Which Ash do you think is the better character?

[mehmeh1]

Not as a trainer or even as a person, but as the character in the story. IMO, my favorite would probably be DP ash, as he's as of now the most balanced between his goofyness and his badassery (XY and SM went a bit too much in each direction), with some teasing and praising, but not outright worshipping or insulting (bar Paul, obviously), I also liked OS ash's snarkiness (not sure how much of it was the dub though) and how he kinda had this "inferiotity superiority complex" he slowly came out of.

 

[Akkipeddi]

Kalos Ash pips Sinnoh Ash for me, though it's very close. I just felt Kalos Ash felt like a more 'refined' version of Sinnoh Ash. He might not have been that humourous and goofy in XYZ (since the series itself was like that), but I personally felt he still was fairly funny in XY, just less as a result of maturing a bit, and doing less stupid crap.

Also, Kalos Ash felt the most relevant in the local region's crisis, given that he was foreshadowed to play an important role in saving the region.

 

[DatsRight]

SM Ash stands for me, not just for a balance of goofy while still being competent...but how it is used. As in for substance and agency.

SM Ash is perhaps the first version of Ash that can hold episodes just on his own personality, as in without Team Rocket or any other cheap tricks dumbing everything down. His goofiness is played into an actual eccentricity, and his ability to be clever outside just battling, meaning he can lend his efforts well to different situations and even help out with the other companions' niches, making him a good supporting character as well. Not every climax has to end on 'Pikachu Thunderbolt!' with him.

Besides that I kinda like those 'dippy, but warm hearted and deceptively badass' type characters. I know I'm gonna get flamed for this, but I love SM Ash's more chibi design as well.

 

[Pokegirl Fan~]

AG Ash is when he peaked as a character imo, particularly in the Battle Frontier.

 

[NPT]

I'll have to go with Movie20/21 Ash. XY Ash comes in a close second.

 

[Alola Adventurer]

AG Ash and the AU version of Ash are tied for me, followed by SM Ash.

 

[Darthlord7]

It's a tie between AG and SM Ash in the first place followed by DP Ash.

 

[PokemonBattleFanatic-]

Hoenn/BF Ash is the most balanced version

 

[keepitsimple]

It's between DP and SM, leaning towards SM

 

[345ash-greninja]

XY Ash IMO, I found that version of Ash the most refined and admirable among all, and a rightful progression from his previous best self in DP. Trainer wise he was easily the most skilled in that saga, he 'thinking on his feet' was always ruthlessly effective in battles, the way he pulled out some amazing out-of-the-box tactics in battles to pull out wins from really adverse and tough situations. He seemed to have the maturity of a person who had the experience of travelling through 5 regions and saved the world from destruction countless times. He seemed to be a person who was always strongly focused his goal and hardworking, it was always evident from the get-go of the XY series when he started rigorously training with Fletchling and Pikachu after his loss to Viola. He seemed to be an insprational leader whom people could look up to during situations of crisis and despair, like how he stood up against Lysandre and gave an inspirational speech which ruthlessly pointed out the evilness of Lysandre's cruel motives, and how it revitalized and Alain, plus inspired both Alain and Malva, convincing them that the current world, though far from perfect, is worth fighting for. Overall as a character I find XY Ash the best among all iterations of Ash as a character/protagonist.

And don't tell me that he was too bland and boring as a character, who is devoid of any humour, because in comes Clemont's inventions and......Science is so amazing!!!

Overall, if I had to rank all the versions of Ash in order, then it goes like:

XY > DP > AG >> SM > OS >>> BW.

 

[PokemonBattleFanatic-]

To be more precise I'd go with Ash from his Hoenn journey

• Advanced
• Advanced Challenge
• Advanced Battle

Battle Frontier Ash was when he was truly started to become bland,but it was a lot more noticable in Sinnoh.

Hoenn Ash started taking battling and training more seriously compared to his Kanto/Johto versions,he made it all the way to the top 8 of the Hoenn League without the use of any of his reserves like Charizard,Snorlax,Bulbasaur etc.Character wise he became calmer but still showed glimpses of his old self from OS which is why I think this is the most balanced version.This would be the only version of Ash where I was sold on as a character and as a trainer/battler.

