Character Debuts: Ritchie – Ritchie is basically Ash just…better…I call him Better Ash. He’s a better Trainer….smarter….a more likable person…..he even kinda has a better character design, to be honest.
And for those who don’t know of Ritchie, know that I am not even kidding. Ritchie was essentially designed to be an alt!Ash. His (confirmed) roster is entirely Pokemon Ash has had at one point or another with the only one he hasn’t had (Pupitar – in Johto) being an evo of a Pokemon he had.
His Japanese name is also Hiroshi while Ash’s is Satoshi. Admittedly, though, I don’t think 4Kids made an effort to do the same with his English name as I don’t see how ‘Ritchie’ is a counter to ‘Ash.’
Then again, what are really their options in that realm? Call him ‘Dash Trainem’?
His color scheme rounds out the Gen I Pokemon game colors since Ash’s color scheme is red and blue while Ritchie’s is yellow and green.
And, of course, his partner Pokemon is a Pikachu. His Pikachu just has a bit of ruffled fur on the top of his head.
His only negative distinction from Ash is that his roster kinda sucks……when Ash’s roster also sucks, but somehow not as much. Ritchie’s Pokemon are great and very well-trained, but the only full-evo Pokemon he has is Butterfree….friggin’ Butterfree.
He has to have more powerful Pokemon we just haven’t seen yet. I refuse to believe he has a worse evo and capture track record than Ash.
Otherwise, he also is a bit of a rarity in the Pokemon world because he marks his Pokeballs with star stickers and nicknames all of his Pokemon, something you’d think every Pokemon Trainer would do, but they don’t.
However, don’t get me wrong. He might be ‘Better Ash’ but I’m still not a huge Ritchie fan. He’s a better Ash, but that’s not a huge compliment. I like him quite a bit, but there’s not much to love. Because of the fact that he is basically just a multiverse clone of Ash, he doesn’t really have all that much to him to make him stand out besides his nicknaming and star Pokeballs.
Supposedly, he does show a love of research and Pokemon folklore way down the line in Master Quest, but that’s about it.
Their friendship also isn’t nearly as impacting as the show makes it out to be.
I agree with Dogasu in saying, if they really wanted us to feel tension with the cliffhanger ending of Ritchie and Ash being paired up in the next battle, they should have introduced him much earlier. If their theory on why they didn’t is true (that the high-profile voice actor, Minami Takayama, might have been too expensive to get regularly (or they couldn’t get enough time on her schedule.) I guess I understand, but this is a fairly short arc. I feel like they could have squeaked this storyline in earlier, put him in here and there throughout the prelims, then given him one more episode of focus before the big reveal.
Instead, we get one episode and one day to build their friendship. Why do they even like each other so much? I get why Ash likes Ritchie. He’s a very skilled Pokemon Trainer, he’s an extremely smart kid, he’s mature, he’s a good traveler and survivalist. But why does Ritchie like Ash? Just because they both like Pokemon and use a lot of the same Pokemon?
I guess that’s perfectly reasonable for ten-year-olds, I think we’ve all made friendships just based on mutual liking of one thing as children, but in a story where the bond between these two is important, I think you need more than that.
At this juncture, Ritchie is basically Sam from Movie 04 (or maybe I should say he’s a proto-Sam given that Ritchie came much earlier). Ash and Ritchie develop this strong friendship in record time (Exactly one day) and we’re supposed to feel all emotional or tense when it turns out that Ash’s fifth League match is against Ritchie same as when Ash meets Sam and they develop this strong friendship in record time (Exactly one day) and we’re supposed to feel all emotional when Sam has to separate from Ash to go back to his own time.
As a funny note in that regard, they’re both voiced in English by Tara Sands.
I enjoy Ritchie quite a bit as a character, and he’s still Better Ash to me, but I never felt all that much from his friendship with Ash, to be honest.
Pokemon: Pikachu, Charmander, later Charmeleon, Butterfree, later Pupitar and Taillow. A later clip shows he also has either a Spearow or a Tentacool, which makes either one the only Pokemon Ritchie has that Ash has never owned, although if he has a Spearow that could be an attempt to mirror Ash’s Pidgeotto. While not canon, Ritchie is mentioned to have an Eevee in the dub much later.
Plot: Ash, Misty, Brock, Delia and Oak enjoy a meal courtesy of Delia…cooked in a nearby hotel…to celebrate Ash completing the preliminary rounds of the tournament. They enter the elevator and a boy named Ritchie joins them. He seems very familiar with Pikachu as he knows how to pet Ash’s without causing Pikachu to shock him.
