During the course of the Pokemon anime series' over-20-year airtime, many prominent characters have joined Ash on his quest to become the greatest Pokemon trainer of all time. There is just something about Ash thatmakestotal strangers want to follow him around on foot as heexplores unfamiliar areas andgets into fights with monsters.
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What makes these companions interesting is the variety between all of them. The level of variety was not always extreme, but the Pokemon series is known for its creativity (even when rehashing something). With that in mind, it should come as no surprise that Ash's friends come from all sorts of different areas and have their own unique backgrounds.
10 Ash Ketchum
Ash Ketchum is both the hero of the show and, considering that he has only aged one year during his entire journey, the apparent finder of the Fountain of Youth. He began his journey to be a Pokemon champion on his tenth birthday, and he has never looked back.
Ash's hometown is Palletown, the same home of the legendary trainer Red from the Pokemon Red and Blue games. Not much is known about Ash's pre-trainer life, but he was known to be a modest and friendly kid who lived with his mother, Delia.
9 Misty
Misty was Ash's first girl companion, and she was the one who stayed with him the second-longest amount of time. She is a kindhearted girl, but she was also never one to withhold giving Ash or anyone the verbal lashings they often deserved. She was also quick to reign Brock in whenever his flirtatious side got a bit unbearable.
Misty hometown is Cerulean City, where she, despite being only 10 years old, serves as one of the town's Gym Leaders alongside her sisters, Daisy, Violet, and Lily. She is a skilled trainer who specializes in using Water-Type Pokemon.
8 Brock
Brock is a Pokemon trainer and former Gym Leader He's also the show's infamous ladies' man, despite being only being 15 years old. Brock spent more time than anyone else with Ash as a primary companion, with their time together spanning more than 12 seasons of the show.
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Brock is from Pewter City, and much like Misty, he served as his hometown's Gym Leader. It was a position he inherited after his father, Flint, left him, his mother, and his whoppingeight siblingsto pursue the dream of becoming an even more powerful trainer. Flint did eventually return to atone for his departure and resumed his role as Gym Leader, which was when Brock decided to leave and travel Ash.
7 May
Unlike some of Ash's earlier companions and friends, Maydoes not have the same desire to be a serious Pokemon trainer or champion. This 1o-year-old's greatest desire is to become a great Pokemon coordinator, which is someone who trains Pokemon to perform in contests that rate the showmanship of a Pokemon's abilities.
May hails from Petalburg, a town in the Hoenn Region. Her father, Norman, is actually its Gym Leader, which furthers Ash's tendency to make close connections with expert trainers. She also lives there with her mother, Caroline, and her brother, Max, who also traveled with Ash.
6 Max
The series has never seemed to have a problem with sending 10 or 11-year-olds out into the wide world to explore and live on their own, but it decided to up the ante a bit with Max. A mere seven years old, Max is May's younger brother and companion to Ash while he traveled through the Hoenn Region.
Seemingly to follow in his father's footsteps, Max put much of his focus during his travels with Ash into becoming a great trainer. He was also a studious person, constantly reading and analyzing situations. He enjoyed learning from the other trainers, with Brock being one of his favorites.
5 Dawn
Dawn was someone who almost seemed to be waiting for the chance to swoop in and replace May when she left Ash's group to travel alone. Dawn is a ten-year-old girl who also dreamed of being a successful and famous Pokemon coordinator, something that her mother, Johanna, inspired her to do. The main difference is that while May sometimes didn't have much confidence in herself, Dawn could easily fall into the problem of having too much confidence.
Dawn was born and raised in Twinleaf Town in the Sinnoh Region. This was also where she and Ash first met. Dawn is a very positive, optimistic, and forgiving person with a desire to help people. All of these were very useful traits to have while traveling with someone like Ash, who had a knack for getting himself into crazy situations.
4 Serena
Following in a pattern that the show seemed intent to stay with, Serena is a 10-year-old girl who seeks to travel the world for the sake of learning how to train her Pokemon to perform in Pokemon showcases. Sheisa sweet and kind girl, but sheis definitely not afraid to show her determined or rebellious side.
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Serena's hails from Vaniville Town in the Kalos Region. It was there that she first found her interest in being a Pokemon performer, something that her mother, Grace, had done as well. But while her mother was famous for riding Pokemon, Serena wanted to gain her own notoriety instead of following in her mother's footsteps.
3 Lillie
It took a few seasons, but Ash finally began traveling with a girl who wasn't a trainer or a performer when he met Lillie in the Alola Region. Hailing from Hau'oli City, Lillie was an eleven-year-old girl who, despite her extensive knowledge of Pokemon in the region, had a secret fear of the creatures and avoided contact with them at all costs. It was only while exploring with Ash that she learned to let go of this fear.
She developed this fear afterbeing attacked by a dangerous Pokemonin a research facility owned by the Aether Foundation, which was founded by her parents, Mohn and Lusamine. Her brother, Gladion, saved her from the attack, but the experience left her with a lasting distrust of all Pokemon.
2 Mallow
Mallow was another friend that Ash made while traveling through the Alola Region. Mallow is a kind and somewhat absent-minded girl who had a deep love of Grass-Type Pokemon and passion and skill for cooking. She is also a close friend of Lillie's.
Mallow's hometown isHau'oli City, the same as Lillie. She lives there with her father, Abe, who owns and operates a restaurant. Mallow works with him there as his assistant. She has an older brother, Ulu, who is also a cook. He, however, embraced the Pokemon trainer approach to life and left home to travel the world to become a better chef.
1 Goh
Goh is a lot like Ash. Both boys were intent on becoming great Pokemon trainers after a fateful encounter with a legendary Pokemon. In Goh's case, the Pokemon he saw was Mew, which he intends to catch one day. Both boys are also focused on completing their Pokedexes and exploring the world to see all of the different types of Pokemon.
Goh is a very calm and independent child, a trait he developed due to being alone often. His parents, Walker and Camille,had jobs that constantly kept them from their home in Vermilion City. Goh also lived near his grandmother, who lived nearby. The question many people have is why Goh didn't just visit her whenever his parents were gone for long periods of time.
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