Who is Ash Ketchum?

[Paulisthebest]

Not trying to get all psychological about a 10-year-old that doesn't age, but really who do you think he really is?

I mean at the start of the series we see a rash, naive, rookie/beginning Pokemon Trainer with the goal of being a Pokemon Master and capturing all the Pokemon.

Over 10 years later however...

You can pretty much see where I'm getting at with this being that his character/personality is inconsistent at best with the writers basically revamping the series with every new region.

I mean I just feel like I don't BELIEVE in him and his dream anymore or am I the only one?

When he used to talk about being a master I was pumped! Like, its ok he lost I guess he'll come back better than ever. But over the years that phrasing got stale and repetitive with any growth we do see get swept under the rug when he challenges another region.

It doesn't help when rivals are more mature than he is given the experiences he has over them.

When seeing a new Pokemon he doesn't try to catch them adding to the whole "Gotta Catch Em All" trademark phrase that got dropped for good reason...

Overall, its a kid with a big heart who more often than not thinks with his heart rather than his head and on more than one occasion just does stupid s**t.

I just don't get the point anymore like where Ash is going or what he is really "fighting" for anymore. His mom is now used to him going from place to place but really for what purpose?

I'm beginning to believe in that Ash's Coma theory more and more every time I watch an episode of the BW series.

What do you make of Ash in who he is as a person? This spans from the 1st episode to the current Ash and to where he is headed (if he is in Gen 6...Lord knows most of us wish it was a new main character but it won't happen...)

 

[DracoMan]

He's basically a talking plot device. He is whatever TPTB want him to be at any given time.

 

[Almonds]

@Paulisthebest; I guess it means that the Ash we're seeing now isn't the same Ash we used to know ever since he left home on Day 1.

 

[Misty Calls Masquerain]

I'm not really sure who he is, since he's so inconsistent (Kanto and Unova Ash are way different for example).

 

[Blazing Charmander]

At first Ash was a headstrong, naive beginner who you felt had the potential to go a long way as a Pokemon trainer, if not becoming a Pokemon Master (whatever that entails). Despite retaining that same 'headstrong' characteristic throughout the series, he clearly matured and developed as a trainer between Kanto and Sinnoh, even if his skills did fluctuate between the end of one saga and the beginning of another. However, Best Wishes has proceeded to either remove or regress many hints of Ash's growth in that period, thus leaving us with a character that has become a shell of his former self. This isn't helped by the fact that Ash hasn't had anything to fight for in Unova that is relevant to his level of experience as a trainer. Even with the few tournaments that he has participated in, he has either flattered to deceive or performed embarrassingly.

As it stands I would say that, should he be kept on as the main character for the X & Y anime (especially in his former state), Ash will have more than run his course having been a character that initially had a highly immersive and believable story. It is a shame because the Sinnoh League really demonstrated how far he had come since his humble beginnings and I can't have been the only one who was originally optimistic that BW Ash would pick up from where DP Ash left off.

 

[Jukain]

I know how you feel, but I will also concur with others that Ash has never been the most interesting character in the show. All we could look forward to with him was to show some progress. We had that more or less up until the end of DP. Now that they've sacrificed that, there seems to be little point anymore. They way they did it, they could do it again every time we go to a new region. Like with BW, they could do that with new protags without sacrificing anything, but instead, because marketing declared it so, they continued to use him. Right now, they only thing that keeps me going is the small chance that they will can BW's mentality and return to the way things were in either AG or DP. Due to the pattern, it's not looking good. All I can do is wait, though.

 

[Dr. Buni]

He is basically a different character in each series... We can just hope that his character in the XY anime will be similar to DP!Ash, his best persona as of now.

 

[CrackFox]

I felt up until now that Ash was making developement. Kanto he was a hopeless, clueless rookie. Johto he was wiser and had already become good with his Pokemon. Hoenn he was skilled enough to offer May advice and be a mentor. In Sinnoh he was ultra serious and no nonsense. Great fighter, focused and more determined than ever. Unvova, five years later he was back to being naive and making rookie mistakes with the childish Kanto attitude to boot.

Yeah, there is no consistency. Ash is whatever the writers want/need him to be in that moment.

I'm not complaining though. I hated DP Ash anyway.

 

[Ranger Jack Walker]

Rookie (Kanto) -> Rookie (Johto) -> Slightly mature (Hoenn) -> More mature (Sinnoh) -> Fail (Unova)

 

[Pokémon Master Ash]

At first Ash was a headstrong, naive beginner who you felt had the potential to go a long way as a Pokemon trainer, if not becoming a Pokemon Master (whatever that entails). Despite retaining that same 'headstrong' characteristic throughout the series, he clearly matured and developed as a trainer between Kanto and Sinnoh, even if his skills did fluctuate between the end of one saga and the beginning of another. However, Best Wishes has proceeded to either remove or regress many hints of Ash's growth in that period, thus leaving us with a character that has become a shell of his former self. This isn't helped by the fact that Ash hasn't had anything to fight for in Unova that is relevant to his level of experience as a trainer. Even with the few tournaments that he has participated in, he has either flattered to deceive or performed embarrassingly.

