Even to those with only a passing knowledge of Pokémon, the names Ash, Misty, and Brock should sound familiar. They were the main trio of Pokémon trainers in the anime adaptation of the popular game series. As such, the three occupy a special place in the hearts of first-generation Pokémon fans. Ash and Misty especially stood out for them. Being roughly the same age and traveling together for so long, TV viewers couldn'tಞ help but wonder if there was something more to the pair. Years of cartoons beforehand trained them to think the main boy and girl get together in the end. Would the same happen with Ash and Misty?
The two clearly had a strong relationship, but what kind of relationship was it? Did they really have romantic feelings toward one another, or was it just a platonic friendship? The writers of the various Pokémon continuities have always left the answer ambiguous, the anime particularly, but if their relationship is romantic, it sure is an odd romance. Almost of all of Misty and Ash's stories begin with her being abrasive and critical of the young Pokémon master, only to soften as time🅷 goes on. Also Ash keeps almost drowning around her.
So we've gone through as much Pokémon trivia as we could, looked at every continuity, to make this list about Ash and Misty's rocky relationship. Because whatever the original plans for the two were, they almost certainly changed. Whether due𝕴 to translation errors between English and Japanese, or differences in the characters' incarnations, or a dozen other reasons.
These are 25 Crazy Facts About Ash And Misty's Relationship In Pokémon.
25 ꧋ The Age Difference
Ash Ketchum is 10 years old. This is a fact as absolute as Earth's rotation around the sun. No matter how many years go by, Ash will always be 10 years old. Despite this, he's traveled with people both older and younger than him. Misty is one companion that's older. She's actually 13 compared to his 1🌄0.
This probably explains why she's slightly taller than Ash in the early seasons of the anime. At least she's 13 in The Electric Tale of Pikachu manga, a loose retelling of the anime. As the only source for Misty's age, we'♋re going to go with it.
24 She Hat♐es Bugs, Except Ash's 🌼
It's established early on in the anime that Misty hates Bug-type Pokémon. They're number one on the list of things she dislikes. Misty explains this as no Bug-types meeting her definition of "cute." There are some exceptions to her fear of ♛bugs though, and interestingly, they involve Ash. His Butterfree was the first Bug-type she ever took a liking to. Ironic, considering she hurt its feeling back when it was a Caterpie. Misty also wasn't afraid of Ash's Heracross during the Johto arc. It could be that she finds these bugs cute, but her feelings toward Ash could be another reason.
23 🅺 The Declaration Of Love That Was Cut
Pokémon as we know it could have ended very differently. The original anime was actually supposed to end after Ash won the Indigo League, wi💎th the first movie being the big finale. In the original script, the movie was supposed to end with an older Misty telling her daughter about "a bꦡoy she once loved."
This older Misty is also seen with a Pikachu. The implication, of course, being that this boy was Ash. But the series' massive popularity meant the anime would continue and this script was thrown out. A trailer featuring the scene is stꦺill floating around the Internet though.
22 Their Gym Battle Was Way Different In 🔯The Manga꧂
The Electric Tale of Pikachu manga got pretty wild at times. One of those times was Ash's gym battle with Misty. Instead of the standard battle, it's more of a challenge. Misty's Gyarados steals Ash's hat and she explains that if one of his Pokemon can get it back, she'll give🍒 him the badge. Then all of Ash's Pokémon let him down. Pikachu's too scared to move, his Pidgeotto abruptly goes on vacation, and his Fearow comes out of its Pokéball asleep. Ash ultimately wins by throwing a dumpling at Misty's head, getting hi🍷s Fearow to attack her and get his hat back.
21 Missing Dads ꦍ
It's an old joke in the Pokémon fanbase that Ash's൩ dad has abandoned him. What꧟ exactly became of Mr. Ketchum is unknown but if he did run out on his family, it would be something Ash has in common with Misty. Both of her parents abandoned her.
As the story goes, Misty's p𝓀arents were the original gym leaders of the Cerulean City gym. But the strict regulations put on Gym Leaders forced them to leave their daughters and their gym behind. With nowhere else to go, Misty and her sisters became the new gym leaders. That's pretty harsh for teenagers.
20 Mistyꦜ's Other Boyfriend 💎
The Pokémon games are where you'll find the most differences from the anime. That makes sense, considering the player character has to be the lead. One of the biggest differences with Misty is that she actually has a boyfriend in the games. The Player can annoy her on a date in Silver & Gold. The two are chilling on the beach in Cerulean Cape. We know nothing about who this guy is either. He doe♓sn't even get a name. He can't be Red, the game version of Ash, because Red is the final boss. Who are you, Misty's mystery man?
19 ꦗ 🔯 Counting The Water-Types
Different Pokémon gyms specialize in different Pokémon types. As a Gym leader then, Misty is such a specialist with Water-types in her case. She is a master of Water-types, and was the only female Water-type master in the series until Lana. Despite her specialization though, both she and Ash have the same amount of water-type Pokemon. They're both currently tied at nine. In fairness to Misty, she's always had a significant lead over Ash. Back in the Indigo League days, she had six water-types to Ash's tꦏhree. He didn't catch up to her until he caught his Froakie in Kalos.
18 The Song Of Lo🍒ve ♔
Those fans wanting to ship Ash and Misty have had no trouble finding evidence. In one case, they were handed some on a silver platter. Released in 1999, the album Pokémon 2.B.A. Master featured original songs based on the anime with the English voice actors. Included on the album was Misty's Song, where she sings about how much she wants to tell Ash she loves him, but is too afraid that he'll break her heart to do it. It was even performed during the Pokémon Live! stage show that toured t💜he US in 2000. Shippers have made it their anthem ever since.
17 Just꧒ Friends ღ
Whether Ash and Misty have romantic feelings for each other has always been vague. As far as the anime is concerned, they're just very good friends. Close, sure, but not romantic. This didn't stop people from assuming they were together. During the Orange Islands a﷽rc, it even became a running gag of people bringing an attraction up only for one of them to angrily deny it. The best example is probably when Ash got a ceremonial kiss in the 🔥second movie and Misty seemed jealous. If they did have feelings for each other, they never acted on it.
16 When She Saved Him ♎From Drowning
Okay, technically she saved Red from the Pokémon Adventures manga from drowning, but Red is the manga's equivalent of Ash. Same difference. Anyway, after beating Misty Red tried crossing the ocean only to be attacked by a Dragonite and nearly drowned. That was when ♏Misty appeared on her Gyarados, fought off the Dragonite, and rescued Red.
Presumabl💝y oxygen-deprived, he mistook her for a mermaid. How's that for shipping fuel? Misty then scolded him for not asking for her help crossing the ocean and trained Red to ride her Gyarados. She traded it to him 🐎for his Krabby and wished him luck.