Ash is the main protagonist of the Pokémon anime, a 10-year-old trainer. His dream is to become the greatest Pokémon Master in the world. There are also incarnations of him in a plethora of manga adaptations, of which include The Electric Tale of Pikachu, and Ash & Pikachu. He is loosely based on Red, the protagonist of the games Pokémon Red and Blue. The family name "Ketchum" is a pun on the franchise's former tagline and slogan, "Gotta catch 'em all"! Ash always has Pikachu as his permanent team member, with the rest of his team rotated between Unfezant, Oshawott, Pignite, Snivy, Scraggy, Leavanny, Palpitoad, Boldore, Krookodile, with 4 of them at Professor Juniper's lab at all time . At Professor Oak's lab are Bulbasaur, Kingler, Muk, 30 Tauros, Snorlax, Heracross, Bayleef, Quilava, Totodile, a shiny Noctowl, Donphan, Swellow, Sceptile, Corphish, Torkoal, Glalie, Staraptor, Torterra, Infernape, Buizel and Gible. Ash also has Primeape, Charizard, Squirtle and Gliscor in private training.
Pikachu (Japanese: ピカチュウ Hepburn: Pikachū?) /ˈpiːkəˌtʃuː/ is one of the species of Pokémon creatures from the Pokémonmedia franchise—a collection ofvideo games, anime, manga, books, trading cards, and other media created by Satoshi Tajiri. Pikachu fight other Pokémon in battles central to the anime, manga, and games of the series.[1] Pikachu is among the most recognizable Pokémon, largely because a Pikachu is a central character in the Pokémon anime series. Pikachu is widely considered the most popular Pokémon,[2] is regarded as the official mascot of the Pokémon franchise, and has become an icon of Japanese culture in recent years. Pikachu evolves from a Pichu when it levels up with high happiness, and evolves into a Raichu with a "Thunderstone". Within the world of the Pokémon franchise, Pikachu are often found in houses, forests,[3] plains, and occasionally near mountains, islands, and electrical sources (such as power plants), on most continentsthroughout the fictional world. As an Electric-type Pokémon, Pikachu can store electricity in its cheeks and release it in lightning-based attacks.[4] Its Pokedex entry states that it is a Mouse Pokémon.
Misty is a 10-year-old trainer who journeys with him throughout the first five seasons. She is revealed as one of the four gym leaders for Cerulean City in episode 7. Her dream is to be the world's greatest "Water Pokémon Master," but her means of accomplishing this are never really made clear. She has made several friends and rivals over the course of her journeys and claims she is a better Pokémon trainer than Ash. Her sisters never treated her well, and that story came up from time to time when she was traveling with Ash. She uses her Staryu and Politoed the most in the Johto series. Her Psyduck constantly pops out of its pokeball and is quite stupid. At the end of the original series she takes over Cerulean Gym, however, she still contacts Ash from time to time and receives help from Tracey on a daily basis. She controlled and caught an angry Gyarados inside the gym. Misty is a primary character in the seasons of the original series, with guest appearances in theAdvanced Challenge, Advanced Battle, and Battle Frontier seasons.
Brock is a 16-year old Pokémon Breeder and the former Pewter Gym leader. Brock has dreams of being the world's best Pokémon breeder. He is Ash's longest lasting traveling partner, having appeared in every season (as a guest in Season 2). There is a much-used gag in the series where Brock falls in love with a girl and is either pulled away by the ear by Misty or Max, or is hit with Croagunk's Poison Jab, temporarily knocking him unconscious. Brock appears in all seasons of the anime but only appearing as a guest in the Orange Islands season. Brock leaves the main cast at the end of the Diamond and Pearl: Sinnoh League Victors season to become a Pokémon Doctor.
Gary Oak He is Ash's very first rival. He is based on the character Blue from the Pokémon video game series. Like his counterpart Blue, Gary hails from Pallet Town and is the grandson of renowned Pokémon researcher Professor Oak. Like Ash, Gary collected Gym badges and competed in Pokémon League tournaments; Kanto and Johto. At first, Gary was arrogant, always traveling with cheerleaders who called out his name and constantly teased Ash's group whenever they met. After losing to a more powerful opponent in the Indigo League, Gary dispenses with the cheerleaders and then becomes more open-minded. At the end of season 2 (Orange Islands), Ash and Gary have their first Pokémon battle in which Gary's Eevee beats Ash's Pikachu. When the battle is over, Gary starts on a new journey to Johto and this subsequently influences Ash to follow him there. After losing to Ash in the Johto League, Gary decides to pursue a career in Pokémon research, impeding his rivalry with Ash. Until his loss to Ash, Gary had always thought of Ash as a poor trainer but he eventually comes to accept him as his equal. After Ash defeats the Battle Frontier and comes back to Pallet Town, Gary and Ash have a battle with Gary's Sinnoh Pokémon, Electivire and Ash's Pikachu. Electivire easily beats Pikachu, which inspires Ash to travel to Sinnoh. While in Sinnoh, Gary becomes a Pokémon researcher working with Professor Rowan. By this time, Ash and Gary have become more of friends than rivals and they even team up to protect Pokémon from Pokémon Hunter J. After working together to protect a group of Shieldon from Pokémon Hunter J, they both agree to remain 'friends until the end.' Gary appears in seasons 1-5 and 9-12. Gary's Japanese name, Shigeru Okido (オーキド シゲルŌkido Shigeru?), is a reference to Shigeru Miyamoto, who mentored Pokémon creator Satoshi Tajiri.
