Over the years, Pokémon has had a ton of characters come and go. Some of them stay for a while and join Ash on his journey for a bit, and others are gone before they really get to tell their story. May joined the cast during the Diamond & Pearl series and stayed with Ash and his friends for a pretty long time. When she first joined them on the road, she was pretty confused as to what she wanted to do with her life and only knew that she wanted to travel as many places as she could and meet new people.

Once she started on her journey, she didn't want to stop and never looked back. She missed her parents but traveling was what she loved and once she started competing in Pokémon competitions she never wanted to stop. She left Ash and his friends to continue her quest to become a Top Coordinator. However, she did travel all through Hoenn and Kanto with Ash, Brock and her little brother Max before going her separate way. Ash was one of her main mentors when it came to training Pokémon and she looked up to him a lot when it came to handling and battling Pokémon.

A character not many know the finer details about, we're here to help both casual and longtime Pokémon fans figure out May. She's a great character, as you'll learn. Here are the things that make her tick.

25 She Hated Pokémon

Now, this may be hard to believe seeing as May came from a family that loved Pokémon, but when she was first introduced in the series she actually hated them. She was afraid of some of them and others she just had no interest in. Over time she acquired her own Pokémon and was able to see the bond between Pokémon and trainer firsthand. After she saw how amazing it felt to work as a team toward a common goal she realized that Pokémon may not be as bad as they seem. She developed her own team and even started to love them like family.

24 Ash Became Her Mentor

When May and Ash first crossed paths she knew basically nothing about Pokémon, at all. She had come from a family very involved with Pokémon; however, she didn’t care for them and therefore did not interact with any for the most part.

However, this all changed when she met Ash, a young kid that was dying to meet and catch as many Pokémon as he possibly could.

He knew a decent amount about Pokémon and tried to help May navigate this new journey that she was on to become an awesome Pokémon trainer and travel the world exploring new things.

23 She Was A Cook

May had a couple of other hobbies besides travel, she also loved to make Pokéblocks. Pokéblocks are candies made from berries that can boost the stats of the Pokémon that eats them. They are made by collecting different berries and blending them in different berry blenders.

May developed quite the talent for making these berries and often excelled in the Pokémon competitions that she entered as a result.

She used some recipes that Professor Oak gave her and was able to create a Pokéblock that satisfied even Snorlax! This is shocking as Snorlax is able to eat for hours without growing tired or full.

22 She Wanted To See New Places

All of the trainers that have been introduced in Pokémon have started their journeys for various reasons. Some of them wanted to become better trainers whereas others just wanted to catch some new Pokémon to add to their team. Either way, they set off on a journey that will change their lives forever. For May, she started her journey so that she could travel to new places and experience things that she never was able to in the past. Traveling was always something that she was passionate about and aimed to do, becoming a trainer was the easiest way of accomplishing this goal.

21 She Never Wanted To Be A Trainer

May was terrified of Pokémon from the moment that she was a little girl up until she met Ash and began her journey with him. He showed her that Pokémon were not as scary as she once thought and instead it was possible to form an amazing bond with them. She eventually warmed up to the idea of having Pokémon of her own and acquired quite the impressive team. However, she was still not dead set on being a trainer and eventually became a coordinator in Pokémon competitions. She still worked hard to train and grow her team as it requires a very strong bond to compete with your Pokémon.

20 Her Father Is A Gym Leader

Even though May was not too fond of Pokémon at the beginning of the series and had little interest in starting a team of her own her father is actually very involved in the Pokémon community as he is a gym leader. May’s father, Norman, is the gym leader from Petalburg City and the first gym leader that Ash encounters in the Hoenn region. Ash was able to defeat Norman but it was not an easy battle. May was a little bit bummed out when her father lost to Ash but she knew that he tried his best and Ash deserved the badge.

19 She Ended Up A Coordinator

When May started out on her journey she was a bit unsure of what she wanted to do and where she would end up. All she knew was that she wanted to travel around, meet new people, and grow her knowledge of the world. Once she started on her journey she quickly took a liking to Pokémon contests and realized that this was something she was passionate about.

May was also pretty good at it and she continued to develop her skills and bond with her Pokémon.

When she left Ash and his friends it was to compete in even more competitions and follow her passion that she had discovered along the way.

18 Three Different Voice Actors Are Behind May

There are so many behind the scene things that happen in an anime series that the viewers don’t even realize. In Pokémon especially, voice actors are ever changing or voicing other characters. Some people are able to adapt their voice to different roles which makes them very valuable in these types of series. For May alone, there were two different voice actors who voiced her character throughout the entire series. In the English version of the show, she was voiced by Veronica Taylor and Michele Knotz. Taylor voiced May for seasons six through eight, whereas Knotz voiced her for seasons nine to eleven.

17 She Is The Only Female Character To Have 3 Starters

There are a lot of things that are different about the male and female characters in the show. Most of the time the female characters are given one starter, usually the cutest of the bunch. However, May likes to stand out and was actually the first female character, and the only female character to date, to obtain all three starters during her time on the show. May actually has four starters, but she has all three of the starters from the very first generation. From her generation she chose Torchic. Pretty impressive for someone who hated Pokémon in the beginning.

