Fanfic / Zorua Trainer

"Who says a Pokémon trainer needs to be human? Born a Zorua, Ash still feels the call to be the very best there ever was! Will he be able to achieve his goals, facing the normal struggles as a trainer while also keeping up his illusion?"

— Zorua Trainer Description

Zorua Trainer is a Pokémon Alternate Universe Fan Fiction by FriTik. When Gary's father catches a homeless, abandoned Zorua in Unova, he sends it over to his friend Delia Ketchum in Kanto, who begins taking care of him and names him Ash. As Ash grows, his powers allow him to create a human disguise, he teaches himself to speak like a human, and he sparks a friendship with a Pichu at Professor Oak's laboratory. And when a man in Pallet Town gives him the idea to become a Trainer himself, Ash is taken with the idea, and Professor Oak can think of no good reason to say no. But Ash being a Zorua is far from the only change in this story...

While the work is self-admittedly inspired by Saphroneth's "Master, Pokémon?", this story covers Ash's story in full as opposed to being slice of life "episodes."

It can be read here on Fanfiction.net; and also read here on Archive of Our Own.

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Zorua Trainer contains examples of:

Tropes A-C

• Abusive Parents: Averted with Delia, with whom Ash is happily adopted.
  • Unknown regarding Ash's biological parents, but being abandoned in an alley as an egg is not a good sign for the kind of parents Ash's biological kin may be.

• Abandoned Pet in a Box: Ash, again, as he was left abandoned in an alley as an egg. Applies to Sunny the Charmander as well, given how his original trainer (Damian) left him on a rock to die.

• A Child Shall Lead Them:
  • A given, since the story takes place in the Pokémon world. But Ash is only 10 years old chronologically speaking, meaning he's a child by human standards. His mental maturity, on the other hand...
  • Played straight with Misty and the Cerulean Gym. Even though she's the youngest sibling, she takes charge and whips her older sisters into shape and forces them to actually run the gym the proper way.

• Action Dad: Sabrina's father, having been helping free trainers from her dollhouse for years; and in the end, helping Ash break his friends out of the psychic dollhouse and restraining Sabrina.

• Adapted Out:
  • As Ash only catches Pokémon who desire to join him and willingly choose to do so, many Pokémon he caught the first time around are this.
    • Ash never catches a Caterpie, though Leaf catches a Metapod that may or may not be the same one.
    • Bulbasaur remains with the Hidden Village.

  • Brock appears in the story as the Pewter Gym Leader, but that's the extent of his role; he doesn't join Ash on his journey. Or at least not at first; later, his father takes over the Pewter Gym, and he meets up with Ash and company in Rota in Chapter 36.

• Adaptational Angst Upgrade: A minor example with Ash. In canon, he was a well-fed, well-cared for, well-loved kid with a supportive mother. The first month of Zorua Ash's life consisted of scavenging for food while living in an alley in a cardboard box, unable to make friends, until a gang of Purrloin took over his home and attacked him when he tried fighting them over it. It was shortly after that that he met Gary's father, who caught him and sent him to Delia. Ash doesn't like to think or talk about that time in his life.

• Adaptational Badass: Unlike Canon!Ash, Zorua!Ash can fight and even single-handedly defeats Sabrina and her Kadabra after she sends his friends and Pokémon away to the dollhouse. Although one has to press his berserk button pretty hard for him to really get physical with someone.

• Adaptational Early Appearance:
  • Pikachu and Ash meet rather early on during a visit to Professor Oak's lab. The two don't exactly hit it off all that well.
  • Karen of the Johto Elite Four appears in Vermilion City, at this point still just a trainer, and she becomes one of Ash's companions.
  • A later visit introduces the Cerise Research institute a good seven regions early, along with an appearance by Pyramid King Brandon.

• Adaptational Intelligence: A given, seeing as how Zorua!Ash had to learn how to speak human, instead of only speaking one language like in canon.

• Adaptational Karma:
  • Damian, full stop. Not only does he take a Night Daze attack after accidentally breaking Ash's illusionary disguise, the other trainers in the Pokémon Center also turn on him, unlike in canon. In addition, he gets pranked by his Charmander's "ghost" after Ash, Misty, and their teams band together to trick Damian into thinking he's being haunted. As the cherry on top, he gets arrested by Pokémon Rangers and has his Trainer's License revoked shortly afterward thanks to Misty reporting him to the League.
  • Sabrina also experiences this after Ash's battle with her. She is removed as Gym Leader for her abuse of her powers, and she's also facing criminal charges and a long road to recovery.

• A Dog Named "Dog": Before Delia names him, Ash is known simply as Zorua.
  • Ash's team is a mixed bag; Pikachu, Pidgeotto, Eevee, and Cranidos all go by their species name either due to personal preference or wanting to take their time choosing the best name. Clefairy, Charmander, Squirtle, and Ralts, though, accept nicknames as soon as the option presents itself. And later, Eevee and Pidgeotto adopt nicknames after evolving.
  • Averted with Rattatta the Zorua, however.

• Adults Are Useless: Subverted. There are some cases where Ash and Co. deal with situations that are better handled by adults; but it's justified as the adults in question aren't aware of the situation, and once they are made aware they take steps to rectify it.

• After-Action Patch-Up: Typical after a Gym Challenge, but the aftermath of Ash's challenges against Lt. Surge and Sabrina are the standout examples.

• All-Loving Hero: In a surprising subversion, Ash. He's genuinely friendly and helpful to everyone he comes across, but those that press his Berserk Button will learn why it's bad to piss off a master illusionist.
  • The story has thus far presented three notable exceptions: Sunny's original Trainer Damian, Sabrina, and Mewtwo. Damian is an understandable case that Ash has every reason to never forgive, but the other two changed their mindsets upon understanding what they'd done, and had solid reasons for being that way in the first place. Ash doesn't forgive them easily, but his hatred of Sabrina seems to have subsided by the time he meets Mewtwo, while he hopes that he'll be able to forgive Mewtwo soon enough as well.

• All of the Other Reindeer: Ash is subjected to this at the story's start when fending for himself in the dark alleyway he was abandoned in. The only other person he has for company is a friendly Trubbish who shares food with him, but Ash, being a fox Pokémon with a heightened sense of smell, can't stand to be around him for more than a few minutes. He gets better after getting caught and traded to Delia.
  • Sabrina as well. Due to her psychic abilities, she was always ostracized by the other children. In the end, she became what she is now due to loneliness.

• Annoying Younger Sibling: Ash and Pikachu's (or rather Pichu) relationship when they first meet can be categorized as this. Who is the annoying younger sibling in their relationship depends on which of the two you ask.

