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Main Characters

    Ash Ketchum 

Ash Ketchum

The main character. A young boy with a very odd relationship with the world's Legendary Pokémon, who grows up to have a skewed worldview.

Tropes:

  • Achievements in Ignorance: Because he's spent most of his childhood surrounded by beings that defy logic or reality, he has a very thin grasp on what is and isn't possible. As far as he's concerned, if there's even a thin chance that a Pokémon can do something, then they can do it with enough training.
  • Adaptational Nice Guy: Very downplayed, as Ash in canon is very much a sweetheart, but in the beginning of the anime he was a hotheaded and shortsighted boy who put his wants before his Pokémon's wants. This version of Ash starts off as already respectful and understanding towards his Pokémon, and most of his impulsive actions are toned down or erased entirely.
  • All-Loving Hero: Just like in canon, Ash has a deep well of compassion and empathy for those around him. He's rather forgiving and even friendly with Mewtwo after the latter kills him (to be fair, Death Is Cheap when you're friends with gods), and despite Aten stating that he wants to kill his new trainer, Ash still keeps him around to try and help him adapt and grow in the strange new world he's found himself in.
  • Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Ash is a big sweetheart who thinks that Pidgey are rare, treats dying temporarily like being grounded, and is more concerned with having fun and making friends than he is with actually achieving his goal of Pokémon Master. He is also possibly one of the strongest trainers in the world, even without the various Legendary Pokémon (who are akin to gods in the Pokémon world) on his side.
  • Cloudcuckoolander: Ash has a strange perspective on the world, where he's met more Lugia than Pidgey, and Pokémon shouldn't let the lack of a tail stop them from using Iron Tail — but it makes sense to him.
  • Cool Teacher: His role in Alola, helping teach at the Pokémon school. Ge regularly pulls in Legendaries to help make his point and works with his students so that everyone can understand at the end of the day.
  • The Dreaded: He quickly becomes feared by gym leaders and Pokémon hunters due to the way Legendary Pokémon practically flock to him. It doesn't help that his non-Legendary Pokémon are even more ridiculous than his Legendary ones.
  • Fantastically Indifferent: He's seen so much stuff that things that are normally once-a-lifetime don't shock him.
    (Ho-oh passes over the group)
    Misty: Ash, did you see that? That was incredible!
    Ash: Yeah, he does that sometimes, I think that one was a bit lower than normal though.
  • Friend to Psychos: Specifically to Aten, who is dead set on killing Ash and everyone around him at first. Ash, true to his All-Loving Hero nature, is determined to socialize the tyrant-turned-fluffball, and manages to mellow him out enough for Aten to accept Ash as his trainer.
  • Kid with the Leash: To Aten. While in canon the ancient king possessed him and tried to rule the world, here Ash acts more as his babysitter when he's reincarnated into the body of a Hisuian Zorua. Ash is also the only person that Aten will listen to, and despite the Zorua's repeated claims, it's fairly obvious that he cares for his trainer.
  • Morality Chain: Initially serves this function for Aten, keeping him safe and under relative control while helping him integrate back into society. Aten later mellows out enough for Ash to become his Morality Pet.
  • Nice Guy: As in canon, Ash is an absolute sweetheart who never captures a Pokémon that doesn't want to willingly follow him. Even Aten, who hates everyone and everything, admits that he can't hate Ash because of how kind the trainer is.
  • Pals with Jesus: Ash is on friendly terms with more than half of all Legendary Pokémon in the world. Considering that Legendaries function as in-universe gods, he's essentially the most powerful human in the world just by virtue of how many powerful Pokémon he knows. Especially when he gets a tiny shiny Arceus as a smartphone.
  • Parental Substitute: Serves as one for Larvitar, at least until they manage to reunite him with his mother. Later functions as this for Tiny Shiny Rayquaza.
  • Screw the Rules, I Make Them!: Practically any Pokémon he's helped train runs on some kind of reality-bending logic that means, if it potentially could work, It will, every single time. Even if things like reality and physics say it shouldn't.
  • Speaks Fluent Animal: Ash has been able to speak with Pokémon from a young age, specifically using the Mew dialect (which earns some confusion from other Pokémon when he speaks in it while in Absol form).
  • Strange Minds Think Alike: Finds his equal and opposite in Brandon, who thinks nothing of talking back to Ho-Oh, reasons that because there have been multiple Rattata that there's a non-zero chance of there being two Ho-Oh's, and who battles Ash with a team full of Legendaries.
    Max: Oh no there's two of them.
  • Talking the Monster to Death: Attempts this on Mewtwo, asking why he didn't just sign up to be a trainer and why he thinks Pokémon are superior to humans. It ends up getting him killed, but he gets better and ends up changing Mewtwo's mind.
  • Urban Legend: Before the Indigo League, many trainers, especially gym leaders, had a hard time believing he was real.
  • Voluntary Shapeshifting: After the first incident where it's a genuine mistake, Ash is able to transform into an Absol whenever he wants to participate in a battle or sniff out danger.
  • Walking Disaster Area: Like the author's other work, Ashes of the Past, Ash has a tendency to find trouble in the most unexpected places.
  • Weirdness Magnet: To the point that he literally repels normality.

    Ash's Pokémon 

General

The Pokémon that have the...fortune of being trained by Ash. Most of them aren't all there.

Tropes:

  • Achievements in Ignorance: His team's bread and butter. Oftentimes they end up doing things that by all accounts should be impossible in their world, but because Ash doesn't restrict himself by the logic everyone else does his Pokémon don't restrict themselves with what is and isn't normal for their species.
  • Cloudcuckoolander: Many of them are as strange as their trainer is. The ones that don't start out this way very quickly end up Giving Up on Logic.
  • Elemental Rock-Paper-Scissors: Regularly defied. Pikachu is a notable example, having not only invented Thunder That Breaks the Earth to defeat Ground-type Pokémon, but teaching it to his team mates.
  • Olympus Mons: Well, when your trainer is basically catnip for Legendary Pokémon... Ash's team includes Ho-Oh and a tiny Rayquaza as particularly powerful examples.
  • Strong and Skilled: Most of his Pokémon have some inherent strength behind them, but that doesn't stop Ash from helping them hone their skills to their absolute limit and then pushing past it.

Pikachu

Ash's starter Pokémon, and his strongest. While he starts off dismayed with his trainer, he quickly grows to accept the wacky hijinks of his life and becomes something of a leader to all of Ash's other Pokémon.

