How Ash Caught Something Rarer Than A Legendary Pokemon

In Pokémon, mythical Pokémon are so rare their existence is questioned, but when Ash adds his first mythical Pokémon to his arsenal, Pokémon the Series: Sun and Moon Ultra Legends explains how Ash caught something rarer than a legendary Pokémon. After 26 years of the wildly successful franchise, it’s finally revealed that Ash Ketchum caught his first mythical Pokémon before a legendary Pokémon. Both groups are considered extremely rare, but mythical Pokémon holds the title of the most elusive type of Pokémon.

Pokémon has extensive lore thanks to its multiple outlets of games, manga, show series, and movies. The rarity of mythical Pokémon originated from the games, where players could only catch a mythical Pokémon by obtaining the player in a real-life event and later opened more options with Pokémon Go by players catching Meltan and acquiring 400 Meltan candies to evolve into Melmetal. Along with the gaming aspect, mythical Pokémon’s existence is more of a rumor amongst the trainers due to limited sightings. That’s why it was a shock to the crowd in the Pokémon episode “Final Rivals!” where Ash reveals his first fighter as Melmetal in Pokémon the Series: Sun and Moon Ultra Legends.

The amount of Pokémon collected has come a long way since Ash’s first six Pokémon, including his catch of Meltan, a curious and timid steel-type Pokémon that posed its own challenge to acquire. This find led to the mythical Pokémon, Melmetal, from the evolution of Meltan. It was because of this evolution that Ash inadvertently obtained a mythical Pokémon. Ash has had multiple chances to catch a legendary Pokémon throughout the series but often decided not to despite forming close bonds with a few of them throughout the year even though he wasn't their trainer. By contrast, he caught Melmetal through luck and coincidence, having already captured its pre-evolution form, Meltan.

While legendary Pokémon are canonically rare to catch, they have had a lot of screen time and interactions with Ash, amplifying the mystery to mythical Pokémon with their minimal appearances. One of the most well-known legendary Pokémon is Mewtwo, a popular character that first appeared in the 1996 game Pokémon Red and Blue. Since then, multiple types of legendary Pokémon have been on screen, and there are many reasons Ash never caught a legendary Pokémon. Some were too dangerous to train. Others preferred freedom over being caught. Additionally, many legendary Pokémon were hunted down for sinister reasons by villains. With Jessie and James from Team Rocket already constantly chasing him, Ash didn’t want to purposefully add more enemies trying to steal his Pokémon.

Similarly, Ash didn’t go out of his way knowingly to catch a mythical Pokémon. He caught Meltan, who a few episodes later sends out a signal to his fellow Meltans. They all perform a dance and chant while Ash and his friends are oblivious to what’s happening and Meltan evolves into Melmetal. Meltan is the only Pokémon that evolves into a mythical Pokémon, and Ash can use him in the tournament battle. Although Melmetal eventually loses against their opponent, Melmetal can use their signature move, Double Iron Bash, after only one day with Ash. While Melmetal is less timid than its former self, it is still loyal to its friends, including Rowlet. Ash eventually leaves Melmetal with the Professor while he travels the world, but thanks to Meltan’s decision to evolve on its own, Ash caught something rarer than a legendary Pokémon in the Pokémon canon.

Next: Every Legendary Pokémon In Pokémon Master Journeys: The Series