Favorite Honorary Companions?

[SammyW27]

Ya know, there's not EVERY episode, or don't play as much of role, but do enough to be honorary members of Ash-tachii.

To help clarify what makes an honorary companion:

-Is in at least 4 episodes (The more, the better of course)

-Gets a lot of focus and/or depth

-Helps out when things go bad (often helping out against the TRio (though who doesn't do that?), or in a crisis or against a villain team)

-Spends quality time with our heroes and bonds with them some.

Some examples, as well as MY favorites:

Gary
Korrina
Kukui
The Island Kahunas minus Nanu
Bianca
N
Angie (bet ya didn't that one coming! )
Stephane
Sawyer
Tierno
Acerola (heck, I wish she'd been a student at Pokemon School over Mallow and/or Sophocles...)
Meloetta
Todd/Snap (the FIRST honorary companion!)


Which recurring allies do YOU like the most?

 

[Orchid]

Todd is still the first one that comes to mind for me when I think of temporary companions. I especially enjoyed when he stuck around for the second time in Johto; those three episodes were a lot of fun and I think he made them a lot more memorable by tagging along (since otherwise, they'd kind of just be your run-of-the-mill mid-Johto episodes, lol). Same goes for Ritchie, and that Lugia mini-arc he appeared in — he would've made a good fourth member of the original group IMO.

Solana was also pretty cool, if only because we never really saw any other spinoff series characters get big roles like that if I recall.

 

[nickdt]

Todd Snap

Stephan

Tierno

Gladion

 

[Nicolas721]

• Todd: Having a status quo change in the group felt wild as a child. I wish he had kept the snarkiness he showed on his first episode though.
• Ritchie: He was a bit too nice, but the idea of an Ash lookalike running around and being is half-rival was interesting.
• Barry: I did not liked his first appearance but on subsequent appearances he showed his value to the show and he ended up being a funny and welcomed addition.
• Kenny: His friendship with Ash is very underrated, and he also added some drama to the contests he participated with Dawn.
• Stephan: Very funny and possibly the best battler of his series ( or maybe besides Cilan?).
• Bianca/Burgundy/Georgia: They were terrible battlers and next-to-none development but the idea of Ash having an extended group of friends that would meet up at tournaments as great, and they got the chance to interact with each other and other characters.
• Sawyer: Obligatory mention because I like him as a rival, but he did not have as much chemistry with the group as the other examples.
• Gladion: While I'm not a fan of the Necrozma Arc the idea of him being the seventh Ultra Guardian was cool, and his relationships with Ash, Kiawe and Lillie are nice, he should have joined the school for extended periods of time.
• Kryssa/Ren: Better than the Cerise duo lol Obviously they faded into the background a lot but when they shone they really shone, they feel like actual millenials that live in the Pokemon World.

 

[Emelie]

I want to say N because he is my favorite character but the BW anime sucked and the Team Plasma plot was terrible lol.

I remember liking Angie a lot but that's probably because I loved the DP anime so much. It's always a little bittersweet when a character of the day develops a crush on Ash but never gets a conclusion. Could have been fun to see her meet Serena since they both like the same guy but are polar opposites one being very feminine and the other a tomboy.

 

[marshiyanmisuta]

Korrina is the only one who felt like a real companion to me.

 

[PaperSplash]

Alexa from late BW/early XY. It was surprisingly refreshing seeing an actual adult travel with the group for once, and she had an interesting dynamic with them serving as an authority figure while also having her own eccentricities to not feel too out of place. Her being a journalist also made the obligatory bits of exposition in each episode feel somewhat more natural in my opinion.

 

[Gengarzilla]

If she appeared in enough episodes, I would have definitely said Anabel. Her interactions with Ash genuinely felt more natural and less forced than anything from the likes of his usual human shippy targets Misty or Serena. Perhaps part of it has something to do with her also being a highly talented trainer who gave Ash his first truly difficult time in the Battle Frontier, but she is overall the only time I seriously shipped any human character with Ash. Normally I avoid relationshipping topics like the plague, you see.

 

[sc190191]

I remember being super excited when it looked like Sakura would join the main cast (even if it was only for a couple minutes)! I really enjoyed her connection with Misty, her personality, her Pokemon, and her later appearances in Chronicles. Was she really ever actually an honorary companion? I guess I don't know, but she was at least teased as an actual companion, so close enough for me to mention.

Beyond that I really enjoyed Alexa, Korrina, Angie, Shauna, Acerola, Bianca, and Barry.

Also, pretty sure Cynthia counts based on these parameters, and I really enjoyed her time in the anime in both DP and BW. I thought the anime did a really good job of adding some enjoyable quirks to her character while retaining her amazing champion status.

Edit: OMG I can't believe I forgot Lyra! One of my favorite temporary characters of all time, she was hilarious, fun, energetic, and had my favorite Pokemon (Chikorita)! I'll never get over that scene with her and "Dane" locked in the windworks about who they would marry!