Ash Ketchum was the star of the Pokémon anime for almost 25 years, and fan feelings about him as a character have shifted back and forth over that time. Even I had a major shift in my opinion on the character, all thanks to one particular story arc from the Diamond and Pearl era.

When I watched Pokémon as a child, I would often become irritated with Ash over his behavior. He often makes illogical choices in battle, ignoring the type match-up rules that are so essential to the games, and frequently gave up on opportunities to catch Pokémon, which was especially frustrating for powerful ones that he ed up. For me, Pokémon has always been about that "Gotta Catch 'Em All" element; it's a collection game, and the whole point is to have a complete collection. Despite the Pokémon anime's tagline, the anime rarely reflected that, however.

What Makes Ash a Frustrating Protagonist At Times

Ash's Personality, Especially Early On, Could Be Irritating to Watch

While the anime not perfectly mirroring the games was often a point of annoyance for me, it wasn't the only one. Ash often didn't seem to the lessons he learned from episode to episode in those early days, making the same kind of mistakes repeatedly when he really should know better. Misty and Brock would even point this out from time to time, so this was obviously an intentional part of his character and not a mark of bad writing. Ironically, it probably made him more authentically like a 10-year-old, but being roughly the same age and knowing I wouldn't make those mistakes would still be irritating.

The show really does make fun of Ash quite a lot in the early seasons, getting in jokes at his character's expense, which sort of reinforces the idea that he's just kind of... incompetent. In the beginning of the anime, Ash is often treated more like a comedy protagonist, who doesn't really learn or grow too much. This would change over time, as the anime continued on into new eras like Ruby and Sapphire, where Ash would step up from being the one who needs help to being the one who does the helping with May.

These changes as the story progressed into new eras turned out to be crucial for Ash's character growth, but by the time the anime got there, I had checked out of watching Pokémon for a while, and didn't get to experience that growth until much later. For a long time, my opinion of Ash was pretty low as a Pokémon trainer, as he seemingly didn't do things that would get him closer to his stated goal of being a Pokémon Master, which to me meant catching every Pokémon.

Ash's Best Story Arc Completely Flipped My Opinion of Him

Ash and Chimchar Helped Me to Understand Why Ash Catching Them All Was a Bad Idea

Coming back to the anime as I got older, I went back to experience some of the seasons that I missed, particularly the Diamond and Pearl era, which many fans consider to be one of the anime's greatest periods. There were already some noticeable differences in Ash, with his behavior toned down and his strategies generally making a bit more sense than they did in the original series. He still often ed up opportunities to catch wild Pokémon, which still annoyed me a bit, but overall, he was a much more solid character.

In the Diamond and Pearl era, Ash comes across a Chimchar which once belonged to his cruelest rival, Paul, that Paul had abused and was planning to abandon. Ash took in Chimchar, and helped the beaten Pokémon to recover and regain its trust in people, gradually becoming a powerful ally. As Ash and Chimchar's bond built, Chimchar would grow and become stronger, eventually evolving into Infernape. Ash would finally have a dramatic showdown with Paul at the Pokémon League, where Infernape helped win the day, proving Ash's caring way of raising Pokémon superior.

Chimchar's arc was very well executed, and the little firey Chimp Pokémon had become incredibly endearing. I began to realize just why the anime didn't stick to its "Gotta Catch 'Em All" premise--because by doing that, it wouldn't be able to focus on the bond that Ash and his Pokémon would gradually develop, like his bond with Chimchar. If Ash had hundreds, or even just dozens of Pokémon, the Pokémon themselves would cease to be distinct characters, and instead become simple tools for Ash to use in battle. By only having a few, the anime could focus on Ash's relationships with his Pokémon more.

The Anime Eventually Proved Its Original Approach Right with Goh

Goh Took "Gotta Catch 'Em All" to Heart, But It Didn't Work

In Pokémon Journeys, Ash travels with another companion, Goh, who catches Pokémon far more indiscriminately than Ash does. Seeing a wild Pokémon, Goh would immediately throw a ball at it and catch it... and more often than not, that was the last that fans would really see that Pokémon. Sure, Goh owned it now, but these Pokémon so rarely reappeared, and Goh had no real relationship with most of the Pokémon he caught. The anime tried to address this with episodes centered on caring for Goh's collection, but they could only do so much.

Even when Goh caught a Legendary Pokémon in Suicune, it just didn't have the kind of impact it should have. Goh became a very unpopular character with many fans as a result of this, and it ultimately proved that the Pokémon anime was right to approach things with Ash the way it did, focusing on building bonds with just a few Pokémon. Character arcs like Chimchar's growth just wouldn't really be possible for someone like Goh. Treating Pokémon like characters rather than possessions was the right call on the anime's part, I just couldn't see it as a kid.

With the days of Ash behind us, it's nice to be able to appreciate his character and the anime in general on a deeper level than I did when Pokémon was new. Pokémon taught fans to see its creatures as more than just collectibles, at least as far as the anime was concerned, and that pet-like approach was the perfect way to tell the reality of a Pokémon adventure.