The Untold Journey: How Ash Almost Became the Master Pokémon Trainer

The famous saying of Pokémon, "gotta catch 'em all," is well-known to everyone. However, considering the anime, one might wonder how successful the former protagonist, Ash, was in actually achieving this goal, especially now that his journey has come to an end.

At the time Ash's adventure concluded, the number of known Pokémon had exceeded 1,000. It is important to note that Ash never had the opportunity to visit Paldea, so it would be unfair to include those Pokémon in his count. Among the regions that Ash did explore, there were a total of 898 distinct Pokémon species that he could have potentially captured. If we exclude the 80 Legendary and Mythical Pokémon (excluding Meltan/Melmetal) which are typically depicted as unattainable in the anime, this leaves us with a potential total of 818 Pokémon that Ash could have potentially added to his collection.

Ash Never Caught 'Em All, But He Wasn't Meant To

Throughout the series, Ash actually captured only 57 unique Pokémon, which accounts for approximately 7% of the total Pokémon available to him. However, this isn't the complete picture. When considering evolutions, Ash's collection expands to 98 Pokémon, a more respectable 12%, but still far from encompassing all species. Additionally, there are some ambiguous situations to consider, such as the brief ownership of a Raticate for 15 minutes or the Rotom from his Rotom Pokédex. Even with these instances, the total count only reaches an additional 7, bringing it to a total of 105. On the other hand, Goh, who was introduced in Journeys, outperforms Ash by capturing 108 Pokémon in just a few years, including Legendary Pokémon. When evolutions are taken into account, Goh's count reaches 116.

Ash's primary objective has always been to become a Pokémon Master, a goal that was vaguely defined and often assumed to involve capturing as many Pokémon as possible. However, this has never been Ash's approach. Since the beginning, he has focused on developing personal connections with each of his Pokémon, something that becomes challenging when one's team becomes too large. The act of capturing every Pokémon encountered would undermine the series' messages about friendship and trust, as it recognizes Pokémon as sentient beings with their own desires and needs. In the series finale, Ash concludes that being a Pokémon Master means having the ability to establish a bond with all Pokémon, rather than merely capturing them all. This is a goal he is much closer to achieving.

Ahs's Goal Is Actually The Opposite Of "Catching Them All"

Ash ultimately failed to capture all of the Pokémon, managing to secure only a mere fraction of the total population. Nevertheless, the show owes much of its success to Ash's unique approach to training and forming deep connections with Pokémon. This would have been impossible had he caught every creature he encountered. By allowing each Pokémon to possess its own distinct personality, the series succeeded in winning over fans who might not have otherwise been drawn to certain species. While Ash Ketchum's quest to catch them all may have concluded without reaching its intended goal, the conclusion aligned more harmoniously with the overarching themes of the show, which ultimately proved to be the optimal outcome.