A power outage halts the elevator, but Ritchie seemingly knows exactly what to do. After fiddling with some wires, he asks to borrow Ash’s Pikachu to power the elevator enough to get them to the lobby. He does so, and they’re all able to get out. After properly introducing themselves to each other, Ritchie takes his leave.
A little while later, a strange van drives through Pokemon League Village declaring to all of the Trainers that all participants in the Pokemon League must submit their Pokeballs for inspection. Anyone who fails to inspect their Pokemon will be disqualified.
The man and woman from the van stop in the center of the village. Ash finds Ritchie at the inspection spot, indicating he’s in the tournament as well. The Trainers all dump their Pokeballs into a bag. The woman picks up Ash’s Pikachu to put him into the bag as well but gets shocked. The man slips and refers to the woman as Jessie, revealing them to be Team Rocket.
With a Smokescreen from Weezing, and with all of the Trainers’ Pokeballs in hand, Team Rocket manages to escape.
Ash and Ritchie chase after them anyway. In a panic to save Pikachu, Ash rushes down a steep hill. Ritchie warns him to be careful, but Ash won’t listen. Ritchie speeds up enough to tackle Ash to get him to stop, infuriating Ash and prompting him to push Ritchie. Ritchie points out that he stopped him because he was going so fast he was sure to run straight off the cliff in front of them. Despite this, Ash is annoyed at Ritchie.
Still, they manage to cut Team Rocket off and force them off the road, leading them to driving down a river.
Night falls, and Ash and Ritchie still haven’t found Team Rocket despite following the river. They decide to stop and camp for the night instead of wandering around in the dark.
As they get a fire going, Ash gains some clarity and apologizes for pushing Ritchie earlier. He just gets crazy when it comes to Pokemon. He and Ritchie bond over their mutual love of Pokemon as they imagine Pokemon shapes in the stars.
The next morning, Ash and Ritchie luck out and find Team Rocket’s tire tracks coming out of the river. They follow the tracks and find Team Rocket’s camp with Team Rocket fast asleep. They sneak past Team Rocket and into the van to find the bag of Pokeballs. Ash reunites with Pikachu, but Team Rocket pops up at the door behind them, trapping them in. They lock the door and start the van.
With the van in motion and the door locked, Ash and Ritchie are at Team Rocket’s mercy, but they have one ace up their sleeve – the bag of Pokeballs. However, Ash can’t tell which Pokeballs are his.
Luckily, Ritchie can because he marks all of his Pokeballs with star emblems.
Ash throws a random Pokeball he believes is Bulbasaur’s, but it turns out to be another Trainer’s Drowzee. Another turns out to be a Slowbro, and yet another is a Magikarp.
Using his keen nose, Pikachu sniffs out Ash’s Pokeballs. The first one he throws is Bulbasaur’s, and he commands him to use Tackle on the wall of the van. It fails. Next he tries a Razor Leaf, but that also fails.
Ritchie steps in to try with one of his Pokemon, Zippo, a Charmander. With a powerful Slash attack, Zippo demolishes the wall separating the cab of the van from the cargo bay. Jessie calls out Arbok, but Ash sends in Pikachu with a Thunderbolt. James counters by sending Pikachu off balance by sharply turning the van, allowing Arbok to smack Pikachu away.
Ritchie sends out Sparky – a Pikachu – to help in the fight. Together, they use Double Team to confuse Arbok with after-images. While Arbok is perplexed, they assault it with a dual Thunderbolt. The jolt defeats Arbok and blows up the engine, sending Team Rocket blasting off. However, that leaves Ash and Ritchie on a van going at a high speed around a mountain without any controls, and they’re about to drive off a cliff.
Ash sends out Pidgeotto while Ritchie sends out his Butterfree, Happy. Ritchie says they should use them as Pokemon parachutes to help them gently fall to the ground since the little Pokemon aren’t quite powerful enough to keep them airborne for long.
The van plunges over the cliff, and Ash and Ritchie are safe in the air while hanging on to their Pokemon. However, they’re too heavy for Butterfree and Pidgeotto, causing them to descend too quickly. Ritchie tells Ash that they should use Whirlwind toward the ground to help decrease their falling speed.
They do so, and they safely make it back to the ground.
Just then, four jeeps arrive with all of the Trainers from the Pokemon League, Officer Jenny, and Misty and Brock. They’re able to safely return everyone’s Pokemon and head back.