• A Rare Sentence: There are a number of times that someone in Ash's group says something, then realizes what they said a moment after.

• Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: Ash sometimes has shades of this, and Karen's Houndour has this in spades. Justified in that she's still a puppy.

• Bad Boss: Giovanni, of course, every bit the ruthless mafia boss that he ought to be. Best showcased in Chapter 48.

• Badass Crew: Ash Ketchum, Zorua and Pokémon Trainer and the leader of his team. Accompanied by Pikachu, Pidgeotto now Pidgeot and nicknamed Morningstar, Selene the Clefairy now Clefable, Sunny the Charmander now Charmeleon, Eevee now Umbreon and nicknamed Eve, Storm the Squirtle now Wartortle, Art (short for Arthalothadamesh) the Ralts, and Cranidos. Each of them is more than capable of holding their own in a fight, and each of them holds each other close like family.

• Badass Bookworm: Eevee is the more scientifically minded of the group and isn't particularly imposing in terms of physical appearance (she's an Eevee, after all), but she's more than competent as a fighter, and nearly defeated the unbeaten Sabrina in a straight up fight against the latter's Abra, although an unfortunately timed evolution snatched away victory from her.

• Bait-and-Switch: A dialogue in Chapter 22 talking about how there are some fiendish and cruel people on the road between Vermilion and Saffron City, malicious beings who brought misery wherever they went...and then there's also Team Rocket.

• Because You Were Nice to Me:
  • Why Sunny the Charmander joined Ash's team, as they actually cared for him and showed him love and attention, whereas Damian was nothing but abusive to him.
  • The reason that Team Rocket's attempt to ransom Delia to draw out Ash fails? The person that they put in charge is Butch, who is so happy to have anyone consistently get his name right that he ends up having a nice conversation, which leads to cooking dinner alongside them for the base, which ultimately leads to letting Delia walk away free and quitting Team Rocket to become a chef.

• Belated Injury Realization: When Ash finally defeats Sabrina, and her father releases the gang from their prison; the group ask what happened and how he got injured. Ash promptly passes out once he realizes just how injured he actually is.

• Berserk Button: Imply that Delia isn't Ash's mother, and you are in for a world of pain.
  • Hurt Ash's friends or take them away, then he will unleash everything he has on you to make you hurt, as Sabrina found out the hard way.
  • Abandonment is a pretty good way to piss Ash off, as it brings up memories he tries to forget. Damian abandoning Charmander triggered those memories, and as the abusive trainer found out; Ash can be quite vindictive when he wants to be and has the motivation to do so.

• Berserker Tears: Ash is crying and doesn't even realize it as he screams and begs for Sabrina to bring his friends back; even as he headbutts her and hits her with Night Daze a fair number of times.

• Beware the Nice Ones: Ash, enough said.

• Bigger on the Inside: The "haunted house" the group finds themselves in during the Halloween Chapter. Subverted, in that the Haunter's and Ghastly occupying the house use a distortion portal to mess with the interior.

• Blunt "Yes": In Chapter 48:
  Misty: Huh, so this is your house?
  Ash: Yeah, what were you expecting?
  Misty: I don't know, something a bit weirder, I think.
  Pix: Are you...calling us...weird?
  Misty: Yes.
  (Beat)
  Pix: True.

• Booby Trap: A non-lethal example with the "haunted house"; as the traps are meant to scare more than anything else.

• Broken Ace: Sabrina may be the most powerful psychic in a generation and remained undefeated until Ash showed up and beat the snot out of her, and subsequently got her Gym Leadership Card revoked; but in the end she's just a lonely little girl who was always ostracized due to her abilities and just wanted friends.
  • Ash also shows shades of this. He's a really good trainer and naturally gifted with his illusions to the point that he can pass as a human, on top of being intelligent enough to learn how to speak human. But he does have his own issues: Feelings of inadequacy, worry that he might be an abusive trainer like Damian, and abandonment issues linger in the back of his mind. He tries his best to keep them buried when he's not using Dark attacks, with moderate success.

• Both Sides Have a Point: Pikachu and Ash get into a pretty big argument over the validity of Ash becoming a Pokémon trainer. Pikachu points out that Ash is doing so on a whim due to some friendly comment given to him by a complete stranger. Ash is quick to counter that it would be the best and safest way for him to learn about and explore the world, and if nothing else, learning to speak human (which would be one of the requirements for him to get away with the idea) would help him with disguises.

• Bullying a Dragon:
  • Damian really shouldn't have tried to get physical with the kid rightly calling him out for abandoning his Charmander.
  • Karen should have known better than to mouth off to an extremely powerful psychic, though she does kick herself for it later.

• Calling the Old Man Out: Sabrina and Ash do this when Sabrina's father finally appears.

• Chekhov's Gunman: Delia mentions both her Blastoise, Shelldon, and her Clefairy, Pix, when she receives Ash in a trade, having just traded Shelldon away for Ash. Both appear later on in the fic: Shelldon to help train Ash and Pikachu, and Pix when Delia decides to give Ash a visit in Saffron City, the Clefairy having reserved a place to meet so Ash and his team can relax.

• Childhood Friends: Ash and Pikachu, after a slightly rocky start.

• Comically Small Demand: In Chapter 47, when Ash and his team go after a terrorizing Rhydon on Cinnabar (not Blaine's), the Pokémon they're helping are bewildered that all they want in return are Rawst Berries and tips on Grass Knot. Ash, misunderstanding the issue, then offers that they can leave off the berries.

• Consolation Prize: Ash considers Brock giving him his badge despite technically losing to him to be this; so he decides to challenge Brock again to "earn" his badge. He also considers Sabrina giving him a badge to be this as well, although in her case, it's less about softening a loss and more over him still hating her for kidnapping his friends.

• Cool Old Lady: Agatha, who in her one appearance chews out Lance for not doing proper inspections on the Kanto Gym Circuit; while also reassuring Misty that she would make sure Sabrina and the other gyms would be taken care of.

• Crippling Overspecialization: A minor example, in that Ash is overly reliant on his Dark-type moves since they are his most powerful ones. Karen is quick to point out that such a mentality will really cost him if he were to come up against an opponent resistant to Dark-Types.

• Cunning Like a Fox: Let's see... Figuring out how to speak human? Check. Figuring out how to make a convincing human disguise so good that his own Trainer doesn't realize it's him? Check. A smart trainer able to think on the fly and has a pretty high win rate for his gym circuit? Check. Zorua Ash is one of the poster children of this trope.

• Cutting the Knot: Ash's go-to strategy whenever something baffles him and he either can't think his way out of it or is running short on time.