16 Her First Caught Pokémon Was A Bug Type

There are a lot of similarities between May and Ash, more similarities then there normally are between characters. She shares a lot of the same Pokémon that Ash does and he was her main mentor when she first started her Pokémon journey. When Ash left home to start his quest to become a Pokémon master, he caught a bug type Pokémon to start off his collection. May also caught a bug type Pokémon to begin her journey, a Wurmple to be exact. Although she was terribly afraid of bug type Pokémon, she grew to love and rely on her wurmple very much.

15 Torchic Was Not The First Pokémon She Battled With

May became very close to her Torchic, so much so that he evolved into his final form before her time on the series was over. However Torchic, was not the first Pokémon that she had ever used and battled with. Before Torchic, May had taken Mudkip out of Professor Birch’s bag in order to protect him from the Poocheyna that was attacking him. However, May was very inexperienced with handling Pokémon and could not get the Mudkip to follow her commands. Instead it started attacking her, and the professor was left to fend for himself. Luckily, she got better with Pokémon along the way.

14 She Gave A Personal Narration

There are some things that all of the characters do and there are other things that are exclusive to certain characters. May was the only character to give a personal narration in the show. This was something new that the writers were trying out and it seemed to go over pretty well.

Fans were particularly interested in May’s story because it started out different then most of the rest.

She never liked Pokémon or wanted to be a trainer until she met Ash and set out on her journey. A lot of viewers were upset when May left the group to pursue other ventures and continue competing in competitions.

13 She Was Spooked By Bug Type Pokémon

One thing about May that was very prevalent in the beginning was that she was absolutely terrified of bug type Pokémon. Misty was another female character to be scared of bug type Pokémon, however May tried to work through her fear. The first Pokémon that she ever caught on her own was a bug type Pokémon. Through her little Wurmple and some help from her friends, she was able to overcome her fear of bug type Pokémon and advance in her career as a Pokémon competitor. Once she realized that they weren’t there to hurt her she grew to like them, especially her Wurmple who eventually evolved into Beautifly.

12 She Left To Follow Her Rivals

Once May began competing in Pokémon contests, she quickly realized that it was what she loved to do and was actually good at. She began training her Pokémon and strengthening her bond so that she could continue to advance within the competitions.

Once she started regularly competing in the Pokémon competition circuit she gained a couple of rivals who were dead set on beating her at all times.

Eventually traveling around with Ash and his friends became too much and she was not able to dedicate enough time to her competition and training. She decided that it was best for her to leave them and follow her rivals to different competitions.

11 She Had A Personal Ending Theme Song

When May decided to leave her friends in order to go her own way, there were a lot of people upset as she had become a pivotal part of the show. Unlike Ash's other sidekicks, she was fresh off the block and the viewers were really able to see her grow as a person and a trainer. The writers of the show knew that viewers were very attached to her and loved her so they tried to make her exit as epic as possible. One thing about her exit from the show that differed from most was that she had a personal ending theme song. This song kind of summed up her time with Ash and the gang as well as wrapped up her storyline.

10 She Is Like Misty

Misty was the first female friend that accompanied Ash on the road and helped him at the beginning of his journey. Although she was young, she was a pretty strong gym leader with impressive Pokémon. Ash learned a lot from her and the two built a friendship that would last forever.

When she decided to leave the show it was bittersweet, but once May joined the group it was clear that there were a couple of similarities.

Both of the girls were terrified of bug type Pokémon and also were very headstrong about what they wanted. They also became very close to Ash and were best friends of his.

9 She Is A Sucker For Romance

May comes across as very independent and likes to think of herself as an equal to the boys, which she is in almost all ways. She is headstrong and not afraid to go for the things that she wants. She is often annoyed by Brock and his constant advances towards various women in his life. She has stated that she is not a fan of romance and instead she likes to focus on her goals. However, she has been seen to have a softer side for romance and sometimes encourages Brock in the many times that he has fallen in “love” on the show.

8 She Has A Hidden Talent

Since she joined the cast, May has always had a love for food. She likes to make her own but she also enjoys going out and having someone else do the cooking. Over the course of the show, one of the main jokes is that Ash is always hungry and complaining that there is nothing to eat.

The group of friends are traveling most places by foot and often have to make do with whatever they have on hand.

However, May seems to be an invaluable asset to the group as she has a knack for finding places to eat. This could be one of the reasons that Ash gets along with her so well.

7 She Is Never Heard From Again

Like most characters that have come and gone on the show, once she makes her final exit she is never heard from or talked about on the show. There are many reasons why the writers could do this one being that they want to advance Ash’s character and trainer abilities, going backward talking about cast members that have already gone may seem like a backtrack. However, it is not very fair to the fans who fell in love with these characters that they are just cut out altogether. Most fans have come to the conclusion that she is competing in shows around the Pokémon universe and just growing her experience as much as possible.

6 For Two Seasons The Same Person Voiced May & Ash

Another thing that is interesting about anime series is the idea that one voice actress can be behind multiple characters. For two seasons the same person who voiced Ash actually voiced May as well. This must have been a tough job as they were both series regulars and had a big role in almost all of the episodes.

The superwoman behind these two characters is Veronica Taylor.

Taylor also voiced Delia Ketchum in the show. She lost her job as the voice actor for these characters when another company took control of the show. She was very upset about this as the parts had become very near and dear to her heart.