The Coolest Mother-in-Law
I'd like to talk about Ash and Johanna for a second.
I always found Johanna an interesting character. A Top Coordinator; one of the best and most prestigious in her field. Yet, even as she engages in that profession to teach newcomers, she keeps her notoriety at arm's length, and maintains a cool and steady hand.
She knows that Dawn indulges in her family legacy, for instance, and does her best to nudge Dawn out of the nest and become her own person on her journey. She's a stern, but loving mother, and presumably the same as a mentor. So, why not make some use of that fact?
In Another Road Repaved - Charm, Ash recalls her extraordinary use of Quick Attack, back in the Diamond/Pearl anime. Remember this?
Well, Ash remembers it. While he has his own answers to speed and mobility, utilizing a move as basic as Quick Attack for omnidirectional movement and flight was just too appealing (pun intended) to pass up!
Johanna isn't much one for nepotism, so being Dawn's boyfriend didn't do a ton to help him in convincing her. Luckily, Johanna operates off of merit, and she knows Ash to have his share of it. She agreed to help.
Johanna was a strict drill sargeant, showing Ash no leniency in the discipline needed to pick up this technique. There's a secret key to the way Coordinators' Pokémon move so freely, but if you'd like to see that, then you can check out this chapter! But, suffice it to say, Ash and Pikachu obtain this skill from a very talented instructor, and it proves instrumental in his victory over the Champion's League!
I like to imagine their dynamic carries on over the years. Ash showed in Diamond/Pearl that he's open to learn from others; particularly from Coordinators for their creativity and finesse. As a gatekeeper to old techniques and knowledge, Johanna is happy to have a diligent student, even if he's technically in a different professional field.
She's also wise to Dawn's eccentricities, and will often quietly apologize to Ash when she gives him trouble. Sometimes, she'll even give advice.
She also proves Ash's rock in the family, when Ash gets to meet Dawn's maternal grandmother, Emiko Tsumura; a pioneer of the Contest scene, and estranged member of the same royal family as Princess Salvia. Her experience of Pokémon battles being tools of war has nurtured a distaste that makes her distrustful of standard Pokémon Trainers.
Ash does earn her respect, but only with time and show of character. Johanna lets Ash make his own case - not only will a secondhand vouch not work, but she respects him enough to stand up for his own principles - but she loves Ash as if he were her own son, and knowing that makes him feel a little less awkward at family fatherings.