Tropes D-F

• Damned by Faint Praise:
  • The only good thing Ash has to say regarding AJ (the trainer whipping his Pokémon in training) is that he seems to at least care about his Pokémon in some strange way.
  • After Pikachu and Misty finished a crash course in cooking, both made "vast improvement[s] that deserved to be celebrated." These vast improvements are, respectively, removing food from the cooking source before it caught fire, allowing the quality to ascend to "edible"; and knowing how to prepare food from a can in a pot that only requires heat and stirring. Misty, at least, has the excuse that her class was cut short.

• Damsel out of Distress: By the time Ash and co are rushing to save Delia from Team Rocket, she has already freed herself using some Delicious Distraction and freed many of Team Rocket's captured Pokémon to boot.

• Dark and Troubled Past: As noted above, Zorua Ash was abandoned as an egg and spent the first few months of his childhood alone and half-starved with only a Trubbish for company. He doesn't like to think about it too much.

• Darker and Edgier: A very minor example, but Sunny the Charmander's abandonment is played more emotionally than in canon, which isn't surprising given that Ash can understand him here. Ash also has his own past trauma that he tries to keep under wraps, and some of the more comedic slapstick bits from the anime are treated more seriously.

• Dark Is Not Evil:
  • Ash may be a Dark-type but unless you really tick him off he's among the nicest, most helpful pokémon there is.
  • Ash's niceness ends up encouraging Eevee to become an Umbreon, hence making her an example.
  • During the Mewtwo Strikes Back arc, this is also the case of Zoruatwo and Umbreontwo as they naturally resist the compulsion other clones have to serve Mewtwo. Furthermore, they inherited their originals' good natures, and as a result they help to fight against Mewtwo during the battle.

• David Versus Goliath: Despite not being a dedicated battler, thanks to Sabrina pushing his Berserk Button and taking his friends away, Ash completely wrecks Sabrina and her newly evolved Kadabra. Subverted in that Ash had a clear type advantage and the element of surprise on his side, but it's still impressive.

• Deadpan Snarker: Ash and Eevee generally avert this trope, but the rest of his team and companions have this down to a T. Misty and Pikachu in particular are much more inclined to snark compared to the rest of the group.

• Death by Adaptation: After Ash storms Team Rocket's base for kidnapping his mother, resulting in a crushing defeat that Giovanni barely manages to escape, Giovanni makes the mistake of telling Mewtwo not to suffer anyone who stands in his way, prompting Mewtwo to kill him.

• Defeating the Cheating Opponent: Downplayed in that Sabrina was using her psychic powers to win and beat her opponents in the past and with Ash. He still nearly beats her with Eevee, but an unfortunate evolution with her Abra means that Eevee is defeated. Neither Ash nor Eevee take this loss well.

• Defeat Means Friendship: Ash and Pikachu have a rough start, with the two getting into a fight on their first meeting. Delia and Professor Oak decide to pit them against each other in a Pokémon battle to burn off their energy, which Ash wins thanks to training from Delia. They start to hit it off after that.

• Defeat Means Respect: Sabrina does have a sort of respect for Ash after he manages to defeat her and she's able to recover some of her sanity. The feeling is most certainly not mutual.

• Dehumanizing Insult: Multiple times during their fight, Sabrina refers to Ash as an "abomination", pointedly referring to him as an "It" a few times.

• Deliberately Cute Child: More like "Deliberately Cute Zorua Kit," but there are a few times in his younger days when Delia is raising him that Ash plays up his cuteness to try and get out of trouble.

• Demoted to Extra: Brock is regrettably hit with this. He does have a prominent role in a couple chapters when Ash comes by his Gym, but he doesn't travel with Ash or Misty like in Canon. Until Chapter 36, where he meets them in Rota and joins their group.
  • Team Rocket is also hit with this, as their canonical weekly encounters with Ash have been reduced to once or twice every dozen chapters. An author's note in Chapter 50 clarifies that FriTik was largely unsure of what to do with them but now seems to have a plan.

• Derailed Train of Thought: Happens to Ash a few times, mainly as a kit. The more logical-minded Eevee and more practical-minded Pikachu both find this infuriating at times.

• Despair Event Horizon:
  • In Chapter 1, when he gets kicked out of his "home" by a gang of Purrloin, who beat him up when he tries to take it back. What really pushes him over the edge is the realization that he's lost the only place that was "safe" to him, although knowing that he was injured, lost, and hungry didn't help.
  • Mixed with Rage Breaking Point, when Ash loses to Sabrina and she teleports his friends and team away into the dollhouse, he goes berserk.

• Desperation Attack: Ash attempts this on the Pokémon gang leader that kicks him out of his home in the first chapter. All it does is piss off the gang leader and nets Ash a serious leg injury.

• Didn't Think This Through: Cranidos convinces Cranidostwo to stop fighting because the latter seeks to destroy his original, and Cranidos points out that as a revived fossil the actual original has been dead for millions of years.

• Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: Pretty much everyone's reaction when they hear that Ash defeated Sabrina. Gary in particular is stunned that Ash managed to do it (though he doesn't know the exact details, of course).

• Dirty Coward: Damian, when he encounter's his Charmander's "ghost", doesn't even bother trying to fight; he just runs as far and as fast as he can.

• Disappeared Dad: Comes with being an abandoned egg, though Ash notably never has any father figure growing up. He doesn't mind it though, as he's more than satisfied with only Delia.

• Disappointed in You: A minor example, as Delia makes it clear she's more disappointed with Ash losing his temper when first meeting Pikachu (or rather Pichu) as opposed to being angry that the two of them wrecked a section of the lab during their fight. She does make Ash help clean up the mess though, just to teach him a lesson.

• Disproportionate Retribution: Pikachu/Pichu's reaction to Professor Oak holding him for too long to break up a fight? Shock the Professor, along with Ash and Delia for good measure too.

• Doom Magnet: Just like in canon, Ash and his friends seem to run into trouble almost weekly; although how serious or how comical the trouble is varies.

• Dork Knight: Misty's Staryu, as it turns out, is a massive fan of the Pokémon version of Dungeons and Dragons (known as "Battles and Behemoths"); and frequently talks as if he's a DM or a role player in the midst of a game. He does drop the act a few times, like when his mom (Starmie) calls him out on it or the situation is more serious.
  • Crosses into heartwarming territory, as it's later revealed that the reason he does this is because Misty would frequently read D&D stories to him when he was young.

• Doting Grandparent: Professor Samuel Oak to Gary Oak, of course. Who else?

