Misty (Kasumi in Japan) is one of the Pokémon franchise's most recognizable characters, best known for traveling with Ash throughout the early seasons of the anime. She's also appeared as a Gym Leader in the games, across multiple manga adaptations, and in various other media.
Starting out at just 10 years old, Misty struggled with feeling like the odd one out—her three older sisters, Daisy, Lily, and Violet, were performers in a synchronized swimming act called the Sensational Sisters, and they didn't exactly make her feel welcome. Daisy was the softer one of the group, though, and the two eventually grew much closer. While her sisters handled most of the Cerulean Gym's day-to-day operations, it was Misty who actually battled Ash when he came through for his Cascade Badge.
Early on, Misty came across as short-tempered, stubborn, and spoiled, but she mellowed out considerably as the series went on. She's terrified of Bug-type Pokémon, hates carrots and peppers, and loves being barefoot. Fans often note that she became the voice of reason in the group—she'd regularly grab Brock by the ear to snap him out of his obsession with pretty girls, a running gag that later got passed off to other characters like Max and eventually his Croagunk.
Her real passion was becoming a world-class Water-type trainer, something her sisters mocked her for. She genuinely admires Ice-type specialist Lorelei and counts Sakura, another girl with overbearing older siblings, as a close friend.
Misty joined Ash's journey after a pretty ridiculous meet-cute: she accidentally fished him and Pikachu out of a river while trying to catch Water-types. Ash then "borrowed" her bike to escape a swarm of Spearow, and Pikachu's Thundershock fried it completely. She used the ruined bike as leverage to tag along with him, vowing not to leave until he replaced it. Ironically, she eventually forgot that was even why she'd started traveling with him in the first place.
She became inseparable from Togepi after the egg Ash had been carrying hatched—since the baby Pokémon imprinted on her as its mother, she kept it despite Ash technically having won it. Misty took her role as Togepi's parent seriously and they stayed together for years until Togetic eventually evolved and chose to stay behind in the Mirage Kingdom.
After the Johto League, Misty returned to the Cerulean Gym to take over as leader while her sisters went on a world cruise. This meant she largely stepped back from the show during the Advanced Generation era, though she did make a handful of appearances and showed up in the 10th Anniversary special. She briefly rejoined Ash for the Battle Frontier arc after he returned from Hoenn, but it was only for a few episodes before heading back to her gym.
Content compiled by AnimeList.moe from publicly available sources.