  • Adaptational Badass: While Pikachu in canon is a powerful fighter, he still has his fair share of losses. Here, Pikachu is the resident heavy hitter who's won every single fight he's ever been in, and spends most of his time teaching the other Pokémon on the team. After the Michina time travel incident, where Pikachu's Thunderbolt was able to deflect a Judgement attack, Arceus xemself wants to know, "What is up with that Pikachu, I mean seriously."
  • Badass Normal: As normal as any Pokémon on Ash's team can be anyway. He's the middle evolution in a pretty common Pokémon line on a team filled with legendaries, pseudo-legendaries, and Pokémon with fighting styles that are either overwhelmingly powerful, extremely versatile, or endlessly confusing. And of all of the Pokémon on Ash's team, he's acknowledged as the strongest, which is hard to contest considering he's the only one shown to be able to solo sweep an Elite Four member's entire team.
  • Beyond the Impossible: He can electrocute Ground-types, and later teaches that ability to Zapdos and Raikou with the move Thunder That Breaks the Earth.
  • Big Brother Mentor: Is generally a teacher to the other Pokémon on the team, but he's also protective of some of the younger members, like Tiny Shiny Rayquaza and Zorua.
  • The Dreaded: Ash says that Pikachu is the strongest of his Pokémon, and none of the others can really argue with him on that front. Other Pokémon trainers similarly come to fear him after seeing him in action, and especially after he sweeps the Elite Four Caitlin's entire ace team. By himself.
  • Cloudcuckoolander's Minder: To Ash, initially, and later for some of the other Pokémon on the team.
  • Giving Up on Logic: Once he realizes that he can now electrocute ground-type Pokémon, he just accepts that he has a really weird trainer and moves on with his life.
  • The Leader: Is directly referred to as this by Raikou.
  • The Mentor: He's so powerful that more often than not he ends up acting as this to the other Pokémon on Ash's team, only really taking part in a handful of battles per region due to how powerful he is.
  • No-Sell: As discovered later when a Trainer's Raichu flung a Thunderstone onto him, it turns out Pikachu physically can't evolve further.
  • Seen It All: After a certain point nothing can faze him.
  • Shout-Out: By the time he sweeps the entirety of Unova Elite Four Caitlin's team, he's got numerous fighting styles based on the Avengers - starting with a Thunderstone attached to a handle that he uses like Thor, which is later used like Captain America's shield when the handle breaks. Against a Musharna, he uses the dream mist to create solid Double Teams like Doctor Strange, and uses Electro Web to sling around like Spider-man when up against a Gravity Master Sigilyph. Finally, he uses Thunder Armor to create repulsor blasts like Iron Man.
  • Team Dad: Functions as this for most of Ash's Pokémon.
  • World's Strongest Pokémon: He's unquestionably the strongest Pikachu in the world, and quite possibly the strongest non-Legendary Pokémon in the world as well. It's kind of telling that he can block an attack from Arceus of all Pokémon.

Mew

Yes, that Mew. They repeatedly find ways to take a place on Ash's team, often shifting into different Pokémon and teaching moves to their fellow teammates that should be impossible.

  • Eccentric Mentor: To pretty much any Pokémon they meet. Oh, she'll teach them plenty of new moves, despite their species or age, but he does so in the most chaotic and destructive way possible, and has been caught teaching abilities, which are supposed to be innate (not that it stops them).
  • Great Gazoo: He's one of the more powerful legendary Pokémon floating around, and could easily make life hell for anyone who crossed her, but they spend most of their time engaging in harmless pranks and helping trainers where he can.
  • It Amused Me: Her motivation most of the time. He'll consistently find a way to sneak onto Ash's team and do the impossible, teaches other Pokémon things that break the laws of reality, and jailbreaks the Pokéball system because they're bored.
  • Master of Illusion: Mew knows every move in existence — including Transform. As a result, Mew makes a game out of taking on the identities of other Pokémon, being "caught" by Ash, and keeping up the illusion as long as possible. Ash is aware that it happens, but decides he's okay with it if Mew is okay with it.
  • No Biological Sex: Mew freely accepts male, female, or neutral pronouns, and swaps between them more or less at random.
  • O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Mew rarely takes anything seriously, so when he drops her disguise to rescue Ralts it's clear that this isn't a laughing matter.
  • Playful Hacker: Jailbroke the Pokéball system to be able to be caught multiple times in different identities, as well as allowing Ash's set of the Legendary Beasts and the Latis to switch out who is in the Pokéball.
  • Screw the Rules, I Make Them!: Their Pokémon training completely ignores types, species and several other logical requirements, but Mew still manages, pretty much every time, to successfully teach anything to anything if he puts her mind to it.

Zapdos

An old friend of Ash, who made a point of coming by for food. She was the second Pokémon that Ash caught, and remains a consistent part of his team.

  • Big Eater: In more ways than one, but half of her scenes contain references to food.
  • Big Sister Instinct: Zapdos was one of the first Legendaries that Ash befriends, and one of the first that he caught. She's also rather protective of him, and threatens an Aerodactyl that tries to kidnap him.
  • Childhood Friends: With Ash. Ash's mother heard him talk about a bird and thought he was feeding one of the local Pidgey.
  • Cool Big Sis: To a good chunk of Ash's Pokémon, being both much older than them and having joined Ash's team shortly after he started his journey.
  • Olympus Mons: One of the first that Ash catches.
  • Tastes Like Friendship: How Ash befriended her, and how she initially bonds with Pikachu.
  • Trademark Favorite Food: Dango. When Ash starts his journey, Zapdos volunteers to be caught rather than lose access to it. And any time dango appears, and Zapdos is nearby, it promptly disappears.

Charizard

As in canon, he was found as a Charmander on a rock. He evolved twice in rapid succession to save Ash, and is the resident Big Guy until he decides to stay in Charcific Valley.

  • Adaptational Nice Guy: Here, he never has the chance to lose respect for Ash, and stays loyal to him without needing to learn a lesson on humility.
  • The Big Guy: He's the heavy hitter on the team, and while he's not as strong as Pikachu, he's versatile enough and tough enough to take on most challenges.
  • Removed Achilles' Heel: He uses Drill Run as a way to learn Dive, meaning he can go underwater without his tail flame going out.
  • Signature Move: Drill Run, which allows him to take on enemies that are relying on him staying airborne. He uses it to defeat Charizardtwo, and later learns to modify it into Dive.

Zoroark

Given to Ash as an egg, Zorua employs colorful illusions and tricks his friends as often as his opponents.

  • Asian Fox Spirit: He's a fox Pokémon who's able to shapeshift and talk to his trainer.
  • Big Brother Worship: For Entei. He enjoys playing with Entei and wants to learn everything from him.
  • Bratty Half-Pint: For a while, he's constantly changing into other Pokémon to try and get an extra chance to battle. He grows out of it eventually.
  • Dual Age Modes: He is first shown impersonating his own mother to give his egg away. Later on he learns to make an Illusion of himself as an adult.
  • Master of Illusion: A staple for his species. He takes it a step further by shapeshifting into Dynamax Pokémon, Legendaries, shiny Pokémon, and a Mega of himself as an adult.
  • Shapeshifter Baggage: He weighs whatever his illusion would weigh, even though his physical body remains the same.
  • Shapeshifting Trickster: He loves to trick his friends almost as much as he likes fooling his enemies.
  • The Trickster: As a shapeshifting fox, he enjoys fooling opponents and taking part in mind games. The one person he can't fool is Ash.
  • Voluntary Shapeshifting: Like a lot of Ash's team, he's capable of taking on the form of other Pokémon. Unlike them, however, he actually takes on the shape of the Pokémon he's impersonating, instead of just misleading his opponents.

