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10-year-old Ash Ketchum is determined to become the world's greatest Pokémon trainer. He begins his journey with his reluctant first Pokémon, the electric Pikachu. They are very similar - both are stubborn to a fault, determined to meet their goals, and very energetic. They have an uneasy truce in the beginning that quickly develops into a caring relationship of Pokémon and trainer, and soon they become the best of friends. After winning over Pikachu though, Ash still must capture 149 other Pokémon - and that's no easy feat, with plenty of other trainers competing for the honor of being the best! As he begins his adventures, Ash meets Misty, an opinionated Water Pokémon trainer, and Brock, the gym leader of Pewter City. Although they battle against each other at first, the trio teams up and searches for Pokémon together. Brock becomes Ash's confidant and brother-figure (when he isn't chasing girls), and Misty is also a good friend, despite their frequent arguements. The major obstacle is their way is the villanous Team Rocket, a group of trainers whose actual goal is world domination. They're greedy and selfish. They interfere in Ash's Pokémon-catching. They hatch countless underhanded plots to capture Pokémon through cheating or stealing. They're just plain evil. (And they have quite a following in the Pokémon fan world.) Fortunately, they are often as clumsy as they are bad, and their plans usually end up backfiring. With its enormous popularity, the anime of Pokémon is still running in Japan and being released in the US to avid fans. With people everywhere hooked on Ash's adventures, the Pokémon craze won't end even after Ash catches them all!