So, have they ever said who Ash's father is?

[Marksman]

I looked it up in Wikipedia. This is what I found:
The identity of his father has remained unknown. One reference to him exists in the anime. During a phone conversation between Ash and his mother in the second episode, she states to her amazement that he got from Pallet Town to Viridian City in one day. "It took your father four days to get there when he started Pokémon training", she says, "He'll be so proud!". A line from the play, Pokémon Live!, suggests that Delia, at one time, had a relationship with the leader of Team Rocket, Giovanni when she was a teenager, but in the anime, no evidence of Giovanni being Ash's father has been shown currently.
It is often speculated that Giovanni is Ash Ketchum's father due to a scene in Pokémon Live! in which Delia states that she dated Giovanni when she was younger. So far, this is the only piece of canonical evidence to support this theory in any way. Some have pointed out that Giovanni didn't even recognize Ash on the one occasion they've met (in Mewtwo Returns) as evidence against the theory. However, if Giovanni had no role in raising his son (which would certainly be the case if he were Ash's father), he would have no way of recognizing the boy more than a decade after his birth.

So to Summarise, there is a good Chance that Giovanni IS Ash's Father!
Yet the Truth still remains a Mystery...

:t152:

 

[Percy Thrillington]

i think its pretty sure giovanni is ash's father cuz they never met , and kind of been talking like that anyway.
its probably gonna be a huge climax when he has to battle giovanni.

ps: ho oh ashs father? rofl if so then miss ketchum is rly freaky in bed.

No, it has been hinted in Firered and Leafgreen that the antagonist is Giovanni's son. It's also be wrongly speculated that Molly Hale's dad is Ash's father, he's not.

We haven't been told and we probably never will be as it's not related to the storyline.

 

[austin00081]

I read somewhere that Ash's mom divorced her husband and they live separately.

(off-topic) Brock's mother, she never made an appearance in the show because she "died", and Brock's dad was the only one around. But I saw an episode from the Pokemon Chronicles TV show, and Brock's mom was there, somehow magically reborn from the dead.

 

[spike6958]

I read somewhere that Ash's mom divorced her husband and they live separately.

(off-topic) Brock's mother, she never made an appearance in the show because she "died", and Brock's dad was the only one around. But I saw an episode from the Pokemon Chronicles TV show, and Brock's mom was there, somehow magically reborn from the dead.

That wasn't Brock's Mom, it was a new girl his Dad met while Brock was off with Ash, called Misuho, at least according to Serebii.

 

[bruom]

oh well, heres how i think (you may already know if you read at "do i exist" thread):
we are only giving "why's and why nots". theres no way of having sure about it, until there are concrete proofs. i mean, where are you supposed to go with this discussion? you all know you wont proof anything unless you do deep research or wait until more informatio comes out. as it seems that none of this is happening, we arent going anywhere.
however, as im liking this discussion, ill tell my theory:
ashs father is some unsucessfull trainer who had promised he would come back home as the pokemon league champion. as he couldnt win, he decided to train more and try again. maybe, in a future anime season, ash will meet it at the final of a pokemon league challenge. wouldnt it be cool?

 

[Andelc]

Spoiler:

Im pretty sure Ash's father died,

it makes the most sense

 

[weedle_mchairybug]

That wasn't Brock's Mom, it was a new girl his Dad met while Brock was off with Ash, called Misuho, at least according to Serebii.

Umm... It WAS Brock's mom in both versions, Serebii most likely said that to clear up confusion. Plus, the episode guide was written by GoldenNoctowl, and it's not to be taken that seriously. I mean, Dogasu even confirmed that the lady was, indeed, Brock's mom in both versions. Ask him if you don't believe me.

Anyways, while it does seem unlikely that he would ever appear, that doesn't mean he CAN'T appear. Remember, Brocks mom made an appearance 5-9 years AFTER her mention in Brock's introductory episode. If they could the mother of a character of the same level as Brock to appear despite 5-9 years having passed, they can most CERTAINLY give Ash's Dad an appearance irregardless of the time that passed since the second episode of the series.

Also, about it not being related to the storyline, does it really matter in a series like this? Brock's mom wasn't exactly related to the storyline either, and that never stopped the writers from giving her an appearance 5-9 years after Brock's introductory episode.

 

[MasterWGS]

I'm going to say Ash is his own father via time travel.

QFT. This is the ONLY logical explanation for Ash's existence. I would have agreed with the Ash = Jesus, especially with his variety of miracles (Electric vs ground apparently = Electric win whenever Ash battles with Pikachu), but due to the existence of evolution in Pokemon, the concept of religious background/meaning in Pokemon would be inconsistent. Plus we know time travel exists in the Poke-world due to the Claydol episode (I think. . . I know SOME episode involves time travel).

Humor aside, I think that Ash has no written-in father at the moment. They may create a character later on, but I doubt any of the current cast is (or is at least planned to be) Ash's dad.

 

[conicteam]

Plus, didn't a PUSA representative once mention that Ash's father will appear in the D/P series in one convention?

If that's the case then we're going to have to wait until that episode is aired on Cartoon Network.