 

[Ignition]

Sinnoh Ash. This is the Ash that is most outgoing to train with his Pokémon. (Ik some will argue SM, but he is either telling them to trade/fire off attacks or shake their butts *cough* Rockruff and Litten *cough*). He focused on:
-Grotle's sudden loss in speed upon evolution + learning Energy Ball
-Infernape's Blaze
-Buizel's Ice Aqua Jet/learning Ice Punch
-Staravia learning Brave Bird
-Gliscor's gliding skills
-Gible's infamous inaccurate Draco Meteor
-So many amazing techniques like the Countershield(which were used by Dawn)
I also liked how he took losses to heart and actually reflected on them.

SM is really close to second place: his energy and commitment to help any Pokémon: wild or his own is really impressive. I'm just more of a fan of battling focus to his out of battle quirks.

 

[345ash-greninja]

Sinnoh Ash. This is the Ash that is most outgoing to train with his Pokémon. (Ik some will argue SM, but he is either telling them to trade/fire off attacks or shake their butts *cough* Rockruff and Litten *cough*). He focused on:
-Grotle's sudden loss in speed upon evolution + learning Energy Ball
-Infernape's Blaze
-Buizel's Ice Aqua Jet/learning Ice Punch
-Staravia learning Brave Bird
-Gliscor's gliding skills
-Gible's infamous inaccurate Draco Meteor
-So many amazing techniques like the Countershield(which were used by Dawn)
I also liked how he took losses to heart and actually reflected on them.

SM is really close to second place: his energy and commitment to help any Pokémon: wild or his own is really impressive. I'm just more of a fan of battling focus to his out of battle quirks.

Eh Infernape's Blaze got mastered via bond power and not really by any trainer skill/superiority. Gible's Draco Meteor mastering was also pretty much a cop out/DEM, it horribly failed to execute Draco Meteor successfully everytime before the League hurting poor Piplup, it was never close to mastering it prior to the League and suddenly in the Conway battle mastered it out of absolutely nowhere. Agreed with the rest of the examples though.

 

[Ashton Ketchum]

Of corse - Kalos Ash. He is not only cool, but also a consequence of his logical development throughout the series (well, let's forget a bit about the Unova Saga). And I hope for the return of this kind of Ash in the 8th generation (in the 23rd season).

 

[Ignition]

Eh Infernape's Blaze got mastered via bond power and not really by any trainer skill/superiority. Gible's Draco Meteor mastering was also pretty much a cop out/DEM, it horribly failed to execute Draco Meteor successfully everytime before the League hurting poor Piplup, it was never close to mastering it prior to the League and suddenly in the Conway battle mastered it out of absolutely nowhere. Agreed with the rest of the examples though.

That's fair. I was just clumping "specific flaws Ash worked on with his Pokémon over several episodes" and I totally forgot how Gible mastered DM. If I had to go to pure battling strength, however, Kalos Ash has that.

 

[345ash-greninja]

That's fair. I was just clumping "specific flaws Ash worked on with his Pokémon over several episodes" and I totally forgot how Gible mastered DM. If I had to go to pure battling strength, however, Kalos Ash has that.

Well Pikachu vs Aegislash at the League shouldn't be forgotten, that definitely required subtle and effective thinking to pull off with using the wooden logs to jam the Aegislash's shield to prevent it using King's Shield. Apart from brute strength XY Ash also displayed battling skill several times with the 'thinking on your feet' aspect to pull off out-of-the box tactics. DP Ash was more skillful as a tactician or how to plan a battle, the way he tended to switch out Pokemon on several occasions during a battle when he faced disadvantageous situations. DP Ash used many creative combo moves and improvised moves like Counter Shield, Ice Aqua Jet, Energy Ball swallow, Underground Flare Blitz, etc. but even in XY we got to see several similar move combos/improvised moves in various battles, like Rock Tomb Climb and Draco Meteor climb in the Grant gym battle, Aura Sphere climb in the Korrina battle, Froakie and Hawlucha's 'Super Flying Cut', Hawluch's spinning X-Scissor in the Valerie battle. etc. Both DP and XY Ash did display a lot of skill as a Pokemon trainer in various aspects.

 

[satopi]

I liked all of them as a character excluding later Kalos Ash but it's a tie between Ash in Hoenn and Alola. Of course I loved how Ash was in BW, always happy and energized, he could take a joke, and knew when it was time to butt heads. He had so much chemistry with Iris and Dento and it was fun to make fun of his shortcomings but he was always so adorable here. OS Ash was funny but he was always kind of a dick and really immature that he was annoying at times but it was heartwarming how he tries to be there for his Pokémon, how compassionate he is when one is in need.