As they arrive back at the stadium, it’s time for everyone to select their next opponents for the fifth match. They decide this by having the competitors fish for Magikarp that have special numbers written on them. Ash catches his, and he’s shocked to see that Ritchie will be his next opponent. Do they have it within themselves to give it their all against their newest friend?
————————————-
– Are, uh…..Oak and Delia lodging together?……They’re both waving from the entrance to one of the cabins…..Hm…
– Ash: “But where are you gonna cook around here?” Do these cabins not have any kitchens?
– Why is “Together Forever” playing as we see Delia cooking dinner?
– Oak: “Don’t forget to let me know if you need more Pokemon. Just call me and I’ll transport them to you right away!”….But….you’re here….how are you….gonna…what?
– I was going say Ash is smart for waiting until he sees his opponent before he decides which Pokemon to choose for his next match….but it also doesn’t make any sense. It’s not like he knows what Pokemon they’ll be using…right? Is that information public? I think I remember one of the tournaments allowing competitors to research Trainers and see what Pokemon they have but not what Pokemon they’ll definitively use during the match. That’d be a little strange.
Does he think he can formulate a strategy simply based on what a Trainer looks like?
– I find it a little funny that apparently Pikachu is also not well-trained if Ash is still concerned Pikachu will shock a person for not petting him correctly.
– How the hell does Ritchie know how to repair and power an elevator?
– Ritchie: “Excuse me, could I borrow your Pikachu for a second?” Why would you need to? You have one…
– All Ritchie did was restore power to the elevator temporarily. Why does the entire building look like it has power now?
– Team Rocket’s scheme is actually okay, but you’d think one person would ask an official of the Pokemon League if this Pokeball inspection is legit.
– Why are there so many people here? We’re down to the top 16, right? There are like four times as many people as should be left down there.
– So….no one’s going to ask why they have to put their Pokeballs in a sack? No one’s going to ask how they’re going to tell whose Pokeballs are whose or how to give them back?
– Wow. So it’s not just petting Pikachu in the wrong way that makes Pikachu shock someone, it’s literally any physical contact. God, Ash. Train your Pokemon for god’s sake.
– Ritchie: “Hey, you look a lot like those guys from Team Rocket!” How do you know what Team Rocket looks like?
– *sigh* I’m not even going to bother chiding Ash for not recognizing Team Rocket. What’s the point anymore?
– I love how Ritchie and Ash are the only Trainers who thought to chase after Team Rocket.
– Ash: “I won’t let them take Pikachu!” They also have the rest of your Pokemon, but who cares about those losers, right, Ash?
– It’s cool that Ritchie is so prepared – much more than Ash and the others ever tend to be – but how is Ritchie carrying two sleeping bags in that small backpack?
– I find it…..weird that Ash is focusing more on being obsessed with Pokemon in his apology than just, ya know….being concerned about Pokemon he’s grown to really care about personally. Just say “Yeah, I really care about my Pokemon. They’re like family to me, so I get crazy when they’re in danger.” Like, if my dogs got taken by criminals and I got upset about it, I wouldn’t just be like “Yeah, I guess I’m just obsessed with dogs.”
– While we’re on the topic, it continues to be funny whenever Ash brings up how much of a, in his words “Pokemaniac” he is when he seems to know jack shit about them half the time.
-…..What was the two stars shining really brightly after Ash and Ritchie’s conversation meant to mean? Just a cosmic sign of their friendship or something?
– Aw, Team Rocket has color-coded sleeping bags.
– Did Team Rocket seriously think it was intelligent to leave Ash and Ritchie alone in the van with a sack of Pokeballs? A sack of Pokeballs that were owned by the top 16 in the Pokemon League?
– Ash: “Uh oh! I can’t tell which ones are mine!” Again, why is it not more commonplace for Trainers to mark their Pokeballs?
– I know there’s the question of whether these other Pokemon would listen to their orders, but a Drowzee and a Slowbro? Certainly Psychic Pokemon would be some of the best options in this situation.
– Who the fuck got to the top 16 in the Pokemon League with a Magikarp in their roster?
– So….Pikachu can sniff out Ash’s Pokeballs….Great….The first one he throws is Bulbasaur….Cool, nice to see you, Bulbasaur…..Ash then tells Bulbasaur to Tackle the wall of the metal van…….Dumbash strikes again.
