WORD OF THE DAY! 1/28/13.

fugue [fyoog]
noun
1. Psychology. A period in which a person suffers from loss of memory, usually followed by beginning a new life, and, upon recovery, they remember nothing from the amnesic period.
2. Music. A polyphonic composition based upon one, two, or more themes, which are enunciated by several voices or parts in turn, subjected to contrapuntal treatment, and gradually built up into a complex form having somewhat distinct divisions or stages of development and a marked climax at the end.

EX. Okay, okay, I think I've finally figured out why Ash Ketchum sucks so hard every time they start a new saga of his adventures-- he suffered a mental breakdown at the end of the original Kanto series when he was defeated in the Pokemon League by Ritchie (who is a terribly lame and obnoxious character, even compared to Ash). In the following episodes, Ash was pretty depressed until he had a battle with Gary that rekindled his enthusiasm and spirit. He then proceeded to go on a long trip to the Orange Islands.

I propose that during this trip, Ash developed a chronic syndrome of following every disappointment with a period of travel and denial to escape the realities of being (by this point) 10....10 for over 15 years (probably adding to his trauma). Ash Ketchum suffers from fugue.

If you want to see how each of these new personalities differs from the last, you can see how Ash, increasingly, becomes more and more incompetent. Despite the fact that Ash has defeated terrorists, saved the world on multiple occasions, and has traveled thousands of miles with his Pikachu, he will revert to a childlike innocent state of cluelessness that can be seen every time he has to ask the Pokedex to recognize a Pokemon he has seen or captured in the past. Furthermore, the fact that he is unable to defeat far more inexperienced trainers with his pokemon and still has trouble remembering what types have what advantages/weaknesses (a feat most pokemon players can pull off... despite, not living in a universe where this would be PRACTICAL KNOWLEDGE) shows that he, unfortunately, never learns. His personality and even, perhaps with the help of a wardrobe and grooming change, appearance can change dramatically between seasons with him only seeming to remember his past when prompted.

This is the sad curse that Ash Ketchum must live with.