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Though many of his misdemeanors can be chalked down to his immaturity, some of the young trainer’s actions go far beyond “kids will be kids.” Throughout the series, he has done some truly terrible things and while he often shows remorse later on, the fact that he continues to mistreat those around him suggests that they’re little more than Krokorok tears.

10 He Mistreated Pikachu

After sleeping in on the morning of his tenth birthday, Ash arrives at Professor Oak’s lab far too late to get the Squirtle that he’d been dreaming of. He’s so late, in fact, that Oak’s all out of Charmanders and Bulbasaurs too; forcing Ash to reluctantly accept his now famous Pikachu instead.

It’s understandable that Ash is a little annoyed about the situation and Pikachu’s stubbornness certainly doesn’t help either, but neither of these things excuses the way that Ash treats his new Poke-pal. After tying a rope around the Pokemon’s waist, he drags Pikachu kicking and screaming into a confrontation with some Spearows which ultimately leads to the Pokemon getting seriously injured.

9 He Threw Rocks At Birds

Given how badly it had been treated, it’s little wonder that Pikachu wasn’t ready to risk its life in battle for its ungrateful new master. Rather than leave the Spearow be like a normal person would though, Ash instead decides to take matters into his own hands. Well. Matters and a few rocks too.

Throwing stones at birds is sadly not the worst thing that Ash ever does in the anime, but it’s a pretty shocking way to kick off the entire series. Thankfully, karmic justice is swiftly delivered as a flock of Spearows swoops in and attacks the terrible trainer. Most people would learn a lesson from this, but not Ash.

8 He Captured Wild Pokemon

Catching and battling Pokemon may be an integral part of the series’ lore, but this shouldn’t automatically make it morally acceptable. With that in mind, taking a Pokemon from its natural habitat and forcing it into a tiny ball shouldn’t get a free pass. It gets worse though.

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Sometimes, a Pokemon resists capture and it’s at this point that Ash uses one of his already enslaved creatures to beat the poor thing into submission. Perhaps over time, some of them grow to like or at least accept his ownership of them, but that some of them were never given a real choice in the first place seems incredibly cruel.

7 He Abandoned His Pidgeot In The Wild

Some time on from Ash’s fateful encounter with the flock of Spearows in the anime’s first episode, he runs into one of them again while on a return trip to Pallet Town. In the time since their first meeting, however, it has evolved into a mighty Fearow and definitely hasn’t forgotten about its ill treatment at Ash’s hands.

To avoid another mass pecking, Ash calls out his Pidgeotto to fight it off and, after evolving into a Pidgeot, it manages to do just that. Rather than rewarding his Pokemon though, the young trainer instead orders it to stay in the forest in case the Fearow ever returns. Despite his promise to come back for it someday, it has remained in Viridian Forest for more than two decades now; just waiting for its master to return.

6 He Left Many Of His Pokemon In Storage For An Eternity

While Ash’s treatment of Pidgeot might seem pretty terrible, it’s nothing when compared to how he treats some of the other Pokemon that he no longer has a use for. Just ask one of the many Pokemon that the young trainer has left in storage for seasons at a time.

Granted, it’s safe to assume that the Professors and trainers who are holding onto the Pokemon take care of their basic needs. What they cannot do, however, is provide the affection from their master that many of these creatures so desperately crave. Even in the rare instances when Ash does draft one of them into his team, it’s usually only an episode or two before they’re straight back in storage.

5 He Pushed Bayleaf Away For Loving Him Too Much

Given how badly Ash treats his Pokemon, it’s a little surprising that so many of them grow to like him during their forced imprisonment. One Pokemon that loved Ash from the very beginning was his little Chikorita, who constantly pounced on him like a puppy to show its affection. Unfortunately, however, puppies usually get bigger.

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While Ash tolerated Chikorita while the Pokemon was small, he quickly grew tired of it after it evolved into a Bayleef and told the poor Pokemon to stay away from him. As one might expect, she didn’t take too well to his verbal assault and, after bursting into tears, decided to run away from the terrible trainer rather than take any more of his abuse.

4 He Wore Blackface To Infiltrate A Colony Of Passimians

Considering the controversy that was caused by the original design of Jynx, it’s somewhat surprising that the episode Touchdown of Friendship ever saw the light of day. In many countries outside of Japan, in fact, it never did, and there’s a very good reason for that.

In the episode, Ash attempts to infiltrate a group of Passimians by dressing up like one of the Pokemon. He goes way too far though when he decides to paint his face black to better blend in. Western broadcasters were less than impressed and the episode became the anime’s fifth to be banned in the States due to its inclusion of blackface.

3 He Ordered Pikachu To Use Lethal Force Against Humans

Unlike in civilized society, the world of Pokemon seems to have very little issue with pitting two animals against each other in battle. It does, however, seem to draw the line at using Pokemon to attack humans. This doesn’t stop Ash from doing so on countless occasions though.

Team Rocket tend to be his usual victims and he’s set many different Pokemon on them over the years. It’s pretty amazing that they have survived his repeated assaults, especially considering Pikachu can unleash thousands of volts of electricity at a time. Ash is lucky that Team Rocket were never killed, not only because it would likely lead to Pikachu being put down, but also because of the murder charges he would no doubt be facing.

2 He Risked The Lives Of His Pokemon On Multiple Occasions

That it took Ash more than two decades to become a Pokemon champion says a lot about his skill as a trainer. Time and time again he has demonstrated a complete lack of knowledge as to how Pokemon battles work and whilst this may have delayed him from achieving his dream, it is his Pokemon that are the true victims of his ignorance.

Whether it be the time that he pulled out a caterpillar to fight a bird or when he ordered Pikachu to take on Brock’s Onix, it typically leads to his Pokemon picking up serious injuries. If he truly cared about dream or his team, he’d take the time to learn about their strengths and weaknesses and stop throwing them into such dangerous situations.

1 He Traded Butterfree And Aipom Away When He got Bored Of Them

Ask any pet owner and they will all but certainly say that the thought of trading away one of their fury friends is one that would never cross their mind. Sadly, however, this just isn’t the mindset of Ash Ketchum, who seems to jump at the opportunity to upgrade one of his Pokemon whenever it presents itself.

It’s bad enough that he has already taken them away from their homes and loved ones and forced them into battle, but to then discard them like pieces of used tissue paper is truly despicable. In truth, Butterfree and Aipom both deserved better than Ash anyway, although the former was sadly returned to him near the end of the episode; only to be released just a few weeks later.

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