How Old is Ash Ketchum From Pokémon?

Not many TV series get to boast of a 25-year run, and there are even fewer that can boast of actually growing in popularity after 25 years. The original Pokémon series is special for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is its main protagonist’s neverending youth.

Ash Ketchum’s age has been argued over amongst fans for almost as long as the show’s been on the air; this article endeavors to finally put that argument to rest. Keep reading to discover Ash Ketchum’s real age in Pokémon!

How Old is Ash Ketchum from Pokémon?

Ash’s Canon Age

Ash Ketchum’s canon age is 10. No matter what Pokémon series or movie Ash Ketchum stars in, he is always 10 years old. With 7 official sequential series and 23 official animated movies, you’d think the producers would let Ash have at least one birthday, but you’d be wrong!

This simple fact provides more questions than it does answers, such as, do any of the other characters in the Pokémon universe age? Is everyone else just aging normally while Ash is stuck at 10 years old? Or is the Pokémon universe’s timeline just a lot shorter than we all think it should be?

It seems as though the public is meant to believe that every adventure Ash Ketchum has embarked on in the past 25 years has taken place in the span of a single year. This is odd for many reasons, not the least of which is that Ash has been seen celebrating multiple holidays and seasonal festivals throughout the series.

Either there are a concerning amount of repeat holidays within a Pokémon-universe calendar year, or Ash is an immortal that’s lying about his age so he can still get into Disneyworld at a discount. It will honestly be interesting to see if this trend will continue in future Pokémon series; just how many more years will Ash Ketchum be allowed to keep his eternal youth?

Ash’s Official Age

Ash Ketchum’s canon age may only be 10 years old, but his official age is much older than that. The original animated Pokémon series aired on April 1st, 1997, which means the original show that Ash Ketchum starred in is now 25 years old. Ash Ketchum was still 10 years old in the show when it first came out, which means, officially, he’s 35. That’s right, Ash Ketchum is practically a millennial!

Not allowing Ash Ketchum to age in the series is definitely an interesting choice, but regardless of its plausibility, it looks like we’ll just have to leave it up to Pokémon’s producers for the foreseeable future. Pokémon has definitely changed a lot in the two decades it’s been running, it wouldn’t be astonishing to see Ash’s endless youth addressed in future episodes, even if it’s not in a serious context. If Pokémon’s producers did choose to do something about this implausible problem in the future, there are always a few ways they could go about tackling it.

For example, there are numerous legendary Pokémon that have been known to possess time-bending powers; maybe Ash’s eternal youth will be explained away using an evil, time-manipulating Pokémon who hates birthdays or something. Or maybe he just uses a really good moisturizer. Regardless, for now, fans will just have to deal with Ash Ketchum being 10 years old.

Related: Every Fish Pokemon from Every Generation – Ranked

The mystery of Ash Ketchum’s true age may forever haunt Pokémon fans, but one thing that won’t haunt them is the enjoyability of the numerous Pokémon games. If you love playing Pokémon and want to get all of the best tips and tricks to beating the games, then check out Gamer Journalist’s hundreds of Pokémon game guides!