As it stands I would say that, should he be kept on as the main character for the X & Y anime (especially in his former state), Ash will have more than run his course having been a character that initially had a highly immersive and believable story. It is a shame because the Sinnoh League really demonstrated how far he had come since his humble beginnings and I can't have been the only one who was originally optimistic that BW Ash would pick up from where DP Ash left off.

Beautifully written. I really didn't like DP Ash as a character, in fact I found him very boring, but I will concede that he still felt like he was getting better as a trainer and the League results more than prove that. Counter Shield and other strategies were also very well employed. With BW, it feels like he is back to the way he was in Kanto, so he ended up regressing in growth. The one thing I will say in BW Ash's defense is that he seems to have regained a lot of his personality that he lost in DP, but that's really about all I can say in his favor. Everything else goes to DP Ash, hands down. *sighs*

 

[Master Cyrus]

Ash ketchup is the male protagonist of the games after plastic surgery and a hat.

 

[Almonds]

It would've been more easy to explain if Ash up to DP and BW Ash were two completely different beings in a parallel world with no connections whatsoever.

 

[Cybersai]

I don't think the writers know who Ash is anymore either.

 

[Paulisthebest]

What is the negative aspect of DP Ash? You know besides his voice...

I noticed a couple of you mentioned that you did not like DP Ash and I'd like to know why. Not trying to rock the boat I'm interested in what made that particular "version" of Ash dislike able.

Yeah, I mean I don't think we've ever seen a regression like this before in Ash. Kanto/Orange Island/Johto "Ash" were blended together being that those sagas made up the Original Series.

Moving to Hoenn, well I think being on his own without his 2 buddies (except for Brock to come back in a few episodes) really cemented Ash rolling solo (until meeting May, then Max coming along). I think that Ash still uses his off the wall tactics from time to time which is good and in DP that trait is still alive and well. When it comes to Unova, we've seen a couple of times where he uses these tactics but they are too few and far in between and when he does use off the wall moves they are complete bull; Pikachu beating Serperior is the BEST example of that, I know...I know Thunder Armor but hey what can you do?

DP Ash brought about that annoying trait of everything coming out of Ash's mouth sounding like he was a blonde girl who was an air-head. Why do I say that? Take notice of how nearly 96% of his statements come out in the form of a question; notice this when someone already states the obvious, introduces themselves as a breeder/trainer or whatever category of Pokemon Trainer they fall under, and the list goes on.

Just like playing the Sentai footage game in Power Ranger episodes (trust me its fun even for filler PR shows, just looking for obvious scenes taken for the original Sentai footage when mixed in with original U.S. scenes), try doing that with Pokemon episodes. Just listen to the way Ash talks and you'll see what I mean when almost everything he says seems like he's asking a question.

Here is another thing DP Ash introduced which I wish would stop...

"What was that?!?!" whenever he gets pissed at a rival or someone who is looking down on him he just says this line in a squeaky/girl voiced fashion and it is just annoying/embarrassing because if he said this to me I wouldn't feel threatened I'd probably cry laughing at this punk trying to get angry at my words. And him always throwing his fist up (you now that sound effect that is always playing whenever he does that, just listen closely when he lifts his fist in an episode which is usually several times) its like I'm thinking "Really, do you want to fight someone who could potentially kick your ass?"

So far from what I've mention, AG Ash is basically a culminated of the Original Series Ash but a more mature Ash you know? At least I think so anyway, if I had to pick that would be my favorite "version" of Ash.

DP Ash seems somewhat of a regression to me, but mainly because he spent nearly the entire Sinnoh Region trying to prove Paul wrong and to me that made Ash "weaker." Especially when he keeps asking himself why Paul is so powerful until realizing while training for the league match with Paul that it is him taking his experiences from all his previous adventures shaping him into the powerful rival he is today. Which makes no sense for Ash to take so long figuring this out and making all the viewers wonder why Ash doesn't do the same thing...

Paul uses Pokemon from previous regions and that is one of his main differences from Ash to me because he doesn't "reset" or "restart" his team like Ash and that is good on his part. Ash could have some of his old Pokemon on hand to catch and raise/train his newer Pokemon, but then again it would make things too easy because well it would actually make sense!

Why am I taking about Paul?

Because he is like the opposite of Ash like Turles is to Goku. His rivals are kind of what shape Ash in a way but that's another discussion.

BW Ash is like Kanto Ash all over again but sometimes I feel even his Kanto persona is more capable in terms of technique and skill despite being a rookie. I don't know what the writers were thinking but here is my theory:

After coming from Sinnoh, Ash's mom along with Oak and possibly Tracey rushed him when he came in the door, tied him up, and locked him away in the basement of Oak's lab. Then after a few months later Oak created a clone (explaining the eye change and obvious regression in personality) then that is the Ash we see in this new series.