Legendary Beasts (Raikou, Entei, and Suicune)

The three children of Ho-Oh, they all share a single ball and can be called upon whenever Ash needs them or whenever they want to stretch their legs.

  • Big Friendly Dog: They all fit this trope to some extent, but Raikou is the most obvious, as she enjoys giving kisses and getting belly rubs.
  • Gender Bender: Suicune is Transgender due to Ho-Oh forgetting to check what her gender was before resurrecting her. She is still treated by the narrative and the characters as her stated gender.
  • Female Feline, Male Mutt: Downplayed. All three of them have both feline and canine elements, but the more doglike Entei is masculine while the more catlike Raikou and Suicune are feminine.
  • Flight: Each has a different way of getting about it.
    • Raikou can use Steel Wing without actually having wings, so she just makes herself the phantasmal wings and flies with those.
    • Entei can control lava, so he shapes lava into helicopter blades and uses a mix of convection and It Runs on Nonsensoleum to propel himself upwards.
    • Suicune can walk on water, so she makes small water shoes for herself, lifts them into the air with telekinesis, and walks on those.
  • Out of Focus: Despite it being her ball originally, Raikou shows up the least often.
  • Semantic Superpower: Suicune utilizes this often.
    • She can walk on water, so Ash helps her figure out how to make water shoes on her paws so that she can essentially fly.
    • One of her powers is purifying unclean water, so if there's even a little water in the area, the whole thing counts as very, very dirty water.

Hugtini

Also known as King Dragonite, he was the first of Ash's Dratini to fully evolve. He wears a King's Rock and enjoys hugs, and is the Dragonite who appears most frequently of Ash's flock.

  • Canon Immigrant: Word of God is that he's Ash's Dragonite from Journeys.
  • Cool Crown: Wears a King's Rock to denote his title.
  • Cuddle Bug: Par excellence. He was this even as a Dratini, and weaponizes his hugs very effectively too.
  • The Mentor: To Chikorita (later Bayleef) in "large-scale use of special hugging techniques". He even ends up appointing her Solarmancer of the Ryuunited Kingdom.
  • Overly Long Name: His official name, unless it's changed since Ash last asked, is King Dragonite The First Of Us To Evolve Into A Dragonite.

Shaymintwo

Born after Mewtwo's misadventures with cloning, Shaymintwo decided to do the opposite of whatever his original is doing, and joins up with Ash's team.

  • Expy: Of Shadow the Hedgehog — an angsty clone who uses Power Gem to attack, and knows Roar of Time to recreate Chaos Control.
  • Lightning Bruiser: Shaymin are normally supposed to be slow, so of course Shaymintwo would do the opposite of whatever the original would. He uses Flame Charge to get up to speed with most of his opponents.
  • Signature Move: Power Gem, as is fitting of a Shadow Expy.

Clefairy

A french-speaking Fairy Pokémon that Ash catches.

  • Bait-and-Switch: During the end of the Kanto Arc and the entirety of the Orange Isles arc, pretty much everyone suspects her of being Mew in disguise. Nope! While Mew did take the form of a Clefairy initially, he got an actual Clefairy to take the role so that she could pretend to be Lapras instead.
  • Confusion Fu: Her Metronome is as much a surprise for her as it is for those around her.
  • Foreign Cuss Word: Swears in French when she's punched by Regigigas.
  • Gratuitous French: Only speaks Kalosian (the in-universe equivalent for French). Even when translated by Vulpix, it still takes the form of Kalosian.
  • Reality Has No Subtitles: A confusing example. Her dialect of Pokéspeech is interpreted as Kalosian (aka French) by the narrative and by any of the translating Pokémon in the party. While Ash seems to understand her, it's unclear if he also speaks Kalosian, if he understands her dialect of Pokéspeech, or if he picks out the words he does know and extrapolates past that.
  • Signature Move: Unusually, she uses Gravity most often to get an edge up on her opponents, to the point of it being her main strategy in battle.

Silver

A baby Lugia who first met Ash when he fell through the boy's closet. He's one of Ash's oldest friends and an honorary companion.

  • Badass Adorable: He is absolutely precious, but he is still a Legendary Pokémon.
  • Childhood Friends: With Ash, after he fell out of the boy's closet. The two started playing video games together, and have kept up a close friendship ever since.
  • Cuteness Proximity: Induces this in Whitney when she first sees him battling.
  • Keet: He is still a baby, and as a result is excited about nearly everything. He'll jump off a ferry to say hi to his mother, he sneaks off sometimes to play video games at Ash's house, and he joins Ash's team on an impulse.
  • Unskilled, but Strong: In his first gym battle, he's had very little time to practice with Ash and his team, and so a lot of his battling is done with sheer power, something that Luana points out to him.

Bayleef

A youngster who joins the party early on in Johto, she apprentices under King Dragonite and becomes a master hugger in her own right.

Zacian

Zacian was one of Ash's Pokémon in an alternate timeline, but when Dialga's Roar of Time broke the time lock she retained some of her memories of her counterpart, and joined Ash's team in this timeline as well.

  • Cool Big Sis: To the other female Pokémon on her team. She's one of the oldest among them, and while Zapdos is more of a bruiser, Zacian is a skilled warrior.
  • Expy: Of King Arthur in the Nasuverse.
  • Flight: One of her canonical abilities.
  • Incompatible Orientation: With the Absol who occasionally pops up to help Ash and friends. The Absol takes it gracefully.
  • Lady of War: She's a capable warrior and a calming force on the team.
  • Master of Illusion: She's able to cast various illusions like a lot of Ash's Pokémon.
  • The Mentor: For her trainer, ironically enough. When he's in his Ashbsol form, she instructs him first in how to walk as a quadruped, then on how to fight as one, and later in sword-based moves.
  • Ripple-Proof Memory: Because Dialga's method of fixing the timeline is to use Roar Of Time, a dragon-type move, Zacian retains the memories of her alternate self, since fairy-type Pokémon are immune to dragon-type moves.

Lokoko

A ninetales abandoned by her former trainer, Lokoko serves as one of the group's main translators.

