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The Pokémon Ash is most associated with, and the one who (by some) is remembered as being Ash’s first catch in the series, is Pikcahu–though, technically speaking, that wasn’t the case, and Ash’s real first catch is far more significant than many may remember.

Ash made his Pokémon debut in the first episode of the series, which introduced him as a boy who just turned ten years old and was therefore eligible to become a Pokémon trainer. In the first episode, Ash rushed to Professor Oak’s facility where he was given a Pokédex, Poké Balls, and his very first Pokémon–and that Pokémon was Pikachu. From there, Ash and Pikachu set off to ‘catch ‘em all’ while Ash worked to become the greatest trainer on Earth–and that could only start with Ash’s very first official catch not counting the Pikachu he was just given.

While it is no secret that Ash is unarguably the best Pokémon trainer in the franchise, it isn’t strictly for his many successes in battles, but for another reason that was proven true with his very first two Pokémon.

The day Ash Ketchum turned ten years old, he immediately registered to become a Pokémon trainer–as that was the minimum age requirement. All his life leading up to that point, Ash dreamed of being the very best, like no one ever was, when it came to catching and training Pokémon, but he had a long road ahead of him. Not only did Ash accidentally oversleep for his appointment with Professor Oak, which meant that he was dangerously close to not receiving his first Pokémon at all, but he also didn’t really understand the rules of being a Pokémon trainer. Ash didn’t know how to get his Pikachu...