• Doting Parent: Delia and Ash's relationship may be the result of an Interspecies Adoption, but Delia cares about Ash and makes sure he's more than happy in life.

• Drill Sergeant Nasty: Shelldon, Delia's Blastiose, has shades of this; especially when training Ash and Pikachu on how to properly fight. Subverted in that he never yells or screams at them, just roughs them up quite a bit.
  • He later repeats this when meeting the rest of Ash's team; and he even gives Misty and Karen the side-eye, warning them that they better not get soft either, or he'll be forced to correct it. It's telling that even though neither understand him (Ash not bothering to translate), both girls feel a pall of dread on hearing his declaration.
  • Ash himself attempts a Drill Sergeant Routine with his team shortly after beating Surge (much to the rest of the team's bemusement), and quickly drops the act as he can't bring himself to be constantly mean and demeaning like Surge.

• Easily Forgiven: Heavily averted with Sabrina and Damian. Ash still holds a grudge against them both, and Sunny (Damian's former Charmander) isn't too keen on forgiving his former master either.

• Emotional Powers: Ash later learns from Karen's Umbreon that Dark-Type moves are powered by passionate emotions; particularly hatred and anger, which Ash uses to full effect numerous times both before and after he learns this.

• Emotionless Girl: Sabrina is this at first. But when she discovers that Ash is a Zorua, and therefore a Dark-type, she loses it.

• Engineered Public Confession: An unintentional example, as Ash initially intended to learn why Sunny was left on a rock by Damian (assuming a misunderstanding or mistake). Instead he (along with the other trainers in the center who weren't part of Damian's little "friend group") ends up learning that Damian had abandoned Sunny to die. To say the other trainers were unimpressed with Damian is an understatement.

• Ensemble Cast: While Ash is the main character, all his other companions get arguably equal screen time to him once they're introduced. This includes both his human traveling companions and his Pokémon teammates.

• Entertainingly Wrong: The Team Rocket Trio and the flock of Spearow that harass Ash and Pikachu on their first day of traveling both assume that Ash has some kind of rare Vulpix, as opposed to him being a Zorua in disguise. Much, much later, when they find him out of disguise, he takes the opportunity to spell this out to the TRio, and they don't believe him.

• Establishing Character Moment: All of the characters have their moments, but the more stand-out examples are Ash's team and his companions.
  • Ash is introduced as a lonely, hungry, cold, but still kindhearted and very curious kit in his first chapter, even before he gets his name.
  • Pikachu, or rather Pichu at the time, is shown to be short-tempered with a strong dislike for humans; along with a healthy amount of stubbornness, but also rather curious like Ash, as upon seeing Ash drop his disguise, he wants to know how Ash did it.
  • Misty is introduced bored out of her mind while fishing, and excited over the prospect of catching a "Buizel"; but also very concerned over the obviously injured Pikachu, and decides to catch the "Buizel" while also taking the Pikachu to a Pokémon Center. Naturally, she's confused when the "Buizel" turns out to be a different Pokémon entirely, and one that can talk to boot.
  • Pidgeotto flies over and decides to accompany Ash since she wants to get stronger and have some adventure.
  • Selene the Clefairy first meets the group and asks them for help, while also assisting them in kind in dealing with Team Rocker; and with sincere modesty she calls Ash and his friends "Hero's".
  • Sunny the Charmander helpfully points out where the Pokémon Center is while sitting alone on a rock, having been there for quite some time.
  • Eevee's first scenes is asking to accompany Ash on his adventure, while also rambling on the scientific ramifications and mechanics of Ash's illusionary abilities and how he possibly learned how to speak human.
  • Karen tries to catch Ash because she wanted a Zorua, being a Dark-Type specialist after all; but apologizes and tries to make it up to him once she realizes he's already caught, and also offers to train him if he allows her to accompany him.

• Even Evil Has Standards: One of the Purrloins that kicks Ash out of his home protests over the unnecessarily rough treatment on what is obviously the Pokémon equivalent to a little kid (as Ash is roughly around 3-4 years old mentally).

• Even the Loving Hero Has Hated Ones: Once again, Ash in regards to Sabrina and Damian.

• Evolution Power-Up: A given considering it's Pokémon, but Pikachu has this happen to him while still a Pichu in the midst of a big fight between him and Ash. In a more negative example, Sabrina's Abra evolves into Kadabra while Eevee and Ash has it on the ropes; which pulls a win from the jaws of defeat for the psychic Gym Leader.

• Face on the Cover: Delia's Clefairy, Pix, is famous for being the mascot of a brand of cereal; and is mainly known through her face being plastered on the box.

• Fan Art: the story cover on the fanfiction.net version is a fan drawing of Zorua Ash wearing his iconic hat.

• Fist of Rage: Happens a few times with Misty, such as when she's dealing with her sisters; but most notably with Damian, when she's clenching her fists so hard that she nearly draws blood.

• Food as Bribe: Mainly used when Pikachu and Ash are kids.

• Fragile Speedster: Both Ash and Pikachu have shades of this, both on account of their small size and also because both are unevolved Pokémon.

• Freak Out: Sabrina's meltdown on realizing that Ash is a disguised Dark-Type Pokémon has to be seen to be believed.

• Freudian Excuse: As in canon, most of Sabrina's actions boil down to one thing; being lonely and ruthlessly ostracized by other people led her to wanting to have some form of companionship. Ash of course calls her out on this, pointing out how Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse.

• Friendless Background: Ash before he met Delia, and Sabrina for pretty much her entire life.

• Furry Reminder: As human as he may act, there are moments where the audience is reminded that Ash is a fox Pokémon; like his love for digging holes, getting zoomies when cooped up in his illusion too long, etc.

Tropes G-M

• The Ghost: Arnold the Pidgeot, one of Delia Ketchum's three Pokémon from her time as a Trainer, who sired a large portion of the Pidgey and Pidgeotto population around Pallet Town, including Ash's Pidgeotto. He was easily the most opposed to Delia quitting the Gym challenge, and the two haven't been on speaking terms for a long time. He finally appears alongside Pix in Chapter 47, right after Ash gets his eighth badge, to tell him that Delia has been ransomed by Team Rocket.

• Glass Cannon: Pikachu is pretty strong and powerful for being only in the second stage of his evolutionary line, but he can't take as much punishment as someone like Pidgeotto can.

• Good Is Not Dumb: Ash and Co. are not bad guys by any stretch of the imagination, nor are they idiots waiting to be snatched up by evil.

• Good Is Not Soft: Ash may be one of the nicest people (or rather Pokémon) you will ever meet, but God help you if you piss him off and press any of his berserk buttons.

