Ash from Pallet Town. He'll try to catch - and win - them all.
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1.HISTORY
I can't believe I'm doing this, but darn it, this little guy got me. But I should put a disclaimer that I'll only be focusing on the pre-Diamond and Pearl versions of him. The why will come later.
So like many Pokemon fans, I too bore witness to Ash's Pokemon Master journey in the anime. I followed his adventures from day one, from his rocky start in the Kanto region to several of the films. Shoot, even the fanbase was kind of like my first fandom to partake in before I even understood what a fanbase was or what it meant. However, I haven't seen all of the later seasons due to my interest in Pokemon waxing and waning, with and time passing and real life thrown into the mix. I think I officially stopped before the Black and White season, as I heard it's mostly so-so, but I even slowed down with watching Pokemon during the Diamond and Pearl season. So why am I talking about Ash?
Nostalgia. Yes, yes, cliche, but that's what happened and I'm sticking to it. But the show itself wasn't the catalyst for my nostalgia kick. The main culprit - or should I say culprits - were old Kids'WB commercials starring Ash as he interacted with other characters under the Warner Bros. umbrella, like Superman and the Joker (take my word for it, this does happen). Seeing them not only brought me back in time and a smile to my face, but it also got my storytelling engines all fired up. Significantly, It brought my formerly dead muse for my crossover fanfiction universe back to life after it was stagnant for some time. Like a phoenix!
The other reason why he's the focus here is because he surprisingly undergoes - and I never really took notice of this until I rewatched the episodes - character development through personality, skills, roles, smarts and attires, which is most notable during his adventures in the Hoenn region AKA the Ruby/Sapphire era (which I'll be focusing on a lot here but I'll also give acknowledgement to the original seasons of course). I really like that the show, in spite of having him remain ten for all time, did allow him to go through a period of transformation through smaller approaches. Heck, the original voice actor for him,Veronica Taylor, pitched his voice slightly lower during the R/S seasons to signify that yes, in spite of his forever youthful appearance and short stature, he is growing up.
I'm so proud of him.
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2. THE KID OF THE HOUR
Where to start with this little dude? Well, first and foremost of all, he's heroic down to his core. He deeply cares about Pokemon, even putting his own life on the line to save them. He'll do this for people too, although I feel the anime does seem to emphasize Pokemon more than people for him at certain points. I find that odd, but I'll take that as a flaw with the writing more than his character.
He's so selfless that it can be terrifying to see. I feel that in some instances, both writers and fans can forget that as wonderfully noble he can be, he's still a kid. Horrible things can happen to him when he tries to stand up for what's right, especially against the three goons that make up Team Rocket when they decide to be nastier than usual. Relevant tangent: it's a stupid move on TR's part, but they never learn their lesson anyways. If his mother knew what dangers he puts himself through when Team Rocket drops their clownish acts and try to kill him - no for real, they have attempted this on and off - I think she would lose it, sic her Mr. Mime on them and send them flying to kingdom come. At least I would hope so; Mrs. K in the show can be kind of... uh, not in the moment sometimes.
His brave nature was always present but it took time for it to materialize. When we first meet him, he starts out as kind of a brat, but he's a ten-year-old so that's to be expected. He learns to tame his negative traits over the course of his journey. He becomes kinder, smarter (although this does unfortunately depend on which season we're talking about, due to the Black and White season dumbing him down from what I've heard), more skilled and calmer. He cultivates a self-awareness of his flaws and strengths, and he works hard to control his flaws while magnifying his strengths.
This indicates that he does have a thoughtful and quieter side to him that although it's not always seen in media, it is present. You can see this in "Brave the Wave" from Pokemon: Advanced, "A Claim to Flame" from the last Johto season, "A Way Off Day Off" of Adventures in the Orange Islands, and even in the latter half of the first Pokemon season episode, "Showdown in Pewter City". There are moments peppered in these named episodes where he'll be off by himself with Pikachu at his side, and he'll talk out loud to Pikachu. Perhaps as a way to get his thoughts out into the open, and to reflect on his actions, his experiences or his feelings on something that happened. I like that a lot - it's a mark of his growing maturity and prowess as a Pokemon trainer and person, and to me, that's neat to see him in a reflective state of mind and not in his default action-hungry state.
In line with his thoughtfulness, he has his smarts too, and these smarts are ones no one could see coming. He has come to develop an unorthodox strategy when battling: using the features of the battlefield to his advantage for his Pokemon, taking into account the Pokemon types and species, sneak attacks, relying on the bonds he has built with his team, and combining moves to create new ones.
This isn't just in Pokemon battles either - throughout Pokemon: Advanced, he can instantly take charge of situations when he gets a feel on what's going on. This is an indicator of his leadership skills.