A testament to Bulbasaur’s faith in Ash that he actually tried and didn’t look at Ash like he was crazy, though.
– Uh, Ritchie? You had your Pokeballs before Ash….Maybe wanna tap in?
– Why did they cut in a reaction shot in the corner of Ash going “Zip..po?” as Ritchie called out Zippo? Is it really that uncommon for Pokemon to have nicknames? Even if it was, what’s the point of seeing Ash’s confused reaction?
– So they POSSIBLY had to change Snap’s name because of Kellogg’s, but Ritchie can name his Charmander ‘Zippo’?
– Holy crap, that wall looked like it was made of cement….and holy crap Zippo’s Slash is insane.
– And so the debut of Sparky. Something I didn’t realize until reading Ritchie’s page on the Wiki was that Ritchie kept Sparky in a Pokeball until he met Ash and then just kept him out at all times after that, like Ash inspired him to do so, which I actually find to be a shame because it’s like he’s spreading favoritism….and making Ritchie more of an Ash clone than he already was. I guess allowing one Pokemon freedom at all times is better than none, but it’s still gotta be insulting to a Trainer’s other Pokemon to see how much their Trainer favors one over everyone else.
– Hey look, another instance of 4Kids allowing skeletons to show when a character’s being electrocuted.
– Ash: “That’s a nice Butterfree!” You’re about to die, Ash.
– Wait, so Ash let out Pidgeotto…..without having a plan for it to do anything? He only agreed with what Ritchie seemed to plan as he let out Happy? Oh well, at least it’s not popping Team Rocket’s balloon.
– Ya know….I would say this whole episode is a testament to how good of a team Ritchie and Ash are….but no. Like….Ash doesn’t do much in this episode. Everything was saved by Ritchie.
Ritchie fixed the elevator with his confusing electrician skills and Ash’s Pikachu, but he had his own Pikachu he could have used – he just didn’t because I guess they wanted the reveal later. Ritchie stopped Ash from running off a cliff. They both stopped Team Rocket’s van in the road, but Ritchie could have done that alone. He had a spare sleeping bag and food on him to last the night. He marked his Pokeballs, allowing him to find them in the bag easily. His Charmander easily broke down the van wall while Ash stupidly told his Bulbasaur to Tackle it. Ash followed Ritchie’s lead with a Double Team and Thunderbolt to defeat Arbok. Ash called out Pidgeotto before Ritchie called out Happy, but he didn’t seem to know what to do with it until Ritchie came up with an idea, and Ritchie had the idea of using a downward Whirlwind to stop them from falling too fast.
Do you guys understand why I call him Better Ash?
– Speaking of Pidgeotto, how did Ash call on it by name when he still shouldn’t know who’s in what Pokeball?
– Why wouldn’t Ritchie and Ash recall Zippo and Bulbasaur before trying to hitch a ride on Happy and Pidgeotto? Would have made the load lighter for them is all.
– AH! DEMON EYES BUTTERFREE!
– Ash: “That’s the second time you’ve saved me.”
Ritchie: “Nuh-uh. You saved me!” What? How?
– Holy shit, it took them this long in vehicles to find Ash and Ritchie? When they and Team Rocket camped for the night?
– They choose the pairing for the top 16 by….having the competitors fish for Magikarp that have numbers written on them?….In the prelims, they used a digital randomizer that was stopped by a button push. What are you people doing?
– Narrator: “This time, there’s more to lose than just a match.” Are they implying that they might stop being friends after this?
————————————————
This episode is fine. I like Ritchie, and I think his influence is kinda good for Ash. Again, I have no clue what Ash brings to this friendship, and I’m not sure I’d want Ritchie to be part of the Ash gang if Ash had to stick around. He’s more what I would hope Ash would eventually become.
Story-wise, it’s pretty thin. The entire story is just ‘Team Rocket steals everyone’s Pokemon and Ash and his new friend chase them to get them back.’ It’s just an excuse to give these two some alone time for bonding so we can all collectively gasp and hang our mouths open when it turns out Ash’s next match is with Ritchie.
It’s entertaining enough, especially when we get to the battle in the van, but there’s not much depth.
Even if I was really invested in this friendship, I wouldn’t feel tension here. Sure, it’d suck to have one be the reason the other loses in the tournament, but, either way, they’d either have to meet in battle in the League eventually or they’d be knocked out by other people. Both of them can’t win.
Next time….
If you enjoy my work and would like to help support my blog, please consider donating at my Ko-Fi page. Thank you! ♥
