Pokémon Confirms Ash's Mom Is Almost The Professor

Ash's mother rarely appears in Pokémon anime, but one movie shows her almost becoming a Pokémon professor like Oki.

While the Pokémon anime focuses heavily on younger characters like Ash, little has been revealed about the many older characters like Delia Ketchum. Have they ever had their own Pokémon adventures? According to an early Pokémon movie, in Delia's case, she almost became Professor Pokémon.

Ash's mother never really showed much interest in Pokémon. She gets along well with them, as many of Ash's Pokémon seem to love her as if she's their own mother, and she befriends her Mr. Mime and catches her effortlessly. Despite this, she doesn't seem to be watching the Pokémon tournaments other than Ash's matches, and spends most of her time living a quiet life in the real town not far from Professor Oak's lab.

As it turns out, her proximity to Oak's lab was no coincidence. In the Pokémon movie Entei and the Unknown Spell, Delia Ketchum is revealed to have worked with Professor Oak as a research assistant with a man named Spencer Hale in her youth. When Delia finds out he's missing, she's drawn into the plot of the film and travels to his hometown Help with searching. A group of unknowns who pity his daughter Molly have kidnapped Delia to be her new mother, so Ash, his Pokémon and their friends must rescue his mother and defeat the unknowns and their created Entei to look after her . Once they're defeated, Spencer returns to Molly, and Delia is free to return home to Pallet Town.

Did Ash Prevent Delia From Succeeding Professor Oak?

In the anime and movie, this is the only bit of backstory provided for Ash's mother, but it's an interesting story nonetheless. Many characters serve as the professor's assistants, such as Dexio and Sina in X and Y, or Sonia in Sword and Shield. Sonia even went on to become the new professor, suggesting Ash's mom might be on that track, too. It's not known why Delia gave up this career; one can't help but wonder if Ash's birth had something to do with it, especially given how absent Ash's father is throughout the Pokémon universe. However, it does suggest that she still lives in Pallet Town, especially since she used to work with Professor Oak, and it wouldn't be surprising to know if she headed there A Pokémon that helps Ash from time to time. Her successor appears to be Oak's grandson, Gary, who himself became a Pokémon researcher.

In the world of Pokémon, it is very unusual to have a character like Delia, who used to have a career related to Pokémon, but not anymore. While the mystery of Ash's mom's past may never be fully explained, details like this add a little depth to an otherwise flat character.