Strong character designs form the core of thePokemonfranchise. The necessity of appealing Pokemon is obvious, but a lot of work goes into the other characters that players meet on their journeys. From the main protagonist and regional Professor all the way to the Elite Four and Champion, thePokemonfranchise is built on marketable designs. This plays a large part in the enduring relevance of older monsters, especially as they are brought forward alongside new designs.
One of the most prominent characters in all ofPokemondoes not originate in the games, however. Ash Ketchum, known as Satoshi in Japanese, is the long-standingprotagonist of thePokemonanime series. He and his Pikachu, who uniquely follows him outside of a Poke Ball, have been adventuring across the world ofPokemonto become champions for decades. The iconic duo serve as faces of the franchise, in spite of the fact that Ash himself has never made a proper appearance in the mainline series of games. Even so, there are plenty of references to Ash Ketchum sprinkled throughout, and he even shows up in a few minor titles.
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Ash’s Appearances in Mainline Pokemon Games
Ash Ketchum is based on Red, the canonical protagonist of the first generation ofPokemontitles. Ash is a player name suggestion inPokemon Red,Yellow,FireRed, andLeafGreen,but the international version ofBluesuggests Ash as a name for the rival character instead.Pokemon Yellowis based on Ash’s exploits in the anime, allowing the player to gain a Pikachu follower along with all three Kanto starters, meanwhile Jessie and James appear as members of Team Rocket. Even so, Red and Ash have diverged in design and personality over the years, and cannot be considered the same person.
Apart from a Spanish-exclusive reference inPokemon XandY, Ash’s next appearance was in the Special Demo Version ofPokemon SunandMoon. Player could receive an unsigned letter from a character heavily implied to be Ash. A Greninja is included with this letter, and Ash is listed as its original trainer. By using the unique ability Battle Bond,this Greninja can become Ash-Greninja. An even more direct reference can be found in the back room ofSunandMoon’s abandoned Thrifty Megamart. If one looks very closely, a blurry photo of Ash and Pikachu can be seen on the wall. That may be the closest the mainline Pokemon games ever get to showing the anime’s protagonist, but giveaways for Ash’s Pokemon and Pikachu wearing Ash’s regional caps have been going on since 2010.
Cameos by Ash in Spin-Off Pokemon Games
Ash is kept separate from the mainline games, but spin-offs have no such rule. Ash appears on the cover ofPokemon Puzzle Leaguefor the N64, and he serves as both the player character in 1P Stadium mode and one of the selectable characters in its two-player counterpart. Ash and his Pokemon appear in various pucks in the Japanese arcade gamesPokemon TrettaandPokemon Ga-Ole. Ash is also seen on the main menu of the North American PC racing gamePokemon Team Turbo. In the first AmericanPokemon Play It!card game simulator on PC, Ash is referenced in the tutorial.
Stranger appearances Ash has made were on theJapan-exclusive Sega Pico edutainment console. Ash featured inPokemon: Catch the Numbers!,I’ve Begun Hiragana and Katakana!, andPico for Everyone Pokemon Loud Battle!, all of which came out in the early 2000s. Ash was also in all three 10th Anniversary Perdue Farms promotional titles, which were distributed inside packages of Perdue Chicken Breast Nuggets in 2006. These Flash-based games consisted ofPokemon Team Rocket Blast Off,Pokemon Poke Ball Launcher, andPokemon Seek & Find, featuring Ash as the male player character and May as the female.
Ash’s final notable appearance was in the 2019 April Fools' Day event forPokemon GO. While Pikachu, Raichu, and Pichu wearing Ash’s hat have appeared in past events, Ash himself could photobomb players who were using the Camera feature that day. A lot of Ash’s appearances are relegated to Easter eggs or giveaways, but it’s nice to see thePokemongames and anime cross over from time to time. With Ash’sPokemon Journeysincarnation apparentlyheaded toPokemon Masters EX, it seems players will finally get to see him fight in a major game. After 25 years of anime adventures, it feels like the right time to rope Ash back into thePokemongames that started it all.