• Graceful Loser: Canon Ash could be rather immature at times, but most of the time, Zorua Ash handles his losses with much more grace than one would expect for a kid his age. Lt. Surge even notes to Misty after defeating him that he's impressed at how well Ash took his defeat and is confident that Ash will win their rematch. Sabrina is an outlier due to her behavior; the first true exception isn't until he reaches the eighth Gym.

• Group Hug: Ash's team gives him one after he tearfully admits his fears that he's an abusive trainer like AJ.

• Guile Hero: Ash, of course, it comes with being a Zorua; the most prominent example being his revenge prank on Damian shortly after he leaves the Pokémon Center. This is followed up by Ash actually disguising himself as different trainers to get his Pokémon healed after nearly blowing his cover losing his temper with Damian.

• Guys are Slobs: Neither Ash nor Pikachu were much for neatness when they were young, and it's arguable they aren't now, either.

• Had to Be Sharp: Even as a little kit, Ash could pack a mean punch when push came to shove. Even as he grew up, he and Pikachu were trained by Delia's Blastoise, Shelldon, who is something of a Drill Sergeant Nasty.

• HA HA HA—No: In Chapter 47, when Blaine's Magmar causes the volcano to erupt to cancel out Storm's Rain Dance, Ash is horrified at the idea that Blaine is going to destroy the island for the sake of their battle:
  Ash: ARE YOU INSANE?!
  Blaine: (cackling) INSANE?! INSANE?! (suddenly calm) No actually.
  (towering stone walls rise around the base of the volcano to block the lava flow)

• Hair-Trigger Temper: Pikachu had this when he was still a Pichu, and he wasn't shy about grating on others' nerves either. He gets better after spending a decent amount of time with Ash.

• Happily Adopted: Ash, very much so with Delia, to the point that he calls her "mom", which she's all too happy to reciprocate.

• Hated by All: A very subdued example with Pikachu. When Ash first meets him, he isn't exactly well-liked around the lab and the ranch due to his Hair-Trigger Temper and his hatred of humans. And given that the Pokémon on the ranch are trainers' Pokémon, they wouldn't take that kind of mentality well. Ash is actually his first real friend, and after he mellows out, the others start treating him more respectfully.

• Haunted House: Ash and Co. encounter one while lost in the woods. Subverted in that it turns out to just be Haunters and Ghastly pranking people as they are wont to do. Double subverted in that Ash and his team do encounter a possibly real ghost that banishes them out of its room.

• Head Pet: Eevee rides Ash's head (or rather, his illusion's head) just like how Eevee does in Let's Go, Eevee.

• Healing Hands: An ability of Aura adepts, which Karen forces herself to learn in a hurry in Chapter 50, in conjunction with her Riolu and its clone, to heal Misty.

• Heel: Lt. Surge, in the literal sense. His rough demeanor is an act to try and get under his challengers' skin, along with giving them something to focus on and overcome.

• Here We Go Again!: Any time the gang runs into a new situation that contains an element of danger or strangeness, they have this reaction.

• Heroic BSoD: Ash has this a few times.
  • The first time is when he's kicked out of his home as a child by a gang of Pokémon, and he realizes he has no place to go.
  • The second time is when he meets AJ (the trainer that whipped his Pokémon to train them), and he wonders if he's also an abusive trainer.
  • The third time is when Sabrina teleports all of Ash's friends away, and he completely snaps.
  • The fourth time is when he loses to Blaine, who knew from the start that Ash had the potential to go all the way but hadn't reached it yet, and told him as much. Despite the encouragement, it was still an absolutely crushing defeat.

• Heroic Pet Story: A variation in that Ash is technically a pet to Delia, given that she's a trainer, but he argues that she's his mom, or Trainer-Mom, and won't hear otherwise.

• Hero of Another Story: Karen implies this in some of her dialogue regarding her past.

• Hero Protagonist: Ash, of course; who else?

• Heterosexual Life-Partners: Ash and Pikachu are close like brothers, and while they get on each other's nerves at times, neither of them can imagine being without the other.

• Hidden Depths: Ash's more goofy and go-lucky mannerisms may fool you, but keep in mind that he's a Pokémon who taught himself how to speak human. The hard way, no shortcuts with auditory illusions or anything like that; not something a goofy idiot could accomplish.
  • Pikachu, of all people, decided to learn how to cook. To his surprise, he enjoys it, and to the surprise of everyone else, once he's worked out the kinks, his food actually tastes pretty good.
  • Selene is probably the most philosophical of the group, often talking about her people's religion and how it applies to living a good life.
  • Sunny's rather cheerful disposition is impressive once one considers he's the Pokémon equivalent to a little kid, and he was abandoned and left to die.
  • Eevee's probably the most book-smart of the group and the most scientifically minded of the team, and she often resorts to technobabble when she encounters something strange or unusual.
  • Pidgeotto is the third youngest of the group, only three human years old (Sunny and Art are the only ones younger than her). But she's probably the most mature of the group and most likely to jump in and look after Sunny when he's feeling down.
  • Misty is a Gym Leader despite being only twelve years old and the youngest of four sisters; and on top of that is the one that whips them into shape and forces them to actually give proper gym challenges. She's also an extreme fan of Battles and Behemoths, which she remembers once she finally breaks the language barrier with her Staryu.
  • Karen, in spite of her rather abrasive personality and her initial intentions regarding Ash, is rather kindhearted and just wants to be a good trainer and person.

• Hidden in Plain Sight: Ash is a Zorua disguising himself as a human with Illusions; and it was good enough to fool his trainer/adoptive mother, Delia, when she first saw him use it.

• Hold Your Hippogriffs: A few instances like "Mareepish" as opposed to "Sheepish" smile; and other such things like "On the other paw".

• Honest Advisor: Pikachu tends to fall into this role around Ash, the most prominent example being his disapproval in Ash becoming a trainer and thinking that the gambit would fail. He wasn't wrong, as Professor Oak did consider rejecting Ash's application; but realized he couldn't think of a reason to say no.

• Hope Spot: For a brief moment during Ash's gym battle against Surge, it seems as if he might pull out a win on his first try. Then then Surge brings out the move Explosion.
  • In a sad repeat of his battle with Surge, it seems like Ash and Eevee are going to pull a win against Sabrina on their first try; and then Sabrina's Abra evolves into Kadabra, and promptly and rather brutally stomps Eevee into the ground.

• How Do I Shot Web?: Pretty much a given anytime one of the team learns a new move, though Ash and Eevee learning the move "Dig" is probably the biggest qualifier. Ash also qualifies when he was young as it was a slow process learning to use his illusions to create his disguise.