Pikachu? Probably another clone or just couldn't tell the difference between the 2 Ash's and just stayed with him. Or he could be a clone explaining why Volt Tackle was subbed with Electro Ball. The clone isn't 100% stable enough to deal with continual recoil damage so a less demanding move on Pikachu's part had to take Volt Tackle's place.

When seeing Charizard and other reminders of his "past life" the clone Ash/Pikachu remember some of the pre-programmed memories seen during the N-Saga.

Haha, total bull but just having fun with this stuff.

 

[Team Gaara]

Ash seems to change every season depending on what's convenient.

To be honest, I really think who Ash is depends on his little traveling buddies and other major recurring characters in the series. Because let's think about it, what would as be like if he flew solo? Let's think back:

Humor. Way back in the OS, there was much more humor in the show; the group in general were more humorous, so Ash was more humorous. As we go on, I don't get the same vibe from him. Very rarely does he make a joke now, and in fact, the first thing I've laughed at in a long time from Ash was the comment he made when he met N about how food makes him and Pikachu in sync. Misty and Brock were more comical than May, Max, Dawn, Iris, or Cilan, in my opinion, and because of that, Ash is now less comical, because they were less comical.

Girls/Romance. Come on, guys, think waaaaay back. Ash actually used to take interest in girls. When? When Brock was around. Very rarely did Ash show interest in a girl without Brock hanging around the same girl being the initiator. But what now? If Ash were to show interest in a girl now, it would surely be out of character for him; probably since Misty's jealous tendencies left, there was no longer a reason for him to show interest in a girl if humor would't result from it. Now with Iris and Cilan, as shown in that Cottonee episode, romance just seems to fly right over Ash's head. Whereas in the Nidoran episode in the OS, he wasn't quite so blind.

Violence/Anger. Well, probably not quite the violence you'd at first think of, but I can remember a few times when Ash went a bit farther than just saying, "Whadijyu say?!" every time someone said something that he found wrong. I even remember him trying to swing at Jessie in one episode. I can only attribute this to Misty's comical violent tendencies. Now we don't see that too much from him. In DP he got much more angry at Paul than we'd see from him in a while, but in BW he doesn't seem to have the same type of personality (strange considering what Team Plasma does to Pokemon). This one might be more of a stretch than others, so let's move on.

Intelligence. Now this is more related to Ash's rivals than travelling companions. Of course. Ash was a newbie back in OS, we know that. Then when he's finally in AG, we get a newbie for the first time to travel with him. As such, he's got more of a mentor-like personality. Somewhat the same for Dawn when she's learning how to catch Pokemon. Now we have people like Iris, Trip, and Cameron around. Because Iris has to be "mature", Ash has to look like a kid. Because Trip has to have all the know-how and "the basics", Ash has to look like a loser who knows nothing. Cameron needs to be some sort of "Unova" Ash counterpart. Because he's, for lack of a better term, an idiot, Ash must be an idiot now, too, so Cameron doesn't become the human equivalent of a Magikarp.

This is a bit different than this thread was probably talking about (his behaviors as opposed to what he actually represents as a character), but I think this also plays a part in that.

When Ash had rivals who were trying to become Pokemon Masters, it seemed like he was trying that much harder to out-do them. Now it seems like his rivals aren't going for that goal, so Ash isn't as motivated as it seems he should be so that he doesn't stray too far from his rivals. Also, his companions aren't really going for anything either so why would he? Misty and Brock were trying to be something, so Ash was just as motivated as they were because they all had a goal they wanted to reach. Iris and Cilan just seem to be following Ash for kicks and have no real motivation to becoming Dragon Masters or...whatever connoisseurs as Misty and Brock did with their respective goals. So now, Ash suffers as a result.

 

[BlackKing]

A doomed 10 year old boy who is destined of failure and will never be a pokemon master. ಠ_ಠ

 

[Almonds]

A doomed 10 year old boy who is destined of failure and will never be a pokemon master. ಠ_ಠ

And he'll never catch them all

 

[SolgaleoGX]

Ash's character and progress was believeable and realistic up to the moment he left Sinnoh.

When BW started everything went to hell.

 

[Paulisthebest]

Well thought out answers everyone! Seems that Ash is just a Peter Pan trapped in the "Neverland of Pokemon where creatures and new regions just seem to pop out of nowhere...

Yeah I think his traveling companions say a lot about how he is. The only thing is that his humor aspect has been replaced by stupidity where in BW his stupidity isn't funny at all. Remember in Sparks Fly For Magnemite where he said streaker instead of stalker haha

Now that was funny and semi-dirty jokes were able to fly in the show

 

[Magenta Fantasies]

Ash is to Pokemon as Mickey Mouse is to Disney cartoons or Mario is to Super Mario Bros. He's the straight man to the characters around him, who are generally more interesting than he is, yet somehow their presence makes him more entertaining as well. I've always liked Ash's travelling companions much more than Ash himself.