After that, the two of them go after Mew only to find that Team Rocket made it to it again, and Red has to stall them in order for Mew to get away. After this altercation, Green leaves, but not before leaving Red's badges entrusted in his pocket.
