PorcelainVulpix
currently watching LOK
Clearly Paul and Ash had an unbreakable bond
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Who is Ash’s best friend? (Besides Pikachu)
- Thread starter PorcelainVulpix
- Start date
Clearly Paul and Ash had an unbreakable bond
PorcelainVulpix
currently watching LOK
It’s really hard to decide if they would have a strong friendship imo. We don’t know much about what their friendship was like before they became rivals but we do know that Ash couldn’t stand Gary when they were rivals until they squashed the rivalry. I guess you could argue that Ash and Misty couldn’t stand each other either at one point before they became friends so the possibility goes for him and Gary as well. We just haven’t seen much of Gary post OS
If I had to rank the friendship in tiers it'd probably be:
High tier: Misty/Brock, Dawn
Mid/high tier: Clemont, Kiawe (I guess?)
Mid/low tier: Serena, Bonnie, Lillie, Lana (again, I guess, it's hard to tell really)
Low tier: May, Max, Iris, Cilan, Mallow, Sophocles, Tracey
Granted Ash likes all his friends, so even the ones in low tier he'd probably consider himself really close to, but there just wasn't as much bond between the ones on the bottom as everyone else.
High tier: Misty/Brock, Dawn
Mid/high tier: Clemont, Kiawe (I guess?)
Mid/low tier: Serena, Bonnie, Lillie, Lana (again, I guess, it's hard to tell really)
Low tier: May, Max, Iris, Cilan, Mallow, Sophocles, Tracey
Granted Ash likes all his friends, so even the ones in low tier he'd probably consider himself really close to, but there just wasn't as much bond between the ones on the bottom as everyone else.
satopi
Life doesn’t end, …it changes.
I’d like to think his best friend is Gary. They were childhood friends and rivals and have steadily saw each other evolve by maturing and setting different goals in mind. They seem to have a unique vibe with their relationship that separates his relationships with his other friends.
As for Pokémon, I’ll go with Greninja (something about their bond being emphasized in the past saga makes me think this even though I know it’s just to make him stronger), Infernape because of how hard he pushed himself, his SM team (Rowlet, Lycanroc, and Torracat, possibly Poipole too because of their bond), Charizard (and his OS team), or Butterfree. It’s so hard when he has such strong bonds with most of his Pokémon. We know Pikachu is his most precious partner and friend but outside of Pikachu, it’s difficult to determine. It’s probably Charizard.
As for Pokémon, I’ll go with Greninja (something about their bond being emphasized in the past saga makes me think this even though I know it’s just to make him stronger), Infernape because of how hard he pushed himself, his SM team (Rowlet, Lycanroc, and Torracat, possibly Poipole too because of their bond), Charizard (and his OS team), or Butterfree. It’s so hard when he has such strong bonds with most of his Pokémon. We know Pikachu is his most precious partner and friend but outside of Pikachu, it’s difficult to determine. It’s probably Charizard.
Ash is the only one that’s asking about Tracey! He explicitly stated he misses him! How could you rank his friendship lower than freaking Bonnie?! They barely interacted! This friendship tier is rigged! If anything, the ones who are placed in mid tier needs to be replaced with most of the low tier characters! No way Clemont has a stronger bond than May, Max, Iris, or TRACEY when they stopped having chemistry after he lost to Ash in his own Gym.
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Dream Lad
Banned
I think the responses in this thread are exactly why a previous companion should rejoin Ash in Galar. Brock is the easy #1 because he has been at Ash's side for so long. It would be cool to see somebody like Dawn, Serena, or Lillie accompany Ash for another region and continue building up that friendship.
satopi
Life doesn’t end, …it changes.
I love Brock, I really do but he’ll revert back to being here just to give out basic information about a Pokémon or the region through a guidebook like James does and be lusting after young/older girls. And a past traveling companion can’t rejoin unless they have some business to do but it’s mainly because they’re off doing their own thing and they’re the playable character from the previous gen games. If any traveling companion should return, it should be Lillie. I think Brock should stay gone. Him not being part of the cast permanently has done wonders for him. Serena is improving herself by herself and I’d rather not see her crush gag for another saga and Dawn is a fully experienced Trainer. What else could she bring to the table and improve on when she’s built her team of Pokémon and participate mainly in Contests. Lillie is still a novice who has barely battled and only has one Pokémon. I could see her continuing her journey with Ash. SM is her saga where we learn about her backstory and family history while SW&SH is her starting to get serious about battling and catching new Pokémon while Ash is mentoring her just as he did with May & Dawn.
