With hundreds upon hundreds of episodes in the making, and no signs of slowi𓂃ng down,ᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚ the Pokémon anime may not have the same reputation as the games it’s based off of, but it’s nonetheless a juggernaut, compelling fans of all ages to get together and watch Ash endure an endless quest to become a Pokémon Master. With years of content to wade through and an endless number of character constantly being introduced, it’s not unusual for fans to latch onto certain characters. Especially those close to the main ⛄chara💜cter. Even though she’s not often relevant, Delia is easily one of the more popular characters in the anime.
It’s really not hard to see why, honestly. She has a great design, is home to some of the funniest lines in both the sub and dub, and she’s endlessly endearing, cheering her son on from all corners. Delia is the pinnacle of anime motherhood and this naturally attracts viewers to her. Given her infrequent appearances, though, it can be difficult to get 🌠a proper grasp of the character. Just who is Delia? What was her life like before Ash? What’s her relationship like with Ash’s father? Older than most of the cast, but young enough where her youth is still fresh, Delia makes up one of the more fascinating characters in theꦆ franchise.
25 Delia Makes All Of Ash’s Clothes
Starting with Advanced Generation, Ash began getting new outfits for every region he’d visit. For a time, it was debated his Hoenn look would remain the new default indefinit💟ely, but that wღas quickly debunked by his trip to Sinnoh. What’s most interesting about these regional outfits, though, is the fact that Delia personally makes them.
Everyone needs a seamstress in their life.
At the end of every season, Ash always returns home to Kanto to catch up with some familiar faces: ജmost notably, his mother. Before he sets off on another adventure, he makes sure to touch base at home where Delia presents him with a new outfit she’s made for him. This has been the case for every post-Johto region and will likely continue until the series ends.
24 Delia Was Oak’s Top Student
Pokémon 3: The Movie, otherwise known as Spell of the Unknown, was perhaps the first film in the series to actually pull off telling a story with an emotional core. The first movi🌠e tends to get a bit of praise for its characterization of Mewtwo, but there’s a notable human center missing. The r𒐪eason 3 succeeds 🐈so much is in large part due to Delia’s expanded role.
Rather than just using an all new cast of secondary characters for the film, Delia is promoted to a major player. Not only is it revealed that she trained under Oak, she was also one of his top students. This ties her directly into the main plot, allowing her role to be expanded while also connecting her to t𝔍he movie’s antagonist. Though we’ll touch upon that later.
23 Delia Had Ash At 18 Or 19
It seems strange for ♔an anime targeted specifically at children to include this kind of detail, but even the English dub can’t get around the fact that Delia was quite young when she had Ash. Granted, 18 is an adult so it isn’t nearly as surprising as it could have been, but it✅ certainly adds another layer to her character and relationship with Ash.
Delia has always had a rather “young” look and personality within the series, and the fact she had Ash so young explains that. She’s just as much of a friend to him as she is a mother. Their bond is one inherently friendly and the two often joke around with one another. As Ash matures o🍌ver the course of the series, it’s also interesting to note just how childish Delia can be in comparison to him.
22 Delia’s Relationship With Spencer Hale
The focal point of the third film, Spencer Hale is the closest thing the movie has to an antagonist. He actively drives the plot, and his relationship with the world at large which dictates the progression of the fil🍒m. Interestingly, it’s revealed in the movie that Delia and Spencer were st🧸udents of Professor Oak. While it’s insinuated Spencer was the more impressive student as he went on to conduct active research, it’s actually implied that Delia and Spencer were genuine equals.
As🧜 far as Ash’s father theories go, Spencer’s not a bad bet. Sure, he’s married by the events of the movies- or at least was- but that doesn’t mean he and Delia didn’t spark a romance. Bes﷽ides, Delia quit being a trainer while she was still studying with Hale. The main counter theory is that Delia tells Ash his father is still on a journey and she never with mentions any potential parentage to him when Hale comes into the picture, but you could theorize ways around that.
21 Delia’s Relationship With Ash’s Father Is Presumably Fine
It’s quite strange, but Ash’s father is only mentioned once and only in passing. In the anime’s second episode, Delia mentions that Ash’s father is still on♐ his Pokémon journey and we never hear from or about him again. Ash never laments on his father’s status and Delia never brings it up again. This is likely a holdover from the anime only being ꦅone season originally, but it’s what thinking on.
