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| The Ash Supporters Club |
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 There are many people who love to hate and complain about Ash. But their reasons for why they do are usually misguided or non-existant. Of course, liking Ash is one's own personal opinion and everyone is entitled to their opinions. But when they hate him for reasons that aren't even his fault, that's when we come in. So below are some counters to some of the Ash-haters "reasons". Ash is a cheater! Pikachu can electrocute Ground-types! This one seems to be the favorite reason of Haters everywhere. But as Omnimon_5000 from the Nintendo Forums so easily put it, "The rules of the games sometimes hold no cannon to the shows." That means that the anime and the game are not one in the same, so they shouldn't be treated as such. The anime may be based on the games and follow the plot, but it follows very loosely. In the anime, the pokemon world is MUCH bigger than in the game, and different elements are present in the "real-world" aspect of the anime which are not present in the game. In addition to this, writers are given a certain amount of artistic freedom to make the anime more interesting, or at least different from the game. And while shocking ground-types is non-existant in the games, the rules are obviously a little different in the anime. Not to mention the fact that Pikachu isn't your regular pikachu. So if this is seriously bothering you, blame it on the writers for changing the rules. It's not Ash's fault it works! =P Ash is so whimpy and weak! This is a very common Haters' reason. Apparently, heros are suppose to be strong, unbeatable, someone better and unlike most normal people. But the thing is, Ash is just a normal 10-year old boy. A large amount of people can relate to Ash because he isn't super-charged or has super powers, or because of hightened sense or intelligence. He's just a regluar, slightly oblivious, down-to-earth person. Ash may seem "whimpy" and lose every so often, but that's because he is not perfect. People are not perfect. And people are not fearless 24/7 in every situation. But even so, Ash will still face whatever stands in his way in order to protect those he cares for or work towards his dream. And that, my friend, takes courage. There is something to be said about a person with that kind of substance, something that some people are not seeing. But those that do see it and do appreciate it are the kind of people that can relate to Ash and see him for who he is. Pikachu is invincible! It always wins! First Ash loses too much, now he wins too often? Can I say... contradicting much? In terms with Team Rocket, yes, Pikachu always wins. And when it comes to 90% of Ash's battles, yes, Pikachu usually wins. Even when it comes to ground-types. *see top argument* But Pikachu doesn't always win, especially in some of the big gym & league battles. Even Pikachu has its limits and gets defeated. It just doesn't happen very often. ^^; And while I can see how this would be annoying, it's not necessarily Ash's fault. Unless you enter in the "dumb luck" factor, but even then, it's mostly that Pikachu is a power-house. Ash is always in the spotlight! Some people have a problem with Ash and Pikachu always being in the spotlight when it comes to the movies and anime. Always saving the day and stuff. To this, I say... NO DUH. The pokemon movies are branched off from the anime series, and the anime series follows Ash and his friends. Notice how I didn't mention who the friends were. I'm a big fan of Misty and Brock, but in food terms they're just a side dish. Ash is the main course, the star of the show, the ring leader. As long as the series continues in the way that it is going, Ash & Pikachu will always be the main stars, no matter who they (the writers) swap his traveling friends with. The anime series follows the adventures of Ash and that is why he is always the main character or has the biggest part in the movies. That's why he is always the hero or the one who steps up. Because this is his show, no matter who travels with him, crosses his path, or goes up against him. Ash almost never catches any pokemon and always releases the good one he has! I suppose it might be hard to believe, but not all trainers are obsessed with "catching 'em all". And even though Ash is the main star of the show, this also seems to be the case with him. I believe it's called Quality over Quantity. Ash cares deeply for his pokemon as if they were family, so he won't force them to do something that they don't want to do. He also believes that they should evolve out of their own free will, which he's stated many times throughout the series. As for releasing his good pokemon, it really depends on the situtation. Charizard was left in the Valley to become stronger, Butterfree was released to find a girlfriend, and Pidgeot was left outside of Pallet to protect the pidgey and pidgeotto from the mean spearows and fearow. Naturally, these events would never happen in the game, but they sort of make sense in the "real-world" aspect of the anime -- especially if Ash cares for his pokemon like family, which he does. He just wants what's best for his pokemon and what'll make them happy. But some Haters are well, haters, and so touchy-feely emotions like this make them sick. But in my opinion, when that's the case I see a problem with the emotion-constipated Haters, not Ash. Ash says that if you love a pokemon you can win your battles Many Haters have an issue with this reason, mainly because of the strategy that is used in the game, and how those kinds of strategies are by-passed in the anime. And to a certain extent, they have a point. During the first season in Kanto, it's true that Ash didn't "technically" earn most of his badges by winning. Take the Rainbow badge for example; he was in mid-battle with Erika when the gym suddenly caught fire. But because he risked his life going back into the burning building to get Erika's beloved Gloom, she gave him the badge. Similar thing happened with the Cascade badge except he saved the pokemon and the gym from TR's giant vacum machine. So you see, if Team Rocket had just butted out when Ash was doing his gym battles, he would have won or lost fair and square. So it's not his fault he won his badges in an unconventional way, but Team Rocket's. Or the writers for wanting more creative freedom in the anime. Which ever choice is fine. But I believe that the point that Ash is trying to make when he says statements like that is that you need to have trust in your pokemon. They are not soul-less fighting machines but living, breathing, creatures. And in the anime, this is really shown. So because of this "real-world" aspect, showing trust and care to a pokemon can boost its attack power or will to continue fighting because it wants to make its trainer proud by doing good. Of course such statements aren't as true in the game, but like I've said earlier the game and the anime are different. Imagine, if you will, training a pokemon is like training a dog. If you are nice to the dog and show that you care, you create a bond with said dog and it helps him/her do well. He/She may not win every contest or whatever, but at the end of the day, it's not the win/lose result that counts but the friendship you've built. Winning isn't everything, and friendship won't always win you that badge. But if you can be satisfied with what happened or at least train harder and try again, then that loss was for the better because it shows exactly where you stand. There are 1000 lessons in losing, remember? Loving your pokemon won't win you the battle alone, but it surely will help you much better than if your pokemon hated you. Ash should be arrested for electrocuting Team Rocket! As sad as it is to see Team Rocket blast off in every episode, it technically isn't illegal for Ash to electrocute them. It's not very nice and it certainly isn't good for their systems, but you don't see Officer Jenny coming after him and Pikachu with handcuffs because of it. In a certain sense, Team Rocket deserves it for trying to steal his pokemon. Remember, they're the bad guys, even though they're not good at it. And while they do smarten up by using electric-proof suits, they don't use 'em all the time. So Ash isn't in the wrong when he orders Pikachu to use thunderbolt, even though it's not effective. Everything is worth a try, and they're not always electric-proof. |