• Humanity Is Infectious: Pikachu certainly thinks so, as he points out that Ash and the other team members start to act like humans at times.

• Humble Hero: Ash, as per usual, is more humble than most; and isn't inclined to brag about his accomplishments... Most of the time. Gary is one of the few exceptions, mainly when he's being a jerk.

• Humble Pie: Pikachu and Pidgeotto are both hit with this a number of times, though it doesn't really stick for either of them.

• Human Disguise: Ash is a Zorua using visual illusions to disguise himself as a human, so this trope is in full effect.

• Humanlike Animal Aging: A very minor example, as Ash is ten years old chronologically. Mentally, though, he's closer to a human teenager. Given how he's the Pokémon equivalent of a fox, that's already a much longer lifespan compared to real-life foxes.
  • The other team members also avert this trope and play it straight. Pikachu is around six or seven, and Pidgeotto and Selene are both three, but they're all mentally closer to ten. Sunny is the biggest aversion, as he's somewhere around one year old (give or take a month or two), but he's closer to a five- or six-year-old mentally. Eevee plays this somewhat straight, as she's eight but around a preteen mentally. Art is less than a month old but acts like he's five years old.

• Humans Through Alien Eyes: Technically "Humans through Pokémon's eyes", but the majority of the fic takes place from the POV of Ash or his team members; who are all Pokémon. Misty and Karen both avert this, as they are humans, but they aren't the main POV's.

• Hypocritical Humor: James was angry that Ash hit his Koffing, even though they were stealing other people's Pokémon from a Pokémon Center. It is noted that "hypocrisy" doesn't exist in James' vocabulary.

• I Can't Sense Their Presence: Sabrina, when Ash and his group enter her gym, can't sense Ash and doesn't even know he's there initially; which is to be expected given how he's a Dark-type Pokémon. She doesn't take it well when she discovers his true identity.

• Iconic Outfit: Ash, despite being a Zorua, still has his iconic outfit from the anime. Or rather, his human disguise has his iconic outfit.

• Icy Blue Eyes: Like all Zorua and Zoroark, Ash has these when he's not in his human disguise. Subverted in that the vast majority of the time, they're more Innocent Blue Eyes most of the time; it's only when he gets really angry that they lose the innocence and become quite cold.

• Idiot Hero: While nowhere near the immature and idiotic hero he was in canon, Ash still has shades of obtuseness, although it's mostly subdued compared to canon.

• If You Ever Do Anything to Hurt Her...: A variation, in that when Ash introduces Karen to Delia and explains her offer to train him; Delia is supportive, but warns Karen that if she hurts Ash, nothing will stop Delia from hunting the dark type specialist to the ends of the earth. Then Delia cheerfully say's goodbye and asks to talk to Ash again, leaving Karen a little stunned as she walks away.

• I Heard That: The frequent response when one person insults another in Ash's traveling group.

• I Just Want to Be Badass: Pidgeotto's reasoning for Joining Ash's team; and Pikachu also shows shades of this at times, often competing with Pidgeotto to see who's better.

• I Just Want to Be Loved: Why Sunny ends up joining Ash's team, mixed with Because You Were Nice to Me; as Ash and his team were the first ones to show Sunny any love or care in his short life.

• I Just Want to Be Special: Arguably Ash's main reasoning for going on his Pokémon journey, as he wants to explore the world and also understand humans and Pokémon better; but also admits to finding the idea of being the first Zorua Trainer to be a pretty cool idea.
  • Eevee also joins the team for this reason, as she admits to wanting to study the world and explore and understand how the world works through science.

• I Just Want to Have Friends: Why Selene joins, arguably, as she admits to finding a friendship and camaraderie with Ash and his friends to be more fulfilling than staying in her homeland.

• I Knew There Was Something About You: A minor example when Ash reveals that he's a Zorua to Sunny, as Sunny had found it quite odd that Ash was able to understand his Pokémon even though he was supposed to be "human". Surprisingly, Eevee averts this, as she doesn't even suspect it until the other team members start dropping hints about Ash before he reveals himself to her; catching her completely off guard, leaving her rambling and devolving into technobabble as she tries to figure out how he did it.

• Immaturity Insult: Pikachu and Ash are both frequently on the receiving end of this, both from each other and from other team members; though neither of them really mind.

• Immunity Disability: Ash is a Zorua (IE, a Dark Type), meaning that it's impossible for a psychic to affect or communicate with him unless they know the move "Miracle Eye." This comes in handy when Ash takes the fight to Sabrina personally, as neither she nor her Kadabra can attack him directly, nor can they read his mind to predict and counter his moves.

• Implied Death Threat: Delia to Karen when she learns that the teen that tried to catch her son in all but name is now traveling with him. All in a friendly and chipper tone of voice like she's talking about a day at work. It severely unnerves Karen.

• Imposter Forgot One Detail: A frequent mistake for Ash when trying new illusions. In early days, he forgot to hide his tail. Other times, he'd mess up the eyes or other facial features. And even when he got those down, he couldn't change his voice. He's long outgrown these problems by now, though.

• Inane Blabbering: This happens to Sabrina when she discovers that Ash is a Dark-type Pokémon, which leaves her in hysterics, babbling about how he's an abomination that doesn't/shouldn't exist. This only serves to piss Ash off further.

• Innocent Blue Eyes:
  • When not in his human disguise, Ash has these, as all Zorua and Zoroark naturally have blue eyes. His rather optimistic and glass-half-full worldview tends to reinforce the image, but when he gets angry, those cute blue eyes turn quite cold and freezing.
  • Far less normally, Eve the Umbreon has these after she evolves, when said species's eyes are usually red.

• In Spite of a Nail: Ash and Pikachu are still attacked by a flock of Spearow, although this time it isn't Ash's fault; and in turn the two of them still meet Misty after drifting down a river.
  • Team Rocket still chases Ash and his companions, although they do so to catch Pikachu and the "Black Vulpix" that the Spearow flock wants to deal with.
  • Damian still abandons his Charmander, who in turn is taken in by Ash.

• Intellectual Animal: Eevee is this, full stop. Ash has shades of this, like being able to read; but he's not really inclined towards more intellectual pursuits like Eevee is.

• Intergenerational Friendship: Delia and Professor Oak have this sort of dynamic going on, as they both consider each other good friends despite the fact that Oak is old enough to be Delia's father.

• Interspecies Adoption: Delia is human, while Ash is a Zorua. They consider each other to be mother and son and will not hear otherwise from anyone else. Implying that Delia is not his mom is actually one of Ash's main berserk buttons.

