A photo recently making the rounds on Japan’s X shows a rather unusual customer at a Komeda café: someone dressed almost exactly like Ash Ketchum from the animated Pokemon series, surrounded by Pokemon-themed gear. The poster jokingly captioned the encounter, “Met Ash at Komeda,” and the image quickly sparked plenty of discussion.
While people initially wondered who the mystery customer was, veteran players noticed one particularly telling detail. That backpack was no ordinary piece of merchandise—it was an extremely rare item reserved for elite competitors who attended the Pokemon World Championships.
The original post shows the Ash lookalike seated inside the café. A closer inspection reveals that the costume is only the beginning: the laptop and backpack are also Pokemon-themed, while a camera positioned in front of him appears to be recording. Naturally, many assumed he was a YouTuber filming a video.
The photo immediately drew attention. One user joked that this was Ash using his computer to raise funds for his next journey, while another described him as an Ash who finally entered the workforce after years of unsuccessfully challenging the Pokemon League Champion.
Beyond the costume, however, eagle-eyed competitive Pokemon veterans pointed out that the seemingly ordinary backpack is an extremely rare item reserved for elite competitors who attended the Pokemon World Championships. In other words, this may be someone who fought his way into an official international tournament—putting him among only a few dozen top-level players in Japan.
Apparently, he does not just dress like Ash. He also has the skills to chase the same dream of becoming an elite Pokemon Trainer.
Other users identified the backpack as an item distributed at the 2025 Pokemon World Championships in Anaheim, California. Among competitive players, it has reportedly earned the nickname “elite player’s backpack.” Anyone carrying one is probably not a casual player.
As for the computer, it is actually the “Pokemon Study: Hikaruze! Pokemon Typing PC” educational toy released by SEGA in 2023. It features learning categories covering programming, Japanese, mathematics, music, art, everyday life, English, and more. It may not be a conventional computer, but it is a surprisingly capable educational tool for children.
The original poster eventually discovered that the Ash lookalike working on his laptop at Komeda was none other than well-known Japanese Pokemon YouTuber Iroha ( @ir_poke ). His channel regularly features competitive Pokemon battle videos, and he is every bit as skilled as that rare backpack suggests.
The Komeda scene was filmed for his “Living on Nothing but Pokemon for One Week” video series. To immerse himself completely in the Pokemon lifestyle, he spent each day playing the games, using Pokemon household goods, and even incorporating Pokemon into his cooking—essentially going full Pokemon no-lifer for the challenge.
The video was uploaded to KYOUPOKE, a channel he runs with two other elite Pokemon players. With nearly 700,000 subscribers, the group is already well known among Japanese fans.
So yes, this really was a top-level competitor dressed as Ash and spotted at Komeda. Even under a head-to-toe Pokemon superfan outfit, the tiny detail marking him as one of the world’s best players did not escape the community’s sharpest eyes.