  • Broken Bird: Starts off this way, having been abandoned by her trainer and isolated for many years. With the help of Ash and his friends, she slowly starts to heal.
  • Heal the Cutie: She initially is very cynical and heartbroken over being abandoned by her old trainer, but through her time with Ash (and a commiserating session with Lucario) she finds her place and gains her happiness.
  • Incompatible Orientation: Weaponized. During Ash's gym battle with Juan, Juan's (male) Milotic hit her with Attract. It doesn't work, because she doesn't swing that way.
  • Master of Illusion: Makes her introduction this way, and continues with her illusions through most of her battles.
  • Mundane Utility: Mainly uses Hypnosis as a way to aid other humans in understanding Pokémon.
  • Official Couple: With the wild Absol the team befriends. The two work together at Delia's cafe, they spar and trade flirty banter with each other, and they show up to help build the bridge together. They become engaged, and get married near the end of Ash's Kalos trip.
  • Pokémon Speak: Defied. Her main form of communication is through her telepathy, which is understood by both humans and her fellow Pokémon.
  • Translator Microbes: Serves this role when she's in the party, allowing humans to understand Pokémon.
  • Team Mom: As one of the most consistent Pokémon on the team due to her translating abilities, and one of the oldest due to the longevity of her species, she tends to fill this role towards younger members.
  • Took a Level in Cheerfulness: She starts off rather cold and detached, but under the dutiful care of Ash and Professor Oak, she comes into her own as a cool and confident battler.

Phanpy

Given to Ash as an egg, she serves as the resident Finder of Things.

  • Badass Adorable: She's a tiny baby elephant Pokémon. Doesn't stop her from delivering a full-power Rollout immediately after hatching.
  • Cheerful Child: She's sweet and innocent, and always wants to make those around her happy.
  • Grail in the Garbage: Her main gimmick. She often discovers rare stones, including Mega Stones that shouldn't even exist. She also weaponises Pickup by picking up all sorts of things from the ground that weren't there before, and throwing them — up to and including tree trunks larger than herself.
  • Rolling Attack: Her main method of attack. She does it minutes after being born.

Latias and Latios

The guardians of Alto Mare, they enjoy playing video games, and split their time between Alto Mare and staying with Ash.

  • Childhood Friends: Both Latios and Latias first met Ash when Hoopa transported them to his room, and they spend some of their time visiting his house to keep up with the games.
  • Genki Girl: Latias is bubbly and full of life, while her brother Latios is more subdued and pragmatic. That's not to say he can't have fun, either, but usually his sister is the one pulling him into it.
  • I Know Mortal Kombat: Latias uses her knowledge of fighting games to help defend herself against Annie and Oakley.
  • Savvy Guy, Energetic Girl: Latios is the more responsible sibling, keeping his sister reminded of their duties and always grounding her to the present, while Latias is more upbeat, encouraging her brother to enjoy himself and let off some steam once in a while.

Unown

A lone Unown separated from the Hive Mind who joins Ash after meeting him and Mew in Mew's mindscape.

  • Mighty Glacier: By spelling out moves, it can (somehow) use those moves. It's a relatively slow process, and the moves aren't necessarily as powerful as normal versions, but three to five letters are enough to ensure a super-effective move against pretty much any opponent.
  • Words Can Break My Bones: By slowly changing form from letter to letter, Unown can spell out nearly every attack.

Swellow

Originally a Taillow who made the stupid decision to steal some of Zapdos' dango, her ability to ignore Electric attacks quickly earns the interest of Pikachu and Zapdos.

  • No-Sell: Electric-type attacks, which would normally be super-effective against her, are simply absorbed. Even with Mega Ampharos' ability Mold Breaker, which removes the effects an ability has on a Pokémon regarding type immunity, the attack simply stings instead of being super-effective.
  • Removed Achilles' Heel: How she's introduced in the story. While the rest of her flock is taken down by Zapdos with Thunder, she simply absorbs the energy and is unharmed.
  • Scissors Cuts Rock: Her ability to absorb Electric-type attacks means that she has an advantage against Electric-type Pokémon. She also takes down Roxanne's Graveler.

Tiny Shiny Rayquaza

Originally Meta Groudon, after she was reincarnated into the body of a tiny Shiny Rayquaza she calmed down and joined Ash's team.

  • The Baby of the Bunch: For a while she's the youngest Pokémon on Ash's team, and she induces a fierce protective instinct in those around her.
  • Badass Adorable: She may be the cutest thing since baby pandas, but she's still a Legendary Pokémon capable of manipulating the weather to suit her whims.
  • Cuteness Proximity: Induces this in her predecessor Big Rayquaza, Groudon and Kyogre... and, of course, Whitney.
  • The Cutie: Sweet, cute, shy, and loved by basically everyone who meets her.
  • Eating the Enemy: Well, eating the problem, anyway. When a meteorite is causing problems for the nearby Pokémon population, she eats it. After all, a growing dragon needs a diet of meteorites.
  • Girls Love Chocolate: Wants to drink hot chocolate even when it's not bedtime, and uses feminine pronouns.
  • Moe: Small? Check. Sweet? Check. Shy? Check. Induces a fierce protective instinct in everyone she meets? Check!
  • Mundane Utility: Mostly uses her ability to turn off weather effects in battles to ensure fair conditions for camping.
  • Shoulder-Sized Dragon: Is two feet long and spends most of her time curled up in Ash's backpack or around him in some way.
  • Shrinking Violet: Is extremely shy for a while after becoming Rayquaza. Even after she gains some confidence she still prefers to stay in Ash's bag where it's safe.
  • Voluntary Shapeshifting: She can also turn into a Tiny Shiny Primal Groudon or a Tiny Shiny Primal Kyogre with the Red or Blue Orbs.

Aten

Once the proud king of Pokélantis, he was unwittingly reincarnated into the body of a Hisuian Zorua. Hilarity Ensues.

  • Adaptational Heroism: Downplayed, but while he still has his violent tendencies, he's also shown to be fiercely protective of his trainer and fellow Pokémon. He also shows a willingness to learn and grow, even if he refuses to admit it.
  • Ancient Evil: Well, he was one.
  • Blood Knight: Half of his character is his fervent, unending desire for violence.
  • The Caligula: Is implied to have been this in his past life, saying that he was asked by his advisors to stop having his sages make giant Pokémon, and not having any motivation beyond "being king".
  • Cute and Psycho: He's still the vicious king he always was, just in the body of a tiny fluffy fox.
  • Forced Transformation: Was once the mighty king of Pokélantis, only to be reincarnated by Ho-Oh into the body of a tiny Hisuian Zorua.
  • Hypocrite: He agrees that Paul is well within his rights to discard weak Pokémon, ignoring that he's still learning how to use moves himself.
  • The Mind Is a Plaything of the Body: Despite his thorough insistence otherwise, he's shown to clearly like some aspects of his new fluffy form, and enjoy things that other Pokémon also like.
  • My Instincts Are Showing: It's mentioned that his ears and tail perk up when he's excited, only for him to notice and try to squash the impulse.
  • One-Steve Limit: Ash already has a Zorua on his team, so he asks his newest member for his name. The new Zorua finally settles on Aten.
  • The Power of Hate: Despite being reluctantly loyal to Ash and co., he still uses moves like Frustration and Bitter Malice best.
  • Reformed, but Not Tamed: He eventually mellows out a little thanks to Ash's careful approach, but that only means he's loyal to his team. He has no qualms about exacting fierce retribution for perceived slights against anyone he doesn't like, and will jump to murder as the first solution if offered the opportunity.
  • Signature Move: Frustration, which functions not on his hatred towards his trainer, but hatred towards his opponents. (Or possibly just hatred in general. He has a lot of frustration bottled up.)
  • Token Evil Teammate: On Ash's team. He's bloodthirsty, harbors murderous intentions for half the people he meets, and has no qualms about attacking humans. While Ash's presence manages to calm him down a little, it's clear that without his trainer he would gladly resume his megalomania.
  • Tsundere: He repeatedly claims that he hates everyone and everything with a passion, but he has moments of emotional vulnerability that show he really does enjoy Ash's company. He also doesn't hesitate to attack a Mismagius who tried to put his party under hypnosis, keeping her in a bite until she frees them all.

