Let’s be honest. If you spent any time on the internet in the late 2010s, you saw the meme. You know the one. It’s a screenshot from the Pokémon Sun and Moon anime where Delia Ketchum is lounging on a beach chair in Alola, and Mr. Mime—affectionately nicknamed Mimey—has his hand resting a little too comfortably on her knee.
The internet lost its mind.
Suddenly, a joke that had been simmering in the basement of Reddit for a decade boiled over into the mainstream. People weren't just asking is Mr. Mime Ash's dad for the laughs anymore; they were looking at the evidence. They were looking at the timeline. They were looking at the fact that Ash’s actual father has been "on a journey" for roughly twenty-five years without so much as a postcard, while a psychic bipedal creature is doing the laundry and making breakfast in Pallet Town.
It's weird. It’s definitely weird. But is it true?
The Case for the Mime: Why Fans Think Mimey is More Than a Pet
To understand why this theory persists, you have to look at the vacuum left by the show's writers. We know next to nothing about Mr. Ketchum. In the very first episode, Delia mentions that Ash’s father is a Pokémon trainer who is still out there somewhere, trying to make it big. In Pokémon the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle, Ash actually acknowledges his dad, saying he remembers his father telling him that his dreams were within reach.
But talk is cheap.
Mimey, on the other hand, is a constant presence. Since the episode "It’s Mr. Mime Time" in the Indigo League season, this Pokémon has basically filled the paternal void. He doesn't live in a Poké Ball. He has his own chair. He wears an apron. He goes on family vacations to tropical regions. When Delia is lonely, Mimey is there. When the house needs cleaning, Mimey is there.
The "Dad" energy is off the charts.
Think about the Alola region arc again. In the Sun and Moon series, the dynamic shifted from "helpful pet" to "domestic partner." There are scenes where Mimey is literally sitting at the dinner table like the head of the household. For a show aimed at kids, the subtext for adults is... loud. It’s that specific brand of "Stepdad who is trying his best" energy that makes the theory so sticky.
The Biological Wall: Can a Pokémon Actually Father a Human?
This is where things get messy. And a little gross, depending on how deep you want to go into the "Egg Group" mechanics of the games.
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In the Pokémon world, breeding is limited to specific categories. A Pikachu can breed with a Buneary because they share the "Field" egg group. Humans, however, aren't Pokémon. At least, not in the modern era of the games.
However, Sinnoh myths found in the Canalave Library—specifically in the Japanese version of Pokémon Diamond and Pearl—drop a massive bombshell. The text states that there was once a time when humans and Pokémon were considered the same thing. They ate at the same table. They married each other.
It’s canon.
While the English localization softened this to "people and Pokémon sat at the same table," the original Japanese People and Pokémon were one and the same is much more suggestive. If you subscribe to the idea that humans are just another branch of the evolutionary tree in this universe, the biological barrier to is Mr. Mime Ash's dad starts to crumble.
But let's pull back for a second. Ash is clearly human. He doesn't have psychic powers—well, except for that whole Aura Guardian thing in Lucario and the Mystery of Mew, but that’s a different rabbit hole. If his father were a Mr. Mime, wouldn't Ash be... part Mime? Wouldn't he have pink circles on his cheeks or a natural inclination to create invisible walls when he's stressed?
Actually, Ash is incredibly durable. He’s been electrocuted, charred by flamethrowers, and has jumped off the Prism Tower in Kalos without dying. Maybe that’s not "Human" durability. Maybe that’s "Pocket Monster" DNA working overtime.
The Timeline Problem: When Did Mimey Actually Arrive?
If we're being pedantic—and in fandom, we always are—the timeline kills the theory.
Ash was ten years old when he started his journey. He had lived in Pallet Town his whole life. Delia didn't "adopt" Mimey until Ash was already leaving on his journey. In the episode where they meet, a circus Mr. Mime had run away, and Delia ended up taking in a wild one that wandered onto her property because she thought it was Ash in a costume.
Wait.
