Max
- If you were looking for the character of the day from Maxxed Out!, see Max (AG049).
| Max マサト Masato | |
 Max | |
| Age | 7 (as of debut) |
|---|---|
| Gender | Male |
| Eye color | Black |
| Hair color | Oxford Blue |
| Hometown | Petalburg City |
| Region | Hoenn |
| Relatives | May (sister), Norman (father), Caroline (mother) |
| Anime debut | There's no Place Like Hoenn |
| English voice actor | Amy Birnbaum (AG003-AG145) Jamie Peacock (AG146-present) |
| Japanese voice actor | Fushigi Yamada |
Max (Japanese: マサト Masato) is a young boy from the anime, and a former traveling companion of Ash. He is the only main character thus far who was not a Pokémon Trainer and he did not own any Pokémon during the entire Advanced Generation series. He is the younger brother of May, and the son of Norman, the Petalburg Gym Leader, and Caroline.
Character
Max is somewhat of a know-it-all, relying mostly on book smarts than actual experience. He seems to have come under Brock's tutelage for real-world knowledge. A running gag in the series is that Max is often excited or happy to experience firsthand an attack or Ability that a Pokémon is well known for, such as Sharpedo's Rough Skin, or Jigglypuff's Sing. Max also took Misty's bit for yanking Brock by the ear whenever Brock sees a pretty woman. Max also frequently shows tension between him and his older sister May, such as telling embarrassing stories about her to others or arguing with her about the way she does certain things. For example, in the movie Jirachi: Wish Maker, May asked Jirachi to "get rid of the problem," and Jirachi, supposedly reading Max's thoughts, teleported her to the top of the candy mountain upside down.
Max is unique of the main characters in that he actually knew of Ash before he met up with him. Max watched the Silver Conference live and then continually watched the videos he made of it. When he stopped to find out who was making noise in the Gym, he was surprised to see one of the competitors standing in the Gym. However, the two did not get off to a good start as Max continued to put Ash down, assuming that he could have defeated Harrison. After seeing Ash battle Norman, however, Max became impressed with Ash and soon decided to travel with him and May. Max's admiration of Ash has been seen on numerous occasions since then, though he admires his father even more.
The question of Max's starter Pokémon was raised a number of times while he was traveling in Hoenn. Between the Hoenn starters, it appears that he would have chosen Treecko as that is what he told May she should have chosen. However, in Having a Wailord of a Time he speculates that he could receive anything. Not knowing who it will be leads to some of the conflict and resolution with his doppelgänger in Maxxed Out!. At the end of that episode he stated that Max is lucky as he already knows who the Pokémon he will start his training with will be. Max finally did meet his future partner in Do I Hear a Ralts? when he befriended a weakened Ralts. Wanting to show his responsibility he took care of it and brought it to a Pokémon Center with a little help from Snorunt. When the two parted ways at the end of the episode, they promised to meet up again when Max was eligible to be a Trainer.
However, while Max does not own any Pokémon, he has befriended a variety of different species during his travels: Poochyena, Jirachi, Deoxys, and a Shuppet in the episode Take This House and Shuppet. He simply played with the Shuppet, after fleeing from the team when he became angered with May. Max has also occasionally borrowed May's Munchlax, such as in Off the Unbeaten Path! when he needed a Pokémon to take part in an Orienteering contest.
Despite this, Max has been in a couple of Pokémon battles. In Gonna Rule the School!, Max spent a day at Roxanne's Trainer's School where he battled with a Poliwag against a Magby. He used strategy in increasing Poliwag's defense as much as possible with Defense Curl, but this backfired when Magby's repeated attacks began to wear Poliwag down. In the episode Candid Camerupt!, Max borrowed Ash's Corphish for a battle against Vivi Winstrate. At the end of Advanced Generation, May announced that she wished to travel to Johto alone. This initially upset Max but Ash cheered him up with the promise of a battle between the two when Max becomes a Trainer. He is currently staying at home in Petalburg City where he is taking lessons from his father and is helping to look after the Gym Pokémon. Max has received just two cameos since his departure, triggered by May's brief return for the Wallace Cup arc.