Team Rocket (ロケット団Roketto-dan?, Rocket Gang) is an organization bent on world domination. Headed by Giovanni, their plan to steal and exploit Pokémon for profit and power is a central plot device used throughout the series. According to the anime, the organization only has bases in the Kanto and Johto regions; however, that does not stop the show's antagonist trio of Jessie, James, and Meowth from following Ash Ketchum to other areas around the Pokémon world. Often, members of Team Rocket are broken up into pairs in order to perform specific heists—like Jessie and James. In the English translations, the pairs are often given names which nod to iconic figures of the American Old West: Jesse James, Butch Cassidy, and Annie Oakley, as well as Atilla the Hun.
Professor Oak is a Pokémon researcher who was once a competitive Trainer,[1] and is generally considered the best in his field. As such, his role in the Pokémon games and anime is that of a mentor to young Pokémon Trainers, a source of information and an occasional plot device. Amongst other things, he is credited with inventing the Pokédex.[1] He also hands out a Bulbasaur, Charmander, Pikachu, or Squirtle to beginning trainers (depending on which Pokémon the trainer chooses) to start their adventure in the Kanto Region. Although he is an expert on all matters relating to Pokémon, Professor Oak specializes in Pokémon behavioural science. He appears in Pokémon 4Ever as a child who was pulled into the future by Celebi. Additionally, it is apparent after Pokémon 3: The Movie that he knew Delia Ketchum since she was a child. In the fourth Pokémon movie, Ash meets a boy called Samuel who has been brought to the future by the time-travelling Celebi. At the end of the movie, Sam returns back to his time, with Ash upset to leave his new close friend. It is then revealed that the boy Ash, Misty, and Brock befriended grew up to be Professor Oak, meaning that Professor Oak was best friends with Ash when he was a boy. He also creates poems centered around Pokémon and is known as the rhyming professor by Dawn. He is named after the oak tree in English version of the game, while he is named after the orchid in the original Japanese version.
May is the 10-year-old daughter of the Petalburg City Gym Leader, Norman, and sister of Max. She meets Ash Ketchum in Hoenn and starts traveling with him after obtaining her first Pokémon, Torchic. She originally dislikes Pokémon, but soon takes interest in Pokémon Contests. May tends to add only beautiful and cute Pokémon to her team, making sure they meet her standards, to enter them in contests. She raises Beautifly, her first capture, from a little Wurmple she finds on her journey. She also likes cute Pokémon such as her Skitty. After entering contests she soon develops rivalries with other contest participants, Drew (her main rival who often assists her and gives helpful advice even while having a tendency to be somewhat insulting), Harley, and Jessie of Team Rocket, and goes on to win many contests. While Ash and Brock choose to travel to Sinnoh, May decides to follow her rivals toJohto instead. However, she visits Ash, Brock, and Dawn in Sinnoh sometime later to participate in the Wallace Cup. It is revealed that her Eevee evolved into Glaceon and her Squirtle evolved into Wartortle. She is known as the "Princess of Hoenn," an alias by which Dawn refers her when the two first meet. May replaces Misty as a primary character in the Advanced Generation seasons, and makes a guest appearance in Battle Dimension.
Max is a young male character (7-year-old) of the Pokémon anime series, featured in the main series between the sixth and ninth seasons. Max appears alongside one of Ash Ketchum's companions, May, as her brother, and joins the group of Ash, May and Pokémon breeder Brock. Max is a budding Pokémon trainer, but is too young to receive a Pokémon.[2] He is a bookworm that has read just about everything written about Pokémon.[1] In Pokémon: Jirachi Wishmaker, he befriends Jirachi and eventually leaves it. This is an idea from Pokémon 4Ever from when Ash leaves Sam. He remains simply a Pokémon enthusiast until he and May leave Ash and Brock in the final Advanced Generation episode, in which he returns to Hoenn to help take care of the Petalburg Gym. He is again seen as a flashback in DP Battle Dimension.. Max has received just two cameos since his departure, triggered by May's brief return for the Wallace Cup arc. He takes on what had once been Misty's role in restraining Brock from pretty women with the ear-pull. Max appears as a primary character alongside May in the Advanced Generation seasons, with non-speaking cameos in Battle Dimension.
Dawn is a 10-year-old Pokémon trainer and Coordinator that travels with Ash and Brock and replaces May during Pokémon: Diamond and Pearl. Following in her mother's footsteps as a coordinator, she chooses a Piplup, which she had already befriended at an earlier point, and sets out with the goal of winning the Grand Festival. As a native of Sinnoh, she often explains certain aspects of the region unfamiliar to both Ash and Brock, and keeps up to date with popular trends like the Pokétch. As she participates and win in more Contests, Dawn gradually becomes more confident in her skills as a Coordinator and regularly trains with her Pokémon before every contest. When Swinub evolved twice into Mamoswine it began to disobey her but started listening to her after she saved it. She is a tough and somewhat reckless girl. Her favorite phrase is "No need to worry!", but she usually says this when there is a need to worry. Although she originally planned to participate in the Kanto contests, she decides to remain in Sinnoh. Dawn is very saddened to leave Ash and Brock, but she and Piplup cheer up and wave goodbye as they return to Kanto. She later decides to travel to Hoenn to take part in the contests there. After obtaining all five of her Hoenn contest ribbons, Dawn travels to Eastern Unova to train for the Grand Festival and helps Ash prepare for the Unova League.