In some conventions, Ash might not be the number one example when it comes to leadership, but when you look at how he grows and develops throughout his journey, you can see qualities of a good leader take root and bloom through him: the diligence to set examples, the task to mentor and encourage those with no experience, and the willingness to learn from others and improve. He has come a long way since he started out from Pallet Town.
What else.... oh yeah. He's also a bit of a snarker. I read that in later seasons this was immensely toned down. I'm all for dropping character traits to some degree to enhance the story, but I feel that due to all he's seen and experienced, he probably would develop his snarkisms further (which were perhaps retroactively in part pushed by Misty and Brock). Dropping this trait takes away from his personality a bit.
But there has been one key trait he's held onto even if he's seen and experienced dark things - his kindness and compassion to other creatures. Whenever anyone's in trouble, he'll try to help them any way he can. Sometimes he might not always understand a situation if it revolves around a concept in which he's not familiar or he's neutral towards it, but once he catches on, he'll step up and do his part. With great enthusiasm at times, I might add.
He has a tendency to wear his heart on his sleeve and it shows through a variety of moods.
For one thing, he has quite a temper. Okay, so we know he can get mad over things based on the fact he's red-blooded alone, but in more serious moments, he's not himself when he blows a gasket and says things he'll come to regret later on. He can be unapproachable and snap at others even when they're meaning well and want to help him. There are folks who, like yours truly, subscribe to the idea that he doesn't like anyone to see him in pain or upset.
Throughout some episodes, he's been shown to try and keep cheerful even when he's in pain, but when he isn't cheerful, it's an indicator that something is really wrong.
But he doesn't like talking about what's going on and prefers to be left alone to deal with his problems. If you notice when he's in a dour mood, he'll try to hide his eyes underneath the cap of his hat to make it seem like he's not bothered by what's going on, but eventually, his moods can be too much for him to hold on - which may be a clue that he bottles up his emotions because that's kind of a kid thing to do - and he'll release them albeit still hiding under his hat. I don't think that's a weakness as is it much it's how he deals with his emotions. He's a preteen so experiencing large emotions like he's had to feel at times is weird for him. He's experienced loss and hard choices he didn't want to make but had to, and it can leave him feeling not like himself.
I feel bad for him sometimes whenever he cries. When he cries and it's played for drama, it's actually hard to watch the scene. I know some folks out there may be annoyed by the crying, but again, Ash is a kiddo - what kid isn't going to cry at least once in their lifetimes? And as a youngster who has taken quite a lot on his shoulders, he can be especially hit hard in the heart. If he feels like he screwed up big time, lost someone dear to him, or said goodbye to those he cared about, be they people or Pokemon, then of course he's going to cry. He hasn't quite mastered (pardon the pun) regulating his own emotions yet. It's not fair and accurate to expect him to have his stuff together all the time when he's still growing. He will break down when it gets to be too much for him sometimes and that's okay.
It means he'll find a way to grow from those moments and be better for it.
He's also growing in many ways with his Pokemon. If you notice throughout the series, as he grows in his skills, he also has a knack for letting Pokemon approach him. Perhaps it's because he loves Pokemon in general, or because it's part of his own unique gifts he has (such as the power of Aura), but he can seem to understand what goes on in a Pokemon's mind. Not a bad talent to have, and the way he inspires some folks around him to be in sync with their Pokemon does leave some questions on what gravitates Pokemon toward him. Is it because they see his great determination to help them, no matter what harm he may suffer through? Is it because he's someone who flips expectations and interactions with Pokemon on their heads? Knowing him, it might be all these things!
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3. DEPICTIONS/QUESTIONS
Reader discretion is advised due to the amount of questioning I have for this section.
*"Ash has a harem": This one terrifies me. He's. A. 10-YEAR-OLD-CHILD. Please stop. If he's known for attracting young girls, fine, but none of this harem stuff - it's way out there.
*"Torturing the kid": Why do fans like tormenting this kiddo?? I get if there's a point to torment him for drama's sake, but I've seen stuff where it goes way overboard. It's as if every other piece of fan art or fiction depicts him almost drowning, getting sick, getting tossed into a prison cell, DYING even. I'm concerned if it's a case of sadism...
*"He's a brat": He's ten. Not every kiddy at this age is going to be well-mannered. And like I said, he has shed some of his negative traits to be better so he's not the same person he was at the start of his journey.
*"He bickers with Misty a lot": Admittedly, this is one of my pet peeves, but it's not because it's part of their dynamic. They're kids on the verge of reaching the crazy world of adolescence, so they have an excuse and I don't hate that by itself. My issue with it is that a great deal of people out there weave in their bickering into their relationship like it's something cute to gush over. But... what for?