Croagunk

Retroactively appeared as one of Ash's Pokémon after first using Parting Shot, and has since learned how to break the laws of reality by dodging.

  • Combat Pragmatist: Constantly uses his moves to avoid attacks and retroactively hits his opponent with Poison Jab, effectively whittling them down while not allowing them to hit him in return.
  • Deadly Dodging: It's closer to "reality-breaking dodging".
  • Expy: Of Sidereals. His moves are also based on Sidereal charms - Parting Shot is Avoidance Kata, Court Change is Neighborhood Relocation Scheme, and he seems to have some move that lets him use Duck Fate.

The Arc Phone

An ancient form of communication device updated to the modern age, as well as a Shiny Arceus.

Zekrom

The legendary dragon of ideals, and Ash's first catch in Unova, to the dragon's ideal joy.

  • Large Ham: Insists on doing this the Ideal way, much to the consternation of his brother Reshiram.
  • Olympus Mons: The legendary dragon of ideals, and he will make sure you kbow about it every time he shows up.
  • Sibling Rivalry: With Reshiram. The two will start arguing with each other about truths and ideals at any given moment.

Dewott

One of the three Unovan starters, who escaped from Professor Juniper's lab in search of a worthy trainer.

  • Confusion Fu: His battle strategy is to channel Metronome through his scalchop to create blade attacks from any attack.
  • Stance System: Can switch between being a Unovan Samurott and a Hisuian Samurott at will.
  • Willfully Weak: Replaced his scalchop in the competition to become Scalchop King, because he didn't want to spend the year with Osharina.

Tepig

A formerly abused Fire-type starter that Ash rescues.

Servine

A Snivy caught by Ash.

  • Femme Fatale: Attempts to be this, throwing around Attract liberally and with abandon. Results vary.
  • The Fighting Narcissist: She's rather self-obsessed, with a penchant for any attacks she views as beautiful. It says a lot that when hit with her own Attract and falling in love with herself, absolutely nothing changes for her.
  • In the Name of the Moon: She derives her powers from anything to do with the Moon.

Scrafty

Another of Ash's hatched Pokémon. Unlike the rest of her kind, she's not the type to hoard a territory all for herself and has decided to circumvent this by declaring the entire universe her territory.

  • Born as an Adult: She hatched as the fully-evolved form of her species.
  • Semantic Superpower: By declaring the world her territory, Scraggy can use moves like Camouflage and Nature Power to access any type in existence regardless of where the fight is located.

Boldore

A Roggenrola, later Boldore that chooses to join Ash's team offscreen. Has great knowledge of all rock-related sciences.

  • Genius Bruiser: She knows her science, mainly anything that can be remotely traced to rocks, and applies said knowledge to great effect.

Froakie

One of the Kalos starters who chooses to travel with Ash, to learn how to be a ninja.
  • Ninja: What he hopes to become.
  • Not His Sled: Froakie never gains the Battle Bond with Ash. That power goes to Zoroark.

    Ash's Companions 

Misty

The gym leader of Cerulean Gym, Ash's first companion, and usually the Only Sane Man.

  • Deadpan Snarker: Just like in canon, although here it's more justified due to the utter ridiculousness that Ash's luck gets the party into.
  • Does Not Know His Own Strength: After she returns to Cerulean Gym, she doesn't understand why a 3-badge challenger is upset about her beating him with (Red) Gyarados. She didn't even Mega-Evolve it!
  • Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: The Responsible to her sisters' Foolish. Once she rejoins her gym, however, she starts to whip them into shape.
  • Giving Up on Logic: As with most of Ash's companions, she ends up adjusting to the Legendary Pokémon that constantly show up.
  • Good Parents: Despite still being a child herself, Misty fills this role for Togepi. She's gentle with the young Pokémon, making sure to tell her when she did well or when she needs to stop what she's doing, and always prioritizing Togepi's happiness.
  • Interspecies Adoption: As in canon, she fills this role for Togepi, although she doesn't understand the young Pokémon at first; after a certain point she begins to understand Togepi and later gains the chance to talk with her properly.
  • Only Sane Man: Takes this role until she returns to her gym. At that point she's sort of acclimated to the nonsense.
  • Seen It All: After a certain point she just stops registering Legendary Pokémon as something unusual.
  • Voluntary Shapeshifting: She gets a portion of the shapeshifting potion for her birthday, and turns into a Vaporean.

Brock

The gym leader of Pewter Gym.

  • Cloudcuckoolander's Minder: Takes this role with Ash, when he hasn't just given up entirely.
  • Home Sweet Home: Settles down in Kanto once Ash finishes with the Battle Frontier- partly to keep the Gym running, and partly so that he can stay with his new girlfriend, Lucy.
  • Straight Man: While Misty tends to snark in regards to Ash's weird luck with Legendaries, Brock is generally either skeptical or beleaguered.
  • Team Chef: As in canon, he's the one in charge of making dinner. It's good enough to entice several Pokémon to join the party just so that they can keep eating his cooking.

May

The daughter of Norman Maple, and Ash's companion through Hoenn.

  • Cloudcuckoolander: Due to starting her journey immediately after meeting Ash, she has no frame of reference for what's normal and what isn't.
  • Failed a Spot Check: Max is excited to learn that his sister has been traveling for the past two days with Ash Ketchum, a trainer famous for his unique luck with Legendary Pokémon, but May says that she hasn't seen him use any; just Pikachu, Cranidos, Croconaw, Zapdos and Zorua. Lampshaded by Max.
  • Good Parents: Is doting and gentle with Manaphy, always willing to spend time with him or help him with something he doesn't understand.
  • Interspecies Adoption: As in canon, with Manaphy. Unlike canon, she gets to remain with Manaphy past the Temple Of The Sea, and remains his mother for the rest of the story.
  • Ship Tease: With Drew, as in canon. She goes to Johto in order to keep up with him.

Max

The younger brother of May, and resident Straight Man in Hoenn.

  • Mouthy Kid: When you deal with Ash on a daily basis, it's either becoming a Deadpan Snarker or Giving Up on Logic.
  • Only Sane by Comparison: While Max is quick to point out the ridiculous situations they get into and how many Legendary Pokémon the group meets, he's also the unofficial trainer of one, and has formed a special bond with a psychic Pokémon before hitting ten years old.
  • Straight Man: While May is a slightly less ridiculous Cloudcuckoolander and Brock has Seen It All at this point, Max is the main person pointing out the ridiculousness of the situations the party regularly finds itself in.
  • Psychic Link: With Ralts, so that the two can communicate despite being separated.