• Interspecies Friendship: Ash and Misty consider each other to be good friends (in fact for Misty, Ash is her first friend); and neither are really bothered by the fact that one is a Pokémon and the other is a human.

• Interspecies Romance: Averted and justified, as Misty is a preteen and Ash is mentally a young teen; and neither of them are really interested in each other in that way. This doesn't stop Misty's sisters from teasing Misty over finally getting a "boyfriend" when they meet Ash (much to his confusion and Misty's annoyance and embarrassment), unaware that Ash is a Zorua in disguise.

• Intrigued by Humanity: Even as a little kit, Ash was fascinated by humans, and being raised by Delia didn't tamper that interest at all. The other members of his team also share this fascination to varying degrees, with the exception of Pikachu, who initially dislikes most humans on principle.

• Inventional Wisdom: Discussed and justified in Chapter 12, after Pikachu initially defeats Brock's Onix by triggering the Gym's sprinkler system. They wonder a few times why a place made of stone and metal even has a sprinkler system, but when Misty finally asks, Brock's explanation is simple:
  Brock: We have had some very determined fire Pokémon come through here.

• Limited Wardrobe: Although it's an illusion, Ash uses the same clothes as part of his human form. This was part of what tipped Karen off that Ash was a Zorua.

• Mathematician's Answer: Played with in Chapter 4, when Ash uses his human illusion to put a book on a bookshelf:
  Pichu: I've been wondering, is that just an illusion or is it real? Because you can touch stuff and I can touch you...
  Ash: Yes.
  Pichu: That's not funny.
  Ash: I wasn't trying to be. The answer to both is yes. It is an illusion but it's a solid illusion so it's sort of real.

• Mythology Gag:
  • Ash disguises himself as other game protagonists like Hilda, Lucas, and Brendan.
  • Leaf went back to the Game Corner to get Silph Scope, like in the games.

Tropes N-S

• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Misty calling Agatha about Sabrina causes a major audit for the Kanto Gym Circuit... including the largely floundering Cerulean Gym. Inspector Joy and her Latias completely demolish the Sensational Sisters, and while Misty manages to put up one hell of a fight, she's ultimately unable to keep the gym from being shut down. Of course, Misty and Joy both agree that most of the blame lies on her three older sisters for never taking their jobs seriously, and Joy says that under normal circumstances, Misty's performance would have been enough to save the Gym.

• Not-So-Harmless Villain:
  • The Team Rocket trio remains little more than a nuisance for Ash and his friends and loses easily every time they clash—which isn't nearly as often as in canon. Yet by a mixture of luck and cunning, they end up with consolation prizes that keep them in Giovanni's good graces.
    • When their attempt to rob the Viridian Pokémon Center fails, they meet the flock of Spearow that Ash ran afoul of, and a bit of smooth-talking from Meowth leads to the entire flock joining Team Rocket.
    • When their attempt to plunder the Moon Stone from Mount Moon fails, they stumble onto a Helix Fossil and Dome Fossil that they revive and add to their teams.
    • When they visit an abandoned house of one of James's deceased relatives, they run afoul of Ash's group and the ghosts that have taken residence there, but accomplish their goal of finding the place's pantry and raiding it.
    • When their attempt to poach an abundance of Pokémon from Diglett's Cave fails, and after they're abandoned in the Crystal Caves, they manage to work their way back to the surface with a hefty bag full of evolution stones.
    • When they arrive at Duplica's house, they've realized the cause and effect of their interactions. And this time, when Misty chases them off, James fully grasps that between their two groups, only one has gotten stronger, leading them to resolve to train harder.
  • Then there's Team Rocket as a wider organization. You've got the bumbling trio that undercuts the entire organization's threat level...and then you've got Archer, one of Giovanni's deadliest executives, and Giovanni himself. Before the attack on the Game Corner, it seems that Leaf was the one handling the more dangerous Team Rocket agents. Now, however, Ash and company are in the organization's crosshairs. Of course, it's subverted in that Archer and everyone under his command get arrested the next time they go after Ash and his friends, and Giovanni's personal mission against Ash indirectly leads to his own death.

• Objectshifting: Ash explained to his newly caught Pidgeotto that he can use his illusionary abilities to look like humans, Pokémon, and even inanimate objects, and even shifts into a Pokéball to demonstrate this.

• Oh, Crap!: This commonly happens when Ash is in a situation where his disguise might break.
  • Ash was tackled by Koffing, breaking his disguise. Ash panicked and fired a Dark Pulse at him before reapplying his disguise. James wasn't happy when Koffing told them that Ash hit him (thankfully for Ash, Koffing didn't mention he's a Zorua).
  • Another instance is when Damian was grabbing Ash's shoulder so hard that it would break his illusion. The panic from his disguise about to be burst, as well as the type of person Damian is, caused Ash to use Night Daze on him. During the whole confusion, Ash quickly runs away from the Pokémon Center in his real form.
  • Karen's Absol is horrified to sense the events of the Mewtwo Strikes Back arc while her trainer is away, and seeks to join her by any mean available. She only calms down once after she senses that the event has been resolved.

• Omake: The Halloween Special 2023 is a one-shot Alternative Universe of Zorua Trainer. In the AU, Ash's first trainer was a day late, resulting in Ash dying from starvation and being revived as a Hisuian Zorua. As a result, Ash was even more prejudiced towards humans than Pichu, which even he was concerned with. Pidgeotto, as a Pidgey, has a thing with sharp objects. Misty died two years prior to when Ash meets her ghost. And Pichu dies and reincarnates as an Emolga after firing off a powerful Thunderbolt towards a flock of Spearow.

• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Blaine maintains his hippie innkeeper persona at all times when he's not in the middle of a Gym Battle. The only time he breaks out of it is when Ash shows him the sack full of Mega Stones he found in the Crystal Caves.
  Blaine: WHAT IN THE NAME OF MOLTRES'S CRISPY TAIL FEATHERS?!
  Karen: By the tower, you broke him.

• Paper-Thin Disguise: As in canon, this is the Team Rocket Trio's bread and butter. But as shown in Chapter 50, Ash's existence revolves around disguises, so it won't fool him for long.

• Pint-Sized Powerhouse: Many, many examples throughout the story. Art may be the best of them, though, considering that in Chapter 50, he was able to defeat five Pokémon almost singlehandedly (the first one having been worn down by Cranidos).

• Precision F-Strike: While the main fanfic doesn't contain any swearing, the 2023 Halloween Special on the other hand does. Ash, who's a Hisuian Zorua in the AU, dropped the F-bomb three times throughout the special. The first instance shocked Pichu, questioning where he learned that word, which Ash learned from Arnold the Pidgeot, who he had to make an oath to never say that word around Delia.