Pokémon
Due to not being a Trainer, he is unable to train his own Pokémon. Nevertheless, this hasn't stopped him from befriending or borrowing Pokémon, either wild or belonging to other Trainers. When he battles, he focuses on defensive moves such as Protect or Defense Curl instead of offensive moves.
Befriended
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| Shroomish is a Pokémon that Max met very early on in his journey. Max met the seemingly unhappy Shroomish while returning from a burger run with Ash. Max wanted to feed it and make friends with it, so Ash gave Max some Pokémon food to feed it. Shroomish was suspicious and used Stun Spore, causing Ash and Max to quickly back away in surprise.
Ash and Max noted that Shroomish was in the city instead of the forest, where its kind normally would live. Figuring that it might have been separated from its Trainer, they decided that they should take it to a Pokémon Center. Max took out a handkerchief and tied it around the top of Shroomish's head as a gift. The gift made Shroomish very happy. Max picked up Shroomish and they headed off. After another failed Pika-Team Rocket plan, Shroomish, still in Max's arms, got very distressed and ran off. Ash and Max followed it. Shroomish went into the mansion through a broken window. In the end, Shroomish stayed in the mansion with Alex who promised to replant the forest. Shroomish's known moves are Stun Spore and Leech Seed. | ||
| Debut | Taming of the Shroomish | |
|---|---|---|
 
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| During their travels, Max met up with Ranger who had a pack of Mightyena and a lone Poochyena which didn't evolve with the others. Noting that it shouldn't be left out, Max decided to start training it so it could evolve. After battling with it against May's Pokémon and a fight with Team Rocket, it eventually evolved. | ||
| Debut | A Bite to Remember | |
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In the movie, Jirachi awakened for seven days from a mysterious rock while the Millennium Comet was nearby. Jirachi had been taken by Butler, who was hoping to use Jirachi's powers for his own gain. Butler's girlfriend Diane realized what he was doing, and informed Ash and his friends. They decided to bring Jirachi to its home of Forina. Unfortunately, Butler followed them and got a hold of Jirachi. Using the Psychic Pokémon, he unwittingly created a fake Groudon which wrought havoc all over the forests of Forina. Fortunately, Jirachi was saved by Ash and then used its Doom Desire to obliterate the false Groudon. After the ordeal, Jirachi went back to sleep, and Ash and the others continued their journey. During this time, Jirachi grew attached to Max, and formed a special bond with him. It is believed that Max was the one who enabled Jirachi to emerge from the Millennium Comet. He was sad to see Jirachi leave, but he knew that they would always remain friends. | ||
| Debut | Jirachi: Wish Maker | |
|---|---|---|
| Voice actors | ||
| Japanese | Tomiko Suzuki | |
| English | Kerry Williams | |
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| Max befriended Shuppet in a mansion while he was on his travels. Shuppet was inhabiting the mansion as it has been there for quite a while. After meeting up with Max, they decided to have fun and scare some people. Shuppet is incredibly mischievous but does care about its friends and does defend them in battle. In the end it stayed in the mansion with Emily. | ||
| Debut | Take This House and Shuppet | |
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| It appeared in the episode Do I Hear A Ralts?. Max first heard it calling out to him telepathically. He then found it near a lake and it was very sick. Max insisted on taking Ralts to the nearest Pokémon Center, with Ash's Snorunt. He convinced Ralts's family, Kirlia and Gardevoir, that he would help Ralts.
He eventually reached the Pokémon Center, where Ralts made a full recovery from pneumonia. When Team Rocket tried to steal Ralts, it blasted them away with a powerful Psychic. Afterwards, Kirlia and Gardevoir arrived to take back Ralts, but it did not want to leave Max and wanted to go with him. Max promised that he would return for it when he is old enough to become a Pokémon Trainer. It has not been seen since. | ||
| Debut | Do I Hear a Ralts? | |
|---|---|---|
| Voice actors | ||
| Japanese | Ikue Ohtani | |
| English | Rachael Lillis | |
 
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| Deoxys crashed onto the planet and started causing disturbances in the area. When found, it kidnapped Max and Meowth and took them to an alternate dimension. In this time Max befriended Deoxys and learned that it just wanted to be able to leave and get on with its life. With the help of Ash and his friends, along with Solana, this was accomplished.
