The Pokémon anime has had a revolving door of cast members since its inception. Ash will not only visit a variety of cooky town members during his journey, but he's also walked alongside a long-line of companions, each of whom have inevitably left his side. This of course means Brock as well as his first companion (and possible love interest), Misty.
Misty was an integral part of Ash Ketchum's journey during a good portion of the early series and has recently returned for a short but long-awaited return within the modern story. She was the spunky and hot-headed counter to Ash and Brock and was an aspiring Water-Type Master. As nostalgic as some fans may be, no one's bound to have a complete lexicon on the series' first, female lead, leaving a few of her story beats unheard by even the most active fan.
She's Ash's Longest Lasting, Female Companion
Much like The Doctor from Doctor Who, Ash Ketchum is a seemingly ageless adventure who's had quite a diverse group of companions over the years. And while many may fondly remember the likes of May, Dawn, and Serena, it's Misty who has the grand honor of having been the longest-lasting, female cast-member.
For nearly 300 episodes, Misty has graced audiences with her ambitious attitude and constant nagging; and because of her early run and long career, she's become almost as synonymous with the series as Ash himself.
She Changes Voice Actresses
While a long-running series may seem like guaranteed work for voice actors, any television series is bound to rotate its staff. Misty is one such character that many fans may have not realized changed voice actresses. For the first 8 seasons, Misty was voiced by Rachael Lillis (who also had the honor of voicing Team Rocket's Jessie).
After her departure, Michele Knotz would take over Jessie's role, while Misty's spot would be left vacant due to her own, canonical leaving. It wouldn't be until her cameos much later that Michele would finally get the opportunity to voice Misty.
She Returns In Sun And Moon
Even long-time fans are bound to drop the series, only getting to know the series with and without Misty. However, Sun and Moon had quite the creative gamble when it teased that she and Brock would be returning for some Alola adventures. After years and hundreds of episodes of only being casually mentioned, Misty would finally get back a consistent role to compete with and talk down to Ash.
This may have been a shameless grab for nostalgic fans, but who didn't at least consider watching the series again when Misty was brought back on promotional art?
She Makes Fishing Lures
The anime never really touched on it much, especially in the West where, among other things, Episode 35 was censored, but Misty actually has quite the talent for making fishing lures. In retrospect, this makes a lot of sense given her career interests. Misty aspires to be a Water-Type Master and was even shown at the beginning of the series to be fishing for new Pokémon.
It just makes sense that she'd have a knack for making her own fishing lures. She's not only made personal ones for herself but has even gifted one to Ash, something that makes a stray appearance every now and then whenever he fishes.
She Was Meant To Be "Eye Candy"
While Pokémon may be marketed towards children, Japanese broadcasting standards can be a little adult. In an effort to grab the attention of younger boys, series director, Masamitsu Hikada, has admitted that his crew only included Misty as "eye candy."
While Misty has grown to be more than a cute face for loyal fans, this, unfortunately, meant that the crew has no personal or professional motivation to actually bring her back consistently, much like the other female companions of Ash's past.
She And Her Sisters Were Abandoned
Most fans know that Misty has quite a tumultuous history with her elder sisters. As the youngest, she often feels inferior to her bratty, stuck-up siblings. However, it wasn't until Pocket Monsters: The Animation that fans would realize that things could get worse from there.
Due to deep regulations over gym duties, Misty's parents apparently abandoned her and her sisters when the little girls were young, leaving the fledgling trainers-to-be to fend for themselves. Knowing this adds a whole new meaning to Misty's constant drive for independence and why no one else tried running the Cerulean Gym.
She Loses Togepi After It Evolves
Misty may be known as a trainer that specializes in water-type Pokémon, but she has carried a few Pokémon of other genres within her roster. Out of all of them, the most iconic has to be her Togepi. Starting as an egg for Ash, Togepi would hatch near Misty and mark her as its master. This would involve a lot of adorable (and sometimes frightening) antics of a baby Pokémon with powerful, psychic powers.
What some fans might not have learned, however, is that Togepi would eventually evolve in the series into Togetic. In Advanced Generations, Togepi would evolve to help Misty and her friends but, soon after, would have to leave Misty's side to defend the Togepi Paradise.
Misty Does Get Her Bike Repaired
Fans everywhere love to herald that Ash never quite paid Misty back for destroying her bike. While he never personally did, Misty did find that a Nurse Joy had her bike repaired after their Johto journeys.
After years of hearing her complain about getting her bike fixed, it was strange to actually see her one, consistent story arc get completed and even stranger to see her grapple with her true feelings about Ash and her adventures with him. At the very least, she did get a sweet ride to take her where she needs.
She Chooses Responsibility Over Adventure
After getting her bike back after her adventures in Johto, Misty had to make an important choice about her future moving forward. Without an excuse to follow Ash, Misty no longer had an exterior reason to continue the journey. Though she grappled with following him, her decision was inevitably made for her.
Her older sister grew tired of running the gym and decided to go on tour for their water show. With no one else to watch the Cerulean Gym, Misty chose responsibility, leaving the series for good to become the gym leader that she worked so hard to become.
She Isn't Actually A Gym Leader
While Misty was left to take care of the Cerulean Gym, she might not actually have the proper license to run it. In the episode "Cerulean Blues," a Pokémon Inspection Agency begins failing several gyms that don't meet their high standards. They begin to target the Cerulean Gym, leaving Misty to try out her new training.
Unfortunately for Misty, her inspection happened to be on the same day that both a Gyrados begins terrorizing her gym and three, cheating brothers decide to challenge her. Using hard work, ingenuity, and the ability to not be afraid of a Gyrados, Misty manages to just impress the inspector. While the English dub fully states that she passes and is now gym leader, the Japanese dub had more restraint and said that she did enough to just continue running the gym.