A Pokemon fan-made game, Pokemon Fire Ash, allows players to assume the role of anime protagonist Ash Ketchum as he explores regions across the world, befriending a ton of different monsters and battling against tough trainers and gym leaders. The Pokemon anime and mainline game series have walked fans hand-in-hand through the franchise’s various regions for years, but players who aren’t afraid to try out an unofficial Pokemon game can get their hands on a gameplay experience that comes even closer to Ash’s story.
Pokemon‘s animated television series kicked off on TV Tokyo in the spring of 1997, just 14 months after the Japanese release of the first pair of Pokemon games. The anime introduced protagonist Satoshi, called Ash Ketchum in English-language dubs, a 10-year-old aspiring Pokemon trainer whose experiences throughout the run closely follow those of the various protagonists of video games in the series. For fans around the world, the end of 2022 and beginning of 2023 marked the final episodes of the Pokemon anime starring Ash, and while a new series, Pokemon Ultimate Journeys, has taken its place, Ash’s quarter-century as the human face of the franchise left a major mark that will be sticking with fans for a long time.
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Pokemon Fan Game Lets Players Live Out Ash Ketchum’s Full Journey
Those who find themselves missing the Ash experience can play through it themselves in Pokemon Fire Ash, a game made by Reinhartmax using programming tool RPG Maker. Players start off the journey in the classic setting of Pallet Town, much like they did in Pokemon Red and Blue, but like Ash, they wake up late and have to hurry to meet Professor Oak while still wearing their pajamas. After a mocking greeting by Gary, they’re similarly met with Ash’s dilemma of seeing that all the original starter Pokemon from the mainline games have already been claimed by other kids, and they’re instead forced to take a Pikachu that’s described by the professor as being “a bit reckless.” From there, they’ll engage in battles with gym leaders like Misty and Brock, battle against Team Rocket, and take on the Pokemon League, all before leaving Kanto.
All of that content is very similar to Pokemon Yellow, an officially licensed Game Boy game released worldwide between 1998 and 2000, which was Game Freak and Nintendo’s attempt to tie the anime and the games closer together. But unlike Pokemon Yellow, Pokemon Fire Ash doesn’t stop at the end of the Kanto arc. First released in 2017 and receiving major content updates as the anime progressed, Pokemon Fire Ash grew to include the regions of Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, Kalos, Alola, and The Orange Islands, giving players a truly massive world to explore as they follow in Ash’s footsteps.
Drawing another line between the anime and the official games, Pokemon Fire Ash doesn’t force players to make the journey across its eight regions alone. Just like in the anime, Ash will make traveling companions as he continues his quest to become a Pokemon Master, teaming up with the likes of Misty, Brock, May, Dawn, Iris, Serena, Clemont, and more. Meeting these companions is a designed part of gameplay, and some of the Pokemon that join Ash’s team occur through scripted events as well, adding to the immersion. Likewise, enemies appear similarly to how they do in the anime, with season-specific ne’er-do-wells mixed in with constant comedic interruptions from Jessie, James, and Meowth.
Much like the recent re-release of Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen on Nintendo Switch, Pokemon Fire Ash presents itself in Game Boy Advance-style graphics reminiscent of the official third-generation Pokemon games. That presentation adds an sense of nostalgia for fans of older Nintendo games, adding an extra layer of classic appeal for those who want to go through Ash’s story in a new way.
- Release Date
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1997 – 2023
- Network
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TV Tokyo, TV Osaka, TV Aichi, TVh, TVQ, TSC
- Directors
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Shigeru Omachi, Koji Ogawa, Fumihiro Ueno, Hideki Hiroshima, Maki Kodaira, Makoto Ooga, Ayumi Moriyama, Keitaro Motonaga, Shigeru Ueda, Fumihiro Yoshimura, Minoru Ohara, Yoshitaka Makino, Kiyoshi Egami, Makoto Sokuza, Bjarne Heuser, Naoki Murata, Kenichi Nishida, Tomoe Makino, Masahiko Watanabe, Hiroaki Takagi, Tazumi Mukaiyama, Ryohei Horiuchi, Yoshihiro Oda, Hiromichi Matano
- Writers
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Junki Takegami, Atsuhiro Tomioka, Hideki Sonoda, Yukiyoshi Ôhashi, Yuka Miyata, Takeshi Shudo, Shouji Yonemura, Shinzo Fujita, Michihiro Tsuchiya, Deko Akao, Reiko Yoshida, Aya Matsui, Junichi Fujisaku
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Rica Matsumoto
Satoshi (voice)
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Ikue Otani
Pikachu (voice)
