Ash Ketchum – My Inspiration to Be The Very Best

Within the eighteen years of my life, I have faced a handful of different challenges and hardships along my journey. I have aspirations of travelling to places all around the world and meeting new friends of all different personalities. My friends and family have always supported my passions and ideas, and continue to encourage me to pursue my dreams. Almost everyone views me as the kid who is obsessed with football as they see my absolute love for the sport. Yet, as a young boy to who I am now, people would have never expected something such as the videogame and television series called Pokémon to influence my life as much as it does today.

Starting in 1998 the world of Pokémon became an instantaneous classic in North America. Although, the franchise caught my eye when I was just four years old. The television show featured the main protagonist Ash Ketchum and his loyal partner, Pikachu. Ash was viewed as a role model to me, as I would be up every Saturday morning at 9:00 AM to watch his next adventure unfold. My eyes were always glued to the TV, and both of my parents knew not to bother me at all when I was watching. Although the franchise is targeted specifically to younger generations, the series offers many positive virtues, such as chasing your dream and striving to be the best, which are often overlooked by the average person looking from the outside in.

In the television show, Ash Ketchum sets off at age ten to pursue his dream of becoming a Pokémon master. To do this, he travels the region of Kanto and obtains eight badges that allow him access to the Indigo Plateau, home of the prestigious Pokémon League. He battles many trainers along the way, facing many wins and losses. The bond that he creates with his partner Pikachu is undeniably unbreakable as they go through everything together. When Ash finally makes it to the league, he begins to win his way through as he is bolstering with confidence. He comes to the final battle and suffers a heartbreaking loss in the final moments. Ash came extremely close to his dream, but had come up just short. At first he is completely broken, but being the leader he is, he brings his team together and brings their spirits up. He soon hears of another region with another League. His dream and competitive fire is growing bigger than ever before, as he learned from his loss and moves on to capture his dream once again. The cartoon exhibits the lifelong ideology that determination, persistence, and hard work will yield its benefits, as Ash wins the Championship in the next season.

“Being the very best” is a phrase often heard in the theme of each Pokémon season. The games continue even after you have captured all of the available Pokémon and defeated the League. Some people may see this as pointless, but the game inadvertently teaches many to continue to strive to be the best that they can be, essentially saying that your journey never ends. There will always be opponents to battle, adversity to overcome, and new places to explore. Those satisfied with the bare minimum of the game will miss this life lesson; those with a passion for the things they care for will continue to push forward, to go above and beyond, and to exert the force necessary in order to come up on top.

As an odd source of inspiration and influence, Pokémon has taught me the basic moral values that I continue to live by in my everyday life. Playing football has been my passion, much like how Pokémon are Ash Ketchum’s passion. In practice, I look among my teammates in adverse situations and remind them to keep pushing through and to work hard through any situation. That competitive fire that is within me had all started through a simple created cartoon character, being Ash Ketchum. Although Pokémon is a children’s game, it taught me that “I want to be the very best," no matter who or what I am competing with in life.