Pokémon: How Old Is Misty (& 9 Other Questions About Her ... - CBR

Promising to follow Ash to the ends of the earth until he replaced her destroyed bicycle, Misty was one of the first characters to accompany the lead in his journey to become a Pokémon Master alongside Brock. Her fiery attitude and chemistry with both Ash and Brock has made her a fan favorite character even decades after her debut in the series, and has returned multiple times to check up on Ash and his new friends.

Related: Pokémon: 10 Terrible Things Misty Has Done In The Anime (That Every Fan Ignores)

Unlike Brock, Misty stopped traveling with Ash after the Sinnoh League was over and her bicycle was returned to her, giving her much less screen time to flesh out her character than either of her male traveling companions.

10 How Old Is Misty?

Although it isn't brought up very often, Misty, like Ash, is a perpetually 10-year-old Pokémon trainer, though her wisdom in battle is well beyond her years owing to the fact that she is also a gym leader. While she isn't the only child gym leader in the series, she was notable for being significantly younger than the majority of other gym leaders Ash had to defeat in his Kanto journeys. Misty's experience is likely the result of being brought up alongside her four sisters, who regularly performed alongside Pokémon for their Sensational Sisters act.

9 Why Are Misty's Sisters Named After Flowers?

Considering Misty is named for her association to Water-type Pokémon, it is strange that her sisters are named Daisy, Violet, and Lily when their younger sister isn't also named after a flower. However, Misty's Japanese name is Kasumi, which is named after kasumiso, also known in English as baby's breath, which is a kind of flower. Misty's sisters also remain named after flowers in Japanese, with their names being Sakura, Ayame, and Botan respectfully.

8 Where Are Misty's Parents?

The only members of Misty's family the audience is ever shown are her four sisters. Like with other trainers in Pokémon, it's likely that both of her parents are on their own Pokémon journeys away from their family and the Cerulean gym was handed down to her from her parents.

Related: Pokémon: 10 Hilarious Times Misty Had To Take Brock Down A Peg Or Two

In the manga adaptation of the anime, Pocket Monsters: The Animation, it is revealed that she and her sisters were actually abandoned by their parents when the role of being gym leaders become too much to handle, subsequently leaving it to their children. Since many aspects of this manga have since been altered in the anime, it is unknown if this is actually canon to her story.

7 Do Her Sisters Ever Appear In The Games?

While Misty appears in every game that takes place in the Kanto region, her three sisters often do not. However, in the Pokémon Yellow remakes, Pokémon Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee, they act as the gym trainers that the player character must defeat before being able to challenge Misty. Since the Pokémon they use are more in line with the ones used by the original gym trainers in generation one, their chosen teams are slightly different from the ones they use in the anime.

6 Does Misty Have Romantic Feelings For Ash?

A running fan theory among the audience is that Misty developed romantic feelings for Ash during their adventures, which is why she spends so much time berating and assaulting him to cover her feelings. Seeing as how Serena was written to be a potential love interest much more clearly, it's unlikely that Misty in the anime ever had feelings for Ash that are stronger than platonic friendship. Misty in the manga, on the other hand, had strong feelings for Red, the character who Ash was modeled on in the anime, so there is still the possibility of them being a couple.

5 Does She Have Any Pokémon That Aren't Water-Type?

In the anime, it's not uncommon for the gym leaders who accompany Ash to catch Pokémon outside of their specialty, since they are away from their gym leader duties and are able to branch out. When it comes to Misty, the only Pokémon she has ever caught that wasn't Water-type was her Togepi and Togetic before she released it, making her somewhat unique among other gym leader companions. Considering that the Water-type is the most commonly occurring type in the series, with the most number of sub-types, she probably doesn't need to branch out too much.

4 How Many Pokémon Does Misty Have?

Like her fellow gym leader Brock, Misty has many Pokémon at her disposal at the Cerulean gym, though she doesn't keep them all on her when she leaves the gym. The Pokémon available to her are Psyduck, Staryu, Starmie, Gyarados, Corsola, Politoed, Goldeen, Horsea, Luvdisc, and Azuril.

Related: Pokémon: 5 Reasons Nessa Is The Best Water Gym Leader (& 5 Reasons Misty Is Better)

That being said, not all of them are used in battles, particularly Azuril, who is only a baby like her Togepi, and she seems to favor the more powerful Pokémon she has gained in her adventures such as Gyarados and Psyduck.

3 Is Her Manga Team Any Different To Her Anime One?

It's fairly common for the anime counterpart of a video game or manga character to have quite a different team to their original versions, though Misty is something of an exception. While she has fewer Pokémon at her disposal, they are all relatively similar and have many crossovers. The major changes are that her Poliwhirl didn't evolve in the manga and she also has a Shellder and Lapras in The Electric Tale of Pikachu, two Pokémon that he hasn't ever had, but were both caught be a main character in the series, with Ash's Lapras and the Shellder that Jesse briefly caught.

2 Who Is The Voice Behind Misty?

Misty's voice is fairly recognizable for any fans who grew up watching the original series of Pokémon, but once 4Kids lost the rights to the English localization, her voice actor changed for her returns in the Alola seasons. Rachael Lillis played the part while under 4Kids, which was her journeys from the first episode up until the Battle Frontier arc where she made a guest appearance. In all of her returning parts, she was played by Michele Knotz. Funnily enough, both of these actors also voiced Jesse, though Michele now also voices May and Nurse Joy.

1 What Is Her Signature Pokemon?

In the video games and manga, Misty's signature Pokémon is her Starmie, which has been the final and most powerful member of her team in all instances except Let's Go, where her Gyarados was one level higher. In the anime, it's a little harder to nail down which of her Pokémon is her signature, since she doesn't favor any Pokémon in particular in battle though is most often seen using Staryu or struggling to make Psyduck usable. As she is at the present time, her signature anime Pokémon is most likely Gyarados, since it has made the most appearances in battle.

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Next: Pokémon: 10 Things About Misty That Make No Sense