I loved how in Hoenn, Ash was starting to mature. He could be calm and chill but when you pushed his buttons, he was ready to fight so he was rash in that area. He was kind of a mix between maturing to still having some of his old traits back in OS... and not the good kind lol. In Sinnoh, my heart couldn't take how emotional, upset, angry, at his wits' end, annoyed, stressed, and all types of sides Ash brought to the table. You really felt those immense feelings from beginning to end. When he overcame this obstacle, you could feel the sense of pride, joy, and triumph experienced.

In Kalos, I liked his earlier bromance with Clemont and his positive altitude to motivate everyone. I voted for Ash in Alola.

 

[Genaller]

Well Pikachu vs Aegislash at the League shouldn't be forgotten, that definitely required subtle and effective thinking to pull off with using the wooden logs to jam the Aegislash's shield to prevent it using King's Shield. Apart from brute strength XY Ash also displayed battling skill several times with the 'thinking on your feet' aspect to pull off out-of-the box tactics. DP Ash was more skillful as a tactician or how to plan a battle, the way he tended to switch out Pokemon on several occasions during a battle when he faced disadvantageous situation. DP Ash used many creative combo moves and improvised moves like Counter Shield, Ice Aqua Jet, Energy Ball swallow, Underground Flare Blitz, etc. but even in XY we got to see several similar move combos/improvised moves in various battles, like Rock Tomb Climb and Draco Meteor climb in the Grant gym battle, Aura Sphere climb in the Korrina battle, Froakie and Hawlucha's 'Super Flying Cut', Hawluch's spinning X-Scissor in the Valerie battle. etc. Both DP and XY Ash did display a lot of skill as a Pokemon trainer in various aspects.

Move Chaining: XY Ash
Decision Making Speed: XY Ash
Ingenuity: Equal
Pre-Planning: DP Ash
Foresight: XY Ash
Switching: DP Ash
Composure: XY Ash
Willpower: Equal or XY Ash

The reason I’m inclined to give XY Ash the edge in the last category is because him and A-G were able to break through Lysandre’s ME energy controlling device and it obviously wasn’t via brute strength since even 50% Zygarde couldn’t initially break through its control. DP Ash might be able to do the same but doesn’t quite have a comparable feat (his best willpower feats were against Tobias when he broke Sceptile out of DV and spurred Pikachu on as Volt Tackle was ploughing through Luster Purge). Overall XY Ash is definitively the better trainer though DP Ash is still competitive. If we rated each of the Ashes as a trainer for me it goes:

A+: XY Ash
A: DP Ash
B: BF Ash
B-: AG Ash, SM Ash
C+: Johto Ash
C: BW Ash
C-: OI Ash
D: Kanto Ash

I previously had SM Ash at B+ though the Nanu battle dropped him down. Hopefully he gets some good skill feats against Hapu and at the league.

 

[DatsRight]

Move Chaining: XY Ash
Decision Making Speed: XY Ash
Ingenuity: Equal
Pre-Planning: DP Ash
Foresight: XY Ash
Switching: DP Ash
Composure: XY Ash
Willpower: Equal or XY Ash

The reason I’m inclined to give XY Ash the edge in the last category is because him and A-G were able to break through Lysandre’s ME energy controlling device and it obviously wasn’t via brute strength since even 50% Zygarde couldn’t initially break through its control. DP Ash might be able to do the same but doesn’t quite have a comparable feat (his best willpower feats were against Tobias when he broke Sceptile out of DV and spurred Pikachu on as Volt Tackle was ploughing through Luster Purge). Overall XY Ash is definitively the better trainer though DP Ash is still competitive. If we rated each of the Ashes as a trainer for me it goes:

A+: XY Ash
A: DP Ash
B: BF Ash
B-: AG Ash, SM Ash
C+: Johto Ash
C: BW Ash
C-: OI Ash
D: Kanto Ash

I previously had SM Ash at B+ though the Nanu battle dropped him down. Hopefully he gets some good skill feats against Hapu and at the league.

What about Ash as a character? mehmeh1 pointed that out as the main factor here. (In fairness a good character can be a crap trainer and vice versa).

 

[Genaller]

What about Ash as a character? mehmeh1 pointed that out as the main factor here. (In fairness a good character can be a crap trainer and vice versa).

Yeah I was just responding to 345a-g and if you’ll notice his post talks about Ash as a trainer. Also I’ve always consider OS -> AG -> DP -> XY a progression for Ash as a character as well, so really I’d like all of them equally though since XY Ash represents the peak of Ash’s progression, I picked him. AG Ash would be his most “balanced” version though balanced =\= better.