Nope, Clemont and Ash's "bromance" got plenty of scenes and moments even in late XY.
As for May, well the whole Ash/May mentor stuff kinda fizzled out as Hoenn progressed. After May got more into Drew, Harley and her Contests, you can tell her bond with Ash diminished. The writers pretty much showed this in late AG and Battle Frontier, where May actively started ignoring Ash when Drew showed up...lol
VoltTacklingPika
Well-Known Member
I'm gonna go with my man Brock.
The show will never highlight one companion as being closer to Ash than anyone else, but considering the amount of time Ash and Brock have spent together, and how much they trust and understand one another, it's a safe bet they're very close friends. I'd include Misty in this, too, even though she stopped travelling with Ash a while a go. Ash's reaction to saying goodbye to both of them at the end of Johto speaks volumes, and it's notable that he never got as upset again when saying goodbye to his other companions.
The show will never highlight one companion as being closer to Ash than anyone else, but considering the amount of time Ash and Brock have spent together, and how much they trust and understand one another, it's a safe bet they're very close friends. I'd include Misty in this, too, even though she stopped travelling with Ash a while a go. Ash's reaction to saying goodbye to both of them at the end of Johto speaks volumes, and it's notable that he never got as upset again when saying goodbye to his other companions.
Dream Lad
Banned
I should have clarified. I meant that a large part of why Brock (and Misty to a lesser degree) are always going to be at the top is because of how long they traveled with Ash and with their subsequent reappearances. Obviously Ash had a great relationship with both of them too, but if Misty and Brock (hypothetically if it was him not Tracey) left after Orange Islands and never returned to the main anime again except for one two-episode cameo, opinions would be different I imagine.
I think there's always room for further development of a friendship with previous companions returning. Dawn and Ash would always play off each other well. A more independent Serena, definitely. Lillie as you mentioned for the reasons stated.
Ash has so many friends now that they start to become less memorable. Brock and Misty will always be iconic. But the others? Dawn was popular at the time, but it's been some time since she was referenced. Serena will be remembered for her crush, but that will eventually become irrelevant if she never shows up again.
The oldest characters will generally be the most remembered because the anime itself was far more popular then and in the early/mid 2000's. May is the most watched/viewed female companion worldwide after Misty, and she's already remained popular decades after she left the show. And as said, if Serena didn't have the crush aspect her character probably would not have stuck out as much in the end, especially as we get years away from XY.
Zoruagible
Lover of underrated characters
I'd say a three way tie between Dawn, Brock, and Charizard
Dawn = Brock = Charizard > Gary = May = Misty = Kiawe and Soph > Others
The XY companions blindly idolized him, I wouldn't consider them close to anyone above. They'd be considered the "Ash fan club" along with the majority of Kalos! And his bond with the female classmates ain't nothing special, it actually feels like he's close to Kiawe and Soph though, proper bros!
Dawn = Brock = Charizard > Gary = May = Misty = Kiawe and Soph > Others
The XY companions blindly idolized him, I wouldn't consider them close to anyone above. They'd be considered the "Ash fan club" along with the majority of Kalos! And his bond with the female classmates ain't nothing special, it actually feels like he's close to Kiawe and Soph though, proper bros!
I dunno, after like the first 30-40 eps of AG, I'd say the Ash/May interactions were the most forgettable of all the main girls, and I say this as someone who really liked them. Once the Contests got underway, May drifted from Ash completely. She was more into her rivals than Ash for most of AG.
It's also probably why May's departure didn't have her sad or anything, she wanted to split from Ash and follow her rivals to Johto. It's noticeable how "brief" May's goodbye was compared to Misty/Dawn/Serena, who all got longer goodbyes in the show with flashbacks and everything. Really only Max looked sad, May was like, "Well....see ya!"