• Prolonged Prologue: It's not until Chapter 9 that Ash finally turns 10 and starts his journey.

• Sealed Evil in a Can: Much like the Dark Device and Unearthly Urn from canon, the crystal caves under Kanto have a set of shields that hold a monstrous Pokémon Abomination, in this case a Dugtrio.

• Secret-Keeper: Ash is actually kind of careless about revealing his true form to others.
  • For starters, of course, we have Delia, Professor Oak, and perhaps Spencer Hale.
  • His human companions find out one after another not long after joining him, starting with Misty, then later Karen, and finally Brock. Leaf also put the pieces together without realizing it was meant to be a secret.
  • James's Koffing briefly witnesses Ash's true form in Viridian, though whether he didn't actually see it through his own Smokescreen or whether he just never thought to clarify it to Meowth, the TRio remains utterly oblivious to the fact that Ash is the "strange black Vulpix" that they're looking for.
  • Melanie, steward of the Hidden Village, learns Ash's secret when he starts looking for ways to help abused Pokémon.
  • Ash becomes fast friends with another trainer he meets in Vermilion, one Mina Copsil from Cinnabar Island, and shares his secret when it turns out she's a Ditto in disguise.
  • Sabrina and her father learn because their psychic abilities have no effect on Ash.
  • Janine, and by extension Koga, and perhaps most of the trainers at the Fuchsia Gym as well, learn Ash's secret. Koga even insists that Ash take part in the Gym Battle himself.
  • Blaine finds out not long after they arrive at Cinnabar and doesn't bat an eyelash. Of course, that may have something to do with being Mina's sponsor; she doesn't think he knows, but this is Blaine we're talking about...
  • Ash reveals his secret to Schpielbunk when taking part of the movie Eve is helping him direct.
  • As it turns out, some nine-year-olds in Pallet Town, calling themselves Team Go, knew about Ash's secret but didn't want to ask Delia about it because they're scared of Shelldon.
  • During the events of Mewtwo Strikes Back, Neesha, Corey, and Fergus all find out as well. They also become Secret-Keepers for Mew and Mewtwo's existence.

• Shout-Out: Too many to count, but the stand out examples are as follows.
  • In Chapter 4, when Ash starts teaching himself how to speak, he uses a book called "The Bernstein Bewears Learn the Alphabet!"
  • The Squirtle Squad's personalities and codenames come from the main cast of Codename: Kids Next Door. Specifically, Misty's is Numbuh 1, and Storm is Numbuh 5.
  • Selene's speech is the same as Usagi's from Sailor Moon.

• Sickening Sweethearts: Ash and Misty seem to think so regarding Brock and Karen, though it's unclear how much it's serious versus mere Ship Tease.

• Speaks Fluent Animal:
  • Ash, being a Zorua, is able to perfectly understand his team from the start.
  • Misty attempts to form a strong enough bond with her team to understand them. Thus far, she can understand Staryu, Squirtle, and Starmie.

Tropes T-Z

• Technically Naked Shapeshifter: Ash's first hat was a gift from Misty's sisters for Misty's "boyfriend," and Delia later buys him a different one. Other than that, though, all of Ash's clothing is just an illusion that he made for his human disguise. Pikachu even asks him about how it works, and Ash notes that he technically has the clothing as a part of his body since it's easier for him to do.

• The Team: Ash and his team certainly qualify. Ash is The Leader by default, but he still shows many traits that show how he's the true leader of the team; chief among them being the glue that holds the team together.Pikachu is the one that reigns Ash in if he goes too far, and is also the one Ash leans on for alternate ideas. Pidgeotto is both the largest 'mon on the team and also Ash's heaviest hitter. She also loves a good fight and even joined Ash initially to get stronger. Selene the Clefairy is the more curious of the group (which, given how she grew up in a cave underground, isn't a big surprise), Selene is also the most empathic; often the one more likely to be emotional and more likely to worry as opposed to the rest of the group. Sunny the Charmander is the second youngest of the group and also the one the others feel the most protective over due to his rather naive nature and gentle personality. Eevee is the most scientific-minded of the group; frequently launching into scientific ramblings that the rest of the group tunes out at time. Storm the Squirtle was formerly Numbuh Five of the Squirtle Squad, but became the sixth Pokémon Ash owned. Art (short for Arthalothadamesh) the Ralts is a Ralts from the Rota Kingdom who chooses Ash to be his trainer out of a desire for adventure. At only six weeks old, he's the youngest both physically and mentally.

• Token Adult:
  • Pidgeotto now Morningstar after evolving into Pidgeot fills this role despite being the third youngest, chronologically speaking, often taking the role of the more mature member when the bickering gets to be a bit much.
  • Karen also takes this role, being the oldest of the three Trainers (later four). She also is the one that tends to take the more mature role when things go bad, one of the standout examples being breaking up the Team Rocket base with Leaf, with Karen insisting they leave and get the police.

• Took a Level in Badass: The Team Rocket Trio trains hard after they realize how complacent they've become against Ash, the result of which is shown in Chapter 50: they hold off Mewtwo's entire clone army by themselves.

• Unusually Uninteresting Sight: Almost everyone who learns that Ash is a Pokémon has a bit of shock before rolling with the revelation. The biggest exceptions are Karen, who takes a good while to really get over it, and Sabrina, who...well, she wasn't mentally sound at the time.

• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Misty is so insistent of demanding a proper investigation into Sabrina that she connects with Agatha of the Elite Four. And when Agatha learns about it, followed by learning that the Kanto Gym Circuit hadn't been audited in five years, she begins The Purge (colloquially): Gym Inspector Nurse Joy begins visiting every Gym, minor and major, with every Gym Leader who can't defeat her Latias losing their title, and every Gym without a Gym Leader being shut down. As a result, plenty of trainers need to change up their travel plans as certain Gyms are no longer there to give badges.

• Vitriolic Best Buds: Misty and Karen have this relationship after the latter has a Heel Realization and apologizes; they still butt heads and trade barbs, but it's no longer unfriendly.

• Voice Changeling: Invoked by Ash, who trains himself painstakingly to speak human to perfect his human disguise. Much later, he works on expanding his vocal range when his illusion powers prove not enough to perfectly mimic others' voices.

• What Measure Is a Non-Human?: A lesson Ash is very fond of teaching. He ends up lecturing Goh in a later chapter in response to the latter's cavalier attitude towards catching. But it says a lot about Ash's influence that it's Misty who yells at him that Pokémon are just as much people as humans.