Dawn

Ash's newest companion, a young up-and-coming coordinator who doesn't know what she's gotten into.

  • Celebrity Impersonator: Looks identical to Princess Salvia. Notably, unlike canon, she doesn't actually pretend to be her.
  • Cloudcuckoolander: It'd be hard to keep up with Ash if she wasn't, and since she doesn't have Brock, Misty, or Max to balance her out, she's as off-the-wall as her companions.
  • Feminine Women Can Cook: She makes poffins for her Pokémon, and when Chef Dragonite isn't cooking for them she takes on the role.
  • Insane Troll Logic: During the Junior Cup, She had Swinub Dig through the air when their opponent uses Smokescreen. Her reason?
    Dawn: Swinub, that air's got smoke in it, and smoke is made of stuff that's kind of like volcanic ash, and volcanic ash turns into rock! Dig through the air!
  • Naïve Newcomer: Whitney is a gym leader and Ash is technically a champion in his own right, while Dawn is just starting out on her journey.
  • Voluntary Shapeshifting: When she takes the same potion that Ash and Whitney have sampled, she turns into a Plusle. While she's surprised by it, she rolls with it until it wears off.

Whitney

The gym leader of Goldenrod gym.

  • Adaptation Personality Change: Is a much kinder character than in canon, in part due to Ash having many cute Pokémon. She even becomes his companion in Sinnoh.
  • All Girls Like Ponies: Since joining Ash, she uses a Galarian Rapidash as her regular mount and she often pairs off with Keldeo.
  • Badass Adorable: As in canon, she emphasizes looking cute while refusing to sacrifice difficulty.
  • Beauty Equals Goodness: A more nuanced example than normal. While she is much more forgiving of flaws in cute Pokémon and shows a distaste for those who aren't cute, she also acknowledges that there are conventionally cute Pokémon with absolutely rotten personalities, and that Pokémon who aren't conventionally cute can still be adorable thanks to their attitudes and behavior. She also believes that you should always strive to look your best, because when you look good, you feel good, and she will do everything in her power to help her Pokémon and her friends look their absolute best.
  • Big Sister Mentor: She's one to Dawn, helping to bring out the best in the young coordinator and grow along her journey.
  • Cloudcuckoolander: Not to the same extent that Ash or Brandon is, but she does absolutely nothing to rein in the nonsense and sees nothing unusual about Legendary Pokémon crashing through her roof.
  • Cool Big Sis: To Ash and Dawn. Despite her eccentricities, she's remarkably empathetic and compassionate, and will dispense wisdom whenever Dawn is feeling unsure. She also helps Marilyn learn that you can't put a rigid definition for what is and isn't "cute" down, because it's not so much a set of guidelines as it is a feeling.
  • Cuteness Overload: Goes into this several times, including but not limited to:
    • Silver, a baby Lugia;
    • A minimized Latios;
    • Ash's miniature Shiny Rayquaza; and
    • Keldeo, a pony.
  • Genki Girl: Has enough energy to keep up with Ash and some left over to spare.
  • Nice Girl: While she prefers cute Pokémon and makes her opinions on it known, she's polite and courteous to her companions and those they meet along their journey, and can find the "cute" in nearly every Pokémon.
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: Whitney may have left her gym behind to travel with Ash, but she also acknowledges that running a gym is a big responsibility, and that it isn't fair to trainers when leaders don't meet the standards they should. She left a group of powerful trainers in charge of her gym with clear instructions on what the challenge was and how to properly raise up the Pokémon she left them,note  and she wastes no time in reaming out gym leaders who abandoned their gyms or refused to provide a proper challenge for trainers.
  • Voluntary Shapeshifting: At the earliest opportunity, tried the same potion as Ash did, earning herself the form of a Snom.

Iris

An aspiring Dragon Master who joins Ash on his journey after he helps her grow closer to her Pokémon.

  • Adaptational Nice Guy: Because Ash shows himself almost immediately to be a competent, if somewhat airheaded trainer, Iris shows him more respect and is generally less abrasive than she was in canon.
  • Dragon Tamer: What she aspires to be.
  • Giving Up on Logic: She decides this is probably the best course of action with Ash, as even though his methods are nonsensical, they clearly get results.
  • Only Sane Man: Between Ash being Ash and Cilan's own eccentricities, Iris is usually the one left questioning the weirdness the group encounters.
  • Voluntary Shapeshifting: Like most of Ash's companions? She takes the potion that turns someone into a Pokémon. Surprisingly, she turns into a Zoroark, but she takes it as an opportunity to transform into multiple different dragon-types.

Cilan

A Pokémon Connoisseur who joins Ash on his journey as a way to expand his palate and see the world from a different point of view.

  • Cloudcuckoolander: He willingly joins up with Ash Ketchum, a boy known for his wacky shenanigans and adventures with Legendary Pokémon, and feels the need to compare everything to food.
  • Voluntary Shapeshifting: Takes the potion that turns someone into a Pokémon and becomes a Kecleon.

Natural Harmonia Gropius

The Prince of Team Plasma.

    Companion Pokémon 

Brock's Pokémon

  • Cloudcuckoolander's Minder: Bulbasaur is this for Brock, curbing the worse of his flirting and helping keep him in check after he decides to go serious with Lucy.
  • Team Dad: Geodude is this to the rest of his team, offering training and support for the younger members.
  • Translator Microbes: Vulpix learns the same trick that Lokoko uses to allow humans to understand her, and applies it on a broad scale to allow all humans around her to understand what Pokémon are saying.
  • Uncatty Resemblance: Just like Brock, Geodude has a thing for a classy dame.
  • Undying Loyalty: Onix has this for his trainer.

Misty's Pokémon

  • Defeat Means Friendship: In order to stop Gyarados's rampage, Misty captures him. After a brief session with the Ryuunited Kingdom, he mellows out and becomes her loyal Big Guy.
  • Happily Adopted: Togepi is this for Misty. She adores her mother, and is loyal to her without question.
  • Lethal Joke Character: Psyduck is absolutely useless... right up until he falls asleep, at which point he can unleash a variety of powerful and downright devastating attacks taught by Mew. They stopped checking how many after Psyduck bisected a hill.

May's Pokémon

  • Beyond the Impossible: Skitty manages to reverse her Normalize ability to the point where she can make any move into whatever type she wants, which, alongside Me First and Copycat, allows her to change around the type of pretty much anything around her.
  • Delightful Dragon: The Dratini that decides to join her party is a sweetheart who just wants to shine in the contests.
  • Happily Adopted: Manaphy is this, referring to May as his mother.

Max's Pokémon

  • Big Friendly Dog: His Mightyena is a big old sweetheart.
  • Heavy Sleeper: Jirachi used to time his naps to a comet that only came by every millennium or so. Even after syncing himself to the phases of the moon, though, he still sleeps for twenty-five days out of twenty-eight.
  • Psychic Link: Ralts has one with Max, and communicates with him across vast distances.