Deoxys's known moves are Psycho Boost, Safeguard, Psychic and Recover. | ||
| Debut | Pokémon Ranger! - Deoxys Crisis! | |
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Borrowed
These are Pokémon Max has borrowed either for a battle or an event.
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| Max borrowed Poliwag when he attended Pokémon Trainer's School. Max found it under a bench and returned it to Roxanne, who said it was Kenny's, but he was afraid of touching it. Later, when Tommy accidentally stepped on Poliwag's tail, it sparked a fight between Tommy and Max. In battle practice, Max then used Poliwag against Tommy's Magby.
Tommy began with a Flamethrower, which Max countered with Defense Curl. When Tommy tried again, Max used Belly Drum. With increased attack and defense power, Max chose not to go forward and attack, and on Tommy's next attempt with Flamethrower, it was replied with another Defense Curl - however, repeated hits were taking its toll on Poliwag. Suddenly Team Rocket attacked, but Max was able to cooperate with Kenny and Anita to send them blasting off. Poliwag's known moves are Defense Curl, Belly Drum, Water Gun and Protect. | ||
| Debut | Gonna Rule The School! | |
|---|---|---|
| Voice actors | ||
| Japanese | Shin'ichirō Miki | |
| English | Rachael Lillis | |
| Ash's Corphish | ||
Ash gave Max his Corphish in Candid Camerupt!. He used it to battle Vivi Winstrate's Marill. During the battle, Corphish listened to none of Max's commands and went for the offense on the Aqua Mouse Pokémon, defeating it in the process. This caused Max's and Vivi's relationship to break apart, upsetting Max. However, Corphish was there to cheer up Max in the end. | ||
| Debut | Candid Camerupt! | |
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| Voice actors | ||
| Japanese | Katsuyuki Konishi | |
| English | Maddie Blaustein | |
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May gave her brother Munchlax in Off the Unbeaten Path to use in a Pokémon Orienteering Contest. Max was also seen with Munchlax in other occasions other than the contest. | ||
| Debut | Berry, Berry Interesting | |
|---|---|---|
| Voice actors | ||
| Japanese | Chie Satō | |
| English | Billy Beach | |
Achievements
- Pokémon Orienteering - Runner-up (participated with May's Munchlax)
Voice actors
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Trivia
- His appearance is based upon the School Kid Trainer class.
- Although Max took Misty's role of pinching Brock's ear when he sees a pretty girl, he didn't start doing that until he saw Misty do it in The Princess and The Togepi!. However, he did drag Brock by the pants once in A Different Kind of Misty!.
- Max and Téa Gardner from Yu-Gi-Oh! shared the same voice actress in English (Amy Birnbaum) and Iberian Spanish (Beatriz Berciano)
- Max was the first main character besides Ash to have a lead role in a Pokémon movie, as all movies before Jirachi: Wish Maker had either Ash or a character of the day with the lead role.
- In the Ruby and Sapphire versions, an overworld character walking around Brendan/May's house looks much like Max. In Emerald, he was changed to a generic kid sprite.
- In Emerald, Brendan/May is given a little brother, but there is little other resemblance to Max.
- Max befriending a Ralts mirrors Wally's first Pokémon.
- This may also be due to two School Kids using a Ralts in Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald.
Names
| Language | Name | Origin |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese | マサト Masato | Can be taken from 正人, a Japanese given name which literally means correct/elegant man, possibly referring to the fact that he is usually right. |
| English & French & German | Max | May be derived from "Masato". Shares the first two letters with May. |
| Korean | 정인 Jeong'in | From the name 正人 Masato, which can be read as 정인 in Korean Hanja reading. |
| Chinese (Mandarin) | 小勝 / 小胜 Xiǎo Shèng | 勝 may be taken from 勝人, an alternate spelling of Masato. Can mean "small victory" or "young success". |
| Chinese (Cantonese) | 小勝 Síu Sīng | Same as Mandarin name. |
| Thai | มาซาโตะ Masato | Same as his Japanese name. |
Related articles
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This article is part of Project Anime, a Bulbapedia project that covers all aspects of the Pokémon anime. |