The biggest implication given how Delia mentions him is, despite his missing status, their relationship is actually fine. Delia could just be saving face to spare her son’s feelings, but she’s far too earnest and sincere of a character to do that to Ash. All signs point to Ash’s father being a likable figure in their household despite the f🅷act he doesn’t actually interact with his family. Maybe Delia’s just a bigger person.
20 Delia Knows How To Use Ash’s Pokémon
Even though trading makes up a large part of the Pokémon world, especially in the games when compared to the anime, it’s still seen as a big deal whenever a trainer manages to properly use another’s Pokémon. In the𒁃 anime particularly, the bonds between trainers and their Pokémon are accentuated even more so. For Delia to be able to use Ash’s Pokémon, and competently 𓄧at that, is a massive deal.
The anime sees Delia using Ash’s Litten at one point and she’s able to use him as if Litten were her own. It could be said that the inher🅘ent bond between Delia and Ash allows for Litten to trust Delia, but keep in mind that the in-universe explanation for Pokémon respecting trainers who didn’t catch them is whether or not they have badgeꩲs. Delia has no badges and Litten still listen to her anyways. She’s just that good.
19 Delia Could Have Been A Better Trainer Than Ash
Brock mentions rather early on that Delia would make a legitimately great trainer thanks to her all-around persistence. At the time, given Delia’s early characterization, you’re meant to just take it as a joke. Delia’s persistent, sure, but good enough to be a trainer? When learning she was actually one of Oak’s pupils, and a t♐op one at that, Brock’s claim starts to make quite a bit of sense.
This idea is driven even further ♌by the few moments we see Delia take control and battle. Chronicles consistently portrayed her far more competently than the main series ever did, and the few moments she takes controls of Ash’s Pokémon in the anime show that she knows exactly what she’s doing. If Delia didn’t have♏ Ash atܫ such a young age and neglected her Pokémon training, she could have easily surpassed her son.
18 Delia Is Amazingly Skilled In Chronicles
In an attempt to expand the world and lor𝓀e o✅f the anime, Pokémon briefly spun off into a side series called Chronicles. Rather th🌞an focusing on Ash's ad🍒ventures to become a Pokémon Master, Chronicles was anไ anthology series that foll💮owed other trainers, often jumping between perspectives to demonstrate that Ash was not, in fact, the center of the Pokémon universe.
One such episode featured Delia facing off against Team Rocket mainstays, Butch and Cassidy. Perhaps surprisingly, although not really if you’ve been paying attention to her character, Delia puts up an incredible fight in fending off the Rocket grunts. It’s important to remember that Butch and Cassidy are basically hyper competent versions of Jesse an🦄d James. For Delia to so much as put up a fight is a feat in itself.
17 They Changed Delia's Character
Although later seasons begin to show a more competent depiction of Delia, especially after the third movie, the early episodes of the anime featured quite a different Delia. Instead of being an experience Pokémon trainer who trained under Professor Oak for many years, Delia was totally oblivious 🔯to the inner workings of the Pokémon world.
Ditzy and dumb just don't make a compelling character.
Basic concepts befuddled her and she often found herself unable to keep up with the logistics of her son’s adventure. It’s even implied that she doesn’t fully comprehend her husband’s own Pokémon journey, seemingly content with him traveling a world without end. It runs in direct contrast to later characterization with no real way to reconcile the two depictions of the chara✅cter.
16 Delia Loves Pikachu More Than Ash
For as much as Delia loves Ash, and she genuinely does love her son, she loves Pikachu all the more. Whether it be because she was once Professor Oak’s star pupil thus giving her a natural affinity to Pokémon or simply because Pikachu is ♓irresistibly lovable, she consistently gives Pikachu more attention whenever she’s reunited with 🌞her son.
Of course, it makes sense to some degree. Despite spanning decades of seasons, not much tim𒈔e actually passes in the anime’s universe. If one were to consider each region a year, Ash wouldn’t even be 18 by this point meaning th🔴at Pikachu is still relatively young, especially since it’s implied Pokémon live a rather long time. Why wouldn’t you give more attention to the baby of the family?