Has Ash Grown as a Trainer?

The only times he actually GREW as a Trainer are in Johto and Sinnoh (going by actual leagues). And the reason for that is simple: Unlike in the other leagues (Kalos is pending), he actually advanced in rank (Kanto's his first region, so that really doesn't count; Hoenn had him staying the same rank as in Johto, and Unova had him regressing). If we count stuff like the Orange League and the Battle Frontier, he also made some progress there, but then again, he gets beaten and his accomplishment there treated as a joke.

In one of the recent X episodes he mentioned that before it had always been his Pokemon that were the ones changing and growing, and now it was time for him to grow if he wanted to stay on top of things and be a better trainer. I really like that he said that, and I think there's a chance that his character could really go through some more development from this - or I hope he does. Cause yeah, he hasn't grown a whole lot since Johto or Sinnoh, so it would be nice to see him do more growing for the end of Kalos.

I love that too. And yeah i do think they are aiming higher in character development comparatively to Johto and Sinnoh. Cuz they are unusually(according to his standards at least if i may add) trying to infuse him with a power unique to whatever we've seen so far. Making him into a powerhouse eventually should be their goal

XY Ash is overly nice , That what bother me.
I want Ash to be very clever and smart boy who can solve mystery But I never to him to be mature.
Ash is just a 10 year boy ! If he start acting like an Mature adult then Core Audience will find him unappealing.

For Example : Ben Tennyson from Ben 10 ! He is very clever and smart enough to solve mystery on his own and often outsmart the smartest genius level villain.
However , He is also can be immature and childish jerk !
That What I want to see from Ash.

Oh boy my favorite subject.

Overall, as mentioned, Ash has grown as a character. But his development seems to stop at Sinnoh, after he lost against the league. However, I think the move from Sinnoh -> Unova -> Kalos has been a different kind of development. Perhaps not in the strength deparment, but in other aspects.

Unova you see him basically reverting back to older times, so to say. Forgetting what gender his Pokemon are, trying to use attract on the wrong Pokemon, so on and so forth (there was also the disaster of Elesa's gym but let's not go there). But there were times when he was showing that he has grown a lot as a trainer as well. Teaching the Cottonee how to fight in order to get a girlfriend, and the lessons that he teaches Cilan and Iris unintentionally as well. I could go more into detail, but my thoughts on him going from a powerhouse of sinnoh to what he was in unova a psychological deal.

After his set back of the Unova league, though, he comes to Kalos and becomes more of a powerhouse. More like Sinnoh. For quite a while (between Korrina and the Ash-Greninja stuff) Ash was pretty much on a winning streak. It was getting so long that I was starting to feel like that he needed a few losses, because I don't think his development is done yet. I don't think he should be that unbeatable trainer yet. Thankfully, XYZ has given us a few losses, and development on the side.

That's just his strength as a trainer though. When it comes to the other sides of him (such as his attitude), the change between Unova and Kalos is pretty easy to explain. For the most part anyways. Don't ask me why there hasn't been as many Pikachu and Ash moments in Kalos because I can't tell you (and something that I really wish they would fix. It's probably my biggest pet peeve, but I love XY anyways so eh), but the dymanics between him and his companions pretty much explain it all.

This is mostly in response to what Famon said about Ash's maturity. Back in Unova you had Cilan who was older than him and then Iris who teased him constantly. Ash wasn't the most mature in the group and he had someone who would bring out the immaturity in him. He also had Trip who also pushed his buttons in more 'childish ways'. But there is no one to do that in Kalos. Instead you have Sawyer who likes Ash and roots for him (quite a difference from Paul and Trip), Serena who is head over heels for him, Clemont who is too nice to really pick a fight with Ash, and Bonnie who also wouldn't pick a fight with Ash. That said, Ash is the most "experienced" trainer (I put that lightly because Clemont is a Gym Leader. Unlike Ash though Clemont hadn'tdone much traveling until his travels with Ash), so it puts him in a leader role.

That said we will have to see what comes out of XYZ and the league, and then look back to see how it was at the beginning and the end of Kalos and what he brings to Alola as a result. Whatever he brings would be his development whether it's negative or positive. Whether or not he's "stronger" in one regard but not in another, etc.

The biggest problem with Ash's character development is that it gets wiped away every time he moves to a new region. Since Hoenn he's been developing this ridiculous amnesia that has wiped away all of his prior experiences save for at key moments when one of his old Pokemon comes back for an episode or two and reminds him that he did actually travel another region prior to this.

Ash has always developed a little in each of the arcs; especially in Sinnoh, where he progressed in leaps and bounds and it took a freakin' Darkrai and a Latios to stop him from outright winning the League. The problem is that it's the same old song and dance each time and nothing sticks.

It's not a question of maturing, as far as I'm concerned. I'd just like it if he had actually learned from his past mistakes and previous journeys, instead of being stuck in this endless loop. He'll never really change because the writers won't allow it.

I just finished watching a recent episode and I was actually quite pleased. The last time I saw an episode was during the Johto days.. Yeah, many years ago.

Ash has grown tremendously! He seems a lot more mature and has become a role model. I'm glad to see that although he's an experienced trainer, he's still learning and his dream hasn't died out.

I can relate to Ash now. Although I've been playing Pokemon for years, whenever I play a new game and start all over, there are times that I lose. I consider myself an competitive battler and I'm always ready for a battle. However, I don't know all of the strategies out there and every battle I learn something new. I'm sure that's the same concept they're trying to demonstrate with Ash.

Pokemon is all about having fun and learning as time goes by. Why the rush to be the very best? There's always going to be someone else better than you. It'll be a sad day when they finally retire Ash. It'll be like Yugi. He reached the pinnacle of duel monsters and he'll probably never make a cameo ever again. He's just going to win.