Dawn's Pokémon

  • Boring, but Practical: Buneary uses physics to get an edge on her opponents, and compared to the nonsense that her fellow Pokémon get up to, it's surprisingly effective.
  • Bunnies for Cuteness: Buneary fits this to a T.
  • Mundane Made Awesome: Buneary uses her understanding of physics to get an edge up on her opponents, and manages to thrash an Infernape.
  • Semantic Superpower: Nickit can steal anything with Spectral Thief- whether that be typing, moves, abilities, or even Dawn's voice.

Whitney's Pokémon

  • Animal Superheroes: Miltank poses as one for a contest, with Whitney as her sidekick.
  • Badass Adorable: Their one unifying trait.
  • Bambification: Deerling is a sweetheart, but he's still able to pack a mean punch.
  • Best Friend: Miltank is this to Whitney.
  • Polly Wants a Microphone: Chatot is able to communicate his thoughts clearly to humans.
  • The Power of Friendship: Rapidash certainly believes in it, and is willing to apply it metaphorically to solve interpersonal issues, or literally to fire a friendship laser at his opponents.
  • The Tease: In the match for the Plain Badge, Nidorina defeats Totodile by flirting with him, confusing him into knocking himself out.

Supporting Characters

     The TRio 

Jessie, James, and Meowth

The main Team Rocket agents that the party has to deal with on a regular basis.

  • Adaptational Badass: At one point, Giovanni says they should be able to take on Lance in a few years. It's safe to say they're the best Pokémon trainers in Team Rocket, above even Giovanni himself.
  • Almighty Janitor:
    • On paper, Jesse, James, and Meowth are on a dead-end job of monitoring Ash and reporting intel about him to Giovanni, along with their futile attempts to try and steal his Pokémon. In practice, they're Giovanni's most important agents because they're actively distracting Ash from going after him directly, along with giving their boss the intel to avoid Ash entirely. They're also his best agents, since they're some of the only Pokémon trainers in the world that are able to seriously challenge Ash.
    • They later give a comprehensive lecture to all the agents in Team Rocket, where they explain their contingency plans in regards to Ash and how to best deal with him and his friends. By the end of the lesson, every assembled agent is properly terrified of them.
  • Always Second Best: A variant. They'll always be weaker than Ash and his friends, but not by much, meaning that they're able to hold their own against some of the more powerful trainers in the world.
  • Demoted to Extra: They take a backseat role in the Sinnoh Arc, taking up Whitney's gym in her absence. They even abide by the rules Whitney leaves them and seem to enjoy serving as Gym Leaders.
  • Pragmatic Villainy: They become Whitney's replacement Gym Leaders for the entire of Sinnoh, being hugely competent at it, then seemingly go back to their criminal ways when Whitney returned... for her to find they stole only the Pokémon that they'd effectively brought in themselves, and none of the Gym's own, effectively meaning they didn't steal anything.
    • Also during the same period, they act as Whitney's equivalent of a Godzilla Threshold, with her calling them in to deal with things too big for Ash to safely deal with. That her requests just happen to align with Team Rocket's goals isn't mentioned.
  • Seen It All: After a certain point they just stop questioning the legendary Pokémon they encounter. While they don't like dealing with the various insanities that Ash and co. throw at them, they've stopped being surprised by them and have actually managed to fight back on occasion.
  • Throw the Dog a Bone: They get some cool stuff here that they actually get to keep: an airship, several powerful Pokémon, and a cushy gig temporarily running Whitney's gym for her. Giovanni also respects them more, and they're apparently high enough in the Team Rocket pecking order to give a lecture to the other members.
  • Villain Forgot to Level Grind: Averted hard. They're some of the few trainers in the world that can pose a serious challenge to Ash, and while they're always defeated by him in the end, it's a wildly different story in regards to other trainers. They even manage to curbstomp other evil teams when they're in the area.

Their Pokémon

The various Pokémon that join the TRio on their adventures.

  • Big Damn Heroes: Whitney calls up the trio to help deal with Zero and his team, and Porygon hijacks his flying ship and crashes it in the Reverse World.
  • Deadpan Snarker: The Porygon that they steal has a habit of arguing with Meowth.
  • Only Sane Man: Porygon sees itself as this.
  • Villainous Rescue: When the climax of Pokémon: Giratina and the Sky Warrior occurs, Whitney calls up the TRio due to their expertise on airships. Porygon then proceeds to crash Zero's airship in the Reverse World.
  • Wrench Wench: Aipom is their chief mechanic, and enjoys tinkering with the various robotics the team has. Porygon is thrilled to have her.

    Other Pokémon 

Hoopa

A mischievous portal master who likes to cause trouble for everyone.

  • Cuckoolander Commentator: Serves this role during the sled race in the Orange Isles.
  • It Amused Me: Hoopa is bored. This is probably a bad thing for the world. Hoopa disagrees! Hoopa will save the day, or at least will have fun watching what happens when Pokémon get voluntarily, or involuntarily, or unknowingly transported across the world.
  • Mundane Utility: Uses magic portals that can move through time and space as a vacation and delivery service.
  • Third-Person Person: Hoopa always refers to Hoopa by name, never with pronouns. The narrative refers to Hoopa occasionally with they/them pronouns, though.

Mewtwo and Ambertwo

The self-proclaimed "strongest Pokémon in the world", Mewtwo enters the story as an antagonist for all of five minutes before forgoing his plans for world domination and living away from humans with his adoptive sister, Ambertwo, now reincarnated into the body of another Mewtwo.

  • The Atoner: Mewtwo attempts to be thus after realizing he was wrong in his previous goals. Ambertwo isn't having it.
  • Brooding Boy, Gentle Girl: Mewtwo is more dour and serious once all is said and done, but Ambertwo is there to help pull him out of his funk and encourage him to open up to others.
  • Commuting on a Bus: Mewtwo and Ambertwo occasionally show up in the story once their plot is completed, either to appear in a race or to visit Ash and friends.
  • Expy: Ambertwo is an expy of Maria Robotnik, including formerly being sick and also acting as a Morality Pet for the entity she grew up with.
  • Heel–Face Turn: While Mewtwo enters the story as an antagonistic presence, after meeting the other Legendaries and regaining Ambertwo, he mellows out and goes on a journey of self-discovery.
  • Kill All Humans: Mewtwo's initial goal. Once he realizes that not all humans are like the ones who abused him, he calms down and reassesses his priorities.
  • Olympus Mons: Mewtwo (and by extension, Ambertwo) are the self-proclaimed Most Powerful Pokémon in the world. It's extremely rare to find anyone who argues.
  • Would Hurt a Child: Mewtwo kills Ash. Luckily for everyone, it doesn't last.

Big Rayquaza

Guardian of the skies, while he rarely appears in the story, he serves as a benevolent protector of earth and peacekeeper between Groudon and Kyogre.