I actually think May's goodbye scene at the end of the Wallace Cup when she was waving goodbye to everyone was better than her "real" goodbye at the end of AG.
It's also probably why May's departure didn't have her sad or anything, she wanted to split from Ash and follow her rivals to Johto. It's noticeable how "brief" May's goodbye was compared to Misty/Dawn/Serena, who all got longer goodbyes in the show with flashbacks and everything. Really only Max looked sad, May was like, "Well....see ya!"
I actually think May's goodbye scene at the end of the Wallace Cup when she was waving goodbye to everyone was better than her "real" goodbye at the end of AG.
horrahforyou
Pokemon and Kamen Rider is life
Misty and Brock Hands Down. They are the longest companions for the whole Series, so I bet their friendship were rock solid. Brock spends more time with Ash in four regions. While Misty, despite she goes back to Cerulean city during Ash's journey in Hoenn, she returns occasionally, and as far a I remember Pokéshipping was a very popular shipping with Ash, until Serena came.
MockingJ
Banned
If by friend we're including rivals then Gary, but if we're strictly talking about Ash's traveling buddies then I would go with Brock since they spent the most time together and always had each other's backs. I would've said Misty as well but she seemed more like a love interest than a best friend.
VoltTacklingPika
Well-Known Member
Slightly off topic, but that's AG in a nutshell for me. It followed the most popular era of the show and preceded what many consider to be one of the best seasons, so it ends up being forgotten.
Anyway, I think Ash/May is interesting when compared to Ash/Dawn, as I feel like May was the prototype for Dawn in many ways. She was the first companion to be a newbie trainer, the first to have her own dedicated arc that ran parallel to Ash's and not secondary to it, and the first to have her own set of rivals. The difference, though, was that AG was packaged as if it was primarily Ash and friends still, whereas DP eventually became the Ash and Dawn show and made sure everyone knew about it.
The difference in emphasis shows. May was notably independent, compared to other companions. She followed her interests and the moment Contests came around, she was pretty much in a different world. Ultimately, she wanted to part with Ash and Brock to do her own thing, which I think was really characteristic of her (and Ash and Brock knew this, which is why they weren't that upset about it). With Dawn, though, because she was a double act with Ash, it felt like their separation had to be sappier.
Pound-for-pound, I actually don't think Dawn is closer to Ash than May is, but when you have things like High Touch and a boat-load of promotional material featuring both of them, I can't blame anyone for considering Dawn to be one of Ash's closest companions.
He doesn't really mention them the most in "following seasons," he almost never brings up old friends. Ash never mentioned Brock when he left to the point that during Dawn's BW cameo, it was Dawn who brought up Brock in a flashback and Iris/Cilan asked, "Who is Brock?" proving Ash never once mentioned Brock to them for the 100+ eps of BW before that. Then of course in XY he never mentioned them. And in SM had they not have shown up, he would not have spoken of them either. Closest you have to a mention of Misty is the lure in DP, I'm pretty sure the few Misty references in AG were all dub inventions, like the one in the Jirachi movie or the one in early AG. Ash never mentions old friends to new ones in general till they show up.
I'm actually struggling to remember a time Ash brings up old companions and it almost never happens.
It's not that it's forgotten, it's just that AG is very old now (it started 17 years ago after all), and all the discussion about it has been done online for decades. May and her rivals have the largest following of the show in terms of fanart/posts/fanfics among the majority of characters, and Ash's Hoenn pokemon and certain episodes remain well liked. It's just as you said, there's not much to discuss anymore. Already DP discussions have died down over the last decade, and the same will happen to any saga that gets too old in the past. Plus all the old users online aren't in the fandom anymore, as most are around 30 year old adults now and moved on from the series in general.
The writers promoted Ash/Dawn so much in terms of a duo on DP advertisements, posters, theme songs, etc....it's pretty obvious why people thought that. Brock being left out in DP a lot helped too because it felt like was barely there.
May was written as a slightly more active Misty, but didn't get as much promotions and focus as Dawn, or as much emphasis as later characters like Serena with her crush, or arguably even Iris.