Bettehausen defended the character, calling him "nuanced and improved" and his moves "incredibly effective".[39] In June 2009, Stephen Totilo of Kotaku interviewed Bettehausen, who asked him while Totilo was playing to guess Ash's gender. When Totilo said the character was female, Betehausen called KOF "progressive" in introducing a cross-dressing character and said that fans were apparently "warming up to him".[40] On Destructoid, Jonathan Holmes praised Ash's character as "defying traditional gender roles while kicking some ass" and called him "the perfect mascot for the KoF series as a whole."[41] Kevin S.from GameRevolution wondered about his removal in The King of Fighters XIV seeing Ash as a "fan favorite" character.[42] Merchandising related to Ash's appearance has also been released.[43][44]