  • Big Brother Instinct: Has this towards Tiny Shiny Rayquaza.
    Big Rayquaza: I have only known you existed for five minutes, but in that time I have undergone a wholesale realignment of my priorities.
  • Big Good: As Arceus needs to be impartial and unattached to the world, Rayquaza ends up being the most senior Legendary that Ash and friends come across. He also prevents several disasters from coming to fruition.
  • I Need a Freaking Drink: His response to Groudon and Kyogre teaming up with their Unown-made doubles to defeat the others.
  • Only Sane Man: Between him, Groudon, and Kyogre, he's the only one to remember his proper responsibilities.
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: Of the Hoenn legendaries, anyway. He tries to keep Kyogre and Groudon from constantly fighting, and takes his duty of guarding the earth against meteorites very seriously. He's also polite with the heroes, protective over his younger counterpart, and willing to listen to reason when he's been proven wrong.

'Dastardly' Darkrai and Victini

A Darkrai wearing a fake mustache, and his partner Victini. If there's a competition, they will find it and cheat disgracefully to try their best to win and never succeed...

  • Berserk Button: Pidgeys.
  • Card-Carrying Villain: The two of them always stop to cheat whenever a race occurs, and Darkrai in particular insists on wearing a fake evil mustache.
  • Cheaters Never Prosper: Even when they win, Darkrai will always lose.
  • Dick Dastardly Stops to Cheat: Within seconds of a race starting with them taking part, pit traps, false walls and all manner of traps appear out of nowhere. As well as the umpteen other Legendaries who also take part.
  • Expy: Of Dick Dastardly and Muttley. Notable instances include:
    • When they're cheating at a hot air balloon race, a carrier Pidgey arrives. They chase after it almost immediately.
    • During one failure, Darkrai goes into a typical Dick Dastardly rant, complete with Victini doing the exact opposite of what Darkrai wanted.
  • Evil Is Petty: It depends on how you define "evil", but the two never go beyond cheating in the various races they participate in.
  • Poke the Poodle: None of their dastardly deeds do dangerous damage beyond a few bumps and scrapes, and their goal is just to win a race. Even when fighting under Tobias' guidance they follow the rules and stick to trash-talking.

Marshadow

Assigned to lead Ash to Ho-Oh for their battle, Marshadow eventually just decides to tag along for the fun of it, due in part to not knowing where he was supposed to lead the Rainbow Hero and in part because Ash needs someone to watch over him.

  • Cutting the Knot: He tends to be the one to do this when the party's stumped, having broken both the false evolution machine and the machine making the volcano explode.
  • The Mentor: To Dawn's Nickit. He teaches her how to use Spectral Thief and its many applications.
  • Shadow Walker: He often spends his time in Ash's shadow, ready to pop out when needed.
  • The Snack Is More Interesting: In half his scenes he's more invested in what he's eating than the proceedings.

Zygarde

Zygarde decides to follow Ash on his adventure after Ash accidentally captures a cell during a bug-catching contest.

  • Heroic Dog: They are able to shapeshift into a dog form, which allows them to rescue others or stop villains.
  • Hive Mind: They technically are one, and frequently refer to their separate cells when they need to consolidate more power.
  • Literal Metaphor: When Houndour mentions that they don't mind being low in the pecking order so long as they know who the top dog is, Zygarde takes this to mean whichever dog would be at the top of a pyramid. Cue all canine Pokémon forming a Pokémon pyramid, with Zacian at the tippy top.
  • Not So Above It All: Zygarde is a legendary Pokémon who is responsible for preventing ecological disasters, but they also enjoy being in dog form and eating Brock's cooking.
  • Our Dragons Are Different: A dragon-type Pokémon who spends most of their time either in a blob-like form in Ash's bag or a dog form to absorb sunlight.

Absol

An Absol who predicts disasters that Ash comes across.

  • Commuting on a Bus: She shows up sporadically after the Jirachi incident, usually whenever Ash and his friends are about to encounter something potentially disastrous.
  • Mundane Utility: Uses her disaster-sensing ability to get the orders at Delia's cafe correct.
  • Official Couple: With Lokoko. The two spar together, they work together at Delia's cafe, trade flirty banter, and they show up at the bridge site together. They become engaged, and get married near the end of Ash's Kalos trip.
  • The Scream: Her reaction every time she comes across Ash.
  • Second Love: Lokoko is this for her, after Zacian turns her down.

Arceus

The creator deity, the Alpha and Omega, and the supreme God of the Pokémon world.

  • Big Good: While Xe don't show up very often, Xe are the almighty creator of the world. Xer presence is enough to solve whatever minor conflict is taking place.
  • Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: Pikachu is able to deflect Xer Judgement, which has even Xem asking "seriously, what is up with that Pikachu".
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: While Xe does send Ash and friends back in time to fix the mistakes of the past, Xe explains what they need to do, and when Ash asks to explain why they're there, Arceus stops and allows them to speak.
  • Worf Had the Flu: Yes, Pikachu is able to deflect Xer Judgement, but it should be noted that the Jewel Of Life, which had yet to be absorbed back into Xem, contained several plates which would resist or ignore the Electric typing (Splash, Meadow, Earth, Zap, Draco, and Pixie).

    Other Humans 

Delia Ketchum

Ash's mother.

  • Failed a Spot Check: Somehow didn't notice that her son was feeding a Legendary Bird dango out of his window.
  • Feminine Women Can Cook: Starts a restaurant and recruits her son's resting Pokémon to work there.
  • Good Parents: While she doesn't get the chance to show it often, she's still a nurturing and warm presence in Ash's life, and serves as a friendly figure in the lives of his various Pokémon.
  • Open-Minded Parent: After a certain point, she just accepts that her son has improbable luck and just wants him to be happy.

Giovanni

Team Rocket's leader, leader of Viridian Gym. Currently taking a break from his duties.

  • I Need a Freaking Drink: His response upon learning the scope of the TRio's interactions with Ash Ketchum.
  • Retired Monster: For all intents and purposes, Giovanni has retreated from the crime scene, preferring to leave Team Rocket up to its own devices in order to prevent Ash from ever coming after him.
  • Screw This, I'm Outta Here: All but retires from Team Rocket to avoid interacting with Ash Ketchum.

Lance

The champion of both Kanto and Johto, Lance appears sporadically in the story.

  • Dragon Tamer: His main deal. It's enough to make him an honorary citizen of the Ryuunited Kingdom.
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: While he prefers to keep Ash and his friends out of disasters, he also recognizes that they're often the most capable people in the room to deal with various disasters. He also does his best to break up potential disasters, and foil the plots of various villainous teams.
  • The Rival: Brock claims he was Ash's Johto rival. Considering Ash defeated Gary in the previous conference and Casey did everything she could to avoid dealing with Ash and his nonsense, he's probably correct.
  • World's Strongest Man: He managed to beat Ash, who was able to defeat Steven and who regularly befriends gods.

Princess Salvia

A princess who is the spitting image of Dawn, who wanted to become a Pokémon Coordinator.

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