Look, I'm not against couples having their own ways of communicating, quirks or flaws, but if those things don't develop in the same vein that the couple may develop - be they emotionally or mentally or whatever - then it comes off as annoying and makes it seem like the characters have not undergone any change at all. Ash and Misty do share fiery temperaments, yes, but if you notice their interactions throughout the show, they do cool it quite a bit. When we first meet them, they're biting each other's heads off, but over the years, we've seen them address each other more calmly. That doesn't mean they've stopped making sarcastic remarks to one another, but by the time the show ended, you can see that they act more playful - maybe even flirty - in their words. I prefer to have them talk with each other this way vs. having them snipe like sarcasm snipers.
*"He's stupid": We have to take the show's writing into consideration - it's not the greatest and most consistent thing out there. I'm not asking for him to automatically become the next Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, but I do wish people would stop writing him as a dumbbell when he's not. He's more intelligent than given credit for, so let's give him that credit, please!
*"He's so strong, he can push out sadness and other things that happened to him by sheer willpower alone!": This is more in tune with a problem I have for canon, but this is not realistic, period. We're all touched by unfortunate events and some of those events will leave scars on our psyches. I get that Ash is from a children's show and as a child he can brush off things like they were nothing, but you also have to remember that Ash went through things that truly would traumatize just about anybody for longer than five minutes if they were in that situation. E.G.s: he watched a Pokemon - a living creature - die in his arms in "Pokemon: 4ever", he and his friends were eaten by white cell-like blobs and then brought back to life within the Tree of Beginning in "Lucario and the Mystery of Mew," he was possessed by evil spirits or entities throughout various seasons, the aforementioned torturing by TR's hand (and almost being caught in explosions, burned or electrocuted to a crisp by them in some points), other goons taking their chances at hurting the kid, seeing his mom - his only confirmed living relative while his dad is nowhere to be found - kidnapped by the Fake!Entei in "Pokemon 3: Spell of the Unown", all of the times he almost lost Pikachu/his Pokemon permanently to Team Rocket's clutches, all the times he almost drowned and/or when he actually died... are you honestly telling me all of this stuff is easy for anyone, particularly a kid, to get over by the next episode or movie??
*"Ash is wrong!": In the show, whenever he would bring up a good point or opinion that wasn't coming out of his ego or attempt to be a jerk, he would get attacked by his friends or strangers when he didn't do anything wrong. This was for the sake of humor in the eyes of writing, but it comes off as ridiculous and cruel to him. Yes, there are times when he does need to be called out for acting out of line, but in the times he wasn't being a smart aleck, he still gets attacked. That's not right, and a disservice to him. He's done a lot in his career, and he's just a kid - he's still growing and learning on how to be an adult and Pokemon trainer, and to ruthlessly go at his throat like that speaks volumes on how generally a lot of people in the Pokemon universe can be incredibly hard on youngsters.
It does depend on the region, though, as I have heard that some regions in the Pokemon world are nicer than others. And while I'm fine with adults stepping in to intervene when young people are acting up, there... aren't too many actual adults in the Pokemon world. A number of the adults kind of act useless. I get the goal of this decision show-wise was to empower children, but I find it more impressive when both kids and adults are empowered and are able to work together to achieve their goals. That's why whenever I see Ash working with someone older with him or at least it's someone who knows what they're doing, it can be cool to watch them at work and actually gives Ash an incentive to learn and grow from his adventures.
*"He's in way over his head!": I also think the show can turn the kids into damsels/dudes in distress more often than not. The world of Pokemon can be a dangerous one, let's not fool ourselves here, so it's natural that Ash and co. will inevitably fall into danger at times. I'm not just talking about from Team Rocket when they decide to stop clowning around either. I'm referring to whenever they get in way over their heads and get into sticky situations that would make Mystery Inc. blush. We wouldn't have stories if they didn't, true, but it's like, 'guys you don't have to get involved in everything that happens, you can let someone else handle it if it's risky'. It may be in Ash's character - and the others by extent - to go and help someone whenever they're in trouble no matter what, but they don't seem to learn anything afterwards.
Heck, in fanfiction, I've seen writers address this problem by having adults like Officer Jenny or Professor Oak lecture these kids on why they should stay out of dangerous stuff especially when Team Rocket's involved. In some instances, the kids look like morons for not taking precautions after being attacked by TR after so many times in the show proper.
In one fanfic I've read, Ash actually does his common sense, to be on the lookout for TR when he's on the road by constantly training his Pokemon to defend themselves if he can't be there to give them guidance and he also uses a walking stick on hand to poke the earth around for any hidden traps TR might have planted. That's smart and shows that Ash is growing into quite the responsible trainer. It is important to keep Ash's desire to help anyone he can intact, but I feel like it would make for a passage into adulthood for him if he comes to see that although he can try to help everyone, he does have to know that there are some instances where he's not the best person for the job. He does have to know where his responsibilities begin and end, in spite of what is said in canon.
Speaking of beginnings and endings, I'll begin writing in the second post we'll have the usual inspirations, future goals and headcanons!
Wanderer out!