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She thought a Pokémon was her son? That speaks volumes about either her eyesight or her mental state at the time. Regardless, Mimey didn't enter the picture until Ash was a decade old. Unless there was some time-traveling Celebi business involved, or Delia had a different Mr. Mime years prior that she's keeping secret, Mimey simply wasn't around for Ash’s conception.
The "Mimey is the dad" theory usually falls into two camps:
- The Biological Father: Mimey is a Pokémon who somehow fathered Ash. (Highly unlikely, timeline doesn't fit).
- The Step-Dad: Mimey moved in and replaced the absent father so effectively that he is, for all intents and purposes, Ash's dad. (Very likely, basically confirmed by the visuals of the later seasons).
Why the Writers Keep the Mystery Alive
The Pokémon Company knows what it’s doing. They aren't oblivious to the memes. They see the tweets.
By never showing Ash’s father, they maintain a "blank slate" father figure that any kid watching the show can project onto. It’s a classic trope in Shonen-adjacent media. If the dad is a legendary hero, it gives Ash a legacy to live up to. If the dad is a deadbeat, it makes Ash’s rise to World Champion more impressive.
If the dad is a Mr. Mime, the show becomes a surrealist comedy.
In Pokémon Journeys, they leaned into the Mimey-as-part-of-the-family dynamic harder than ever. Mimey even stayed at Professor Cerise’s lab to look after Ash. He’s protective, he’s nurturing, and he’s more present than the actual biological father ever was. The writers are trolling us. They enjoy the ambiguity because it keeps the conversation going decades after the show premiered.
What Actually Happened to Ash's Father?
The most grounded theory—the one that doesn't involve interspecies breeding—is that Ash’s father is just a mediocre trainer.
Masamitsu Hidaka, a former director of the anime, once stated in an interview that Ash’s father is a trainer who is "on his own journey." He hinted that if the writers ever felt the need to grow Ash’s character in a specific way, they might introduce the father, but until then, he wasn't relevant.
It’s been twenty-five years. Ash is finally the World Champion. He beat Leon. He completed his arc. And his dad still didn't show up to the stadium.
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At this point, if Mimey wants to take the credit, he’s earned it. He was the one there for the highs and lows, even if he spent most of it doing chores in the background.
Real-World Insights for Fans
If you're trying to win an argument about this at your local card shop, keep these points in your back pocket.
First, look at the "Orange Islands" era. This was the first time we saw Mimey really integrated into the household. Delia’s reliance on him started as a gag—a Pokémon that likes to sweep—but evolved into a genuine partnership.
Second, consider the "Aura" connection. Ash has the power of Aura. In the Pokémon world, Mr. Mime is a Psychic/Fairy type (post-Gen 6). If Ash were going to have a Pokémon dad, it would make more sense for it to be a Lucario or something in the "Human-Like" egg group that shares his specific supernatural abilities.
Third, check the "New Continuity" movies. In I Choose You! and The Power of Us, the timeline is reset. Even in these alternate realities, the father is a shadow. This suggests that the "Absent Dad" is a fundamental constant of the Pokémon multiverse. It’s a "Canon Event," to borrow a term from Spider-Man.
The reality is that is Mr. Mime Ash's dad remains a brilliant piece of headcanon that highlights the absurdity of the Pokémon world. While the biology and the timeline don't support Mimey being the biological father, the emotional weight of the show certainly treats him like the man of the house.
What to do with this info:
- Rewatch the Sun and Moon series: Look for the "Family" shots. Count how many times Mimey is positioned where a father figure would traditionally stand. It’s more frequent than you think.
- Stop waiting for the reveal: With Ash Ketchum’s journey officially concluding in the anime to make way for Liko and Roy, we may never get a "Maury Povich" moment for the Ketchum family. The mystery is the point.
- Appreciate the Mime: Whether he’s the dad or just the world’s most dedicated domestic assistant, Mimey is an icon of the series. He’s the unsung hero who kept the house running while Ash was busy getting turned to stone by Mewtwo or losing the Kalos League.
Next time you see a Mr. Mime in Pokémon GO or Scarlet and Violet, maybe give it a little more respect. It might just be the most important character in the lore.