Ash Ketchum: then a novice trainer from the humble town of Pallet, now the very best like no one ever was. Over the years, Ash has battled his way up the ladder bit by bit with the help of his faithful and powerful Pokémon teams. However, with decades’ worth of Pokémon accumulated over time, it can be not only difficult to keep track of them but also decide which one tops the rest. This is my personal opinion, but from worst to best, these are what I believe Ash’s best teams are.
8. Johto
This team consisted of Bayleef, Cyndaquil, Totodile, Phanpy, Heracross, and a shiny Noctowl. While Ash was still technically a beginner by this point in his journey, this was by far his worst team in the whole series. Overall, his team is very bland partly because literally the only one to evolve out of that bunch was his Chikorita. If he would’ve evolved Cyndaquil or Totodile, or even Phanpy just a bit earlier, his potential in battle would’ve been amazing!
However, it’s not just evolution that’s the problem, but it’s also their overall strength. Totodile is by far the weakest link in this chain, but Phanpy and Cyndaquil are barely any better. Perhaps Ash would’ve made up for this if he kept his Heracross, which could already tank multiple fire attacks point blank, but stupidly sent it to Professor Oak too soon and then Bayleef had to pick up the slack for the others. While most of the others were good in their own rights, they definitely don’t hold a candle to Bayleef or Heracross.
7. Unova
Throughout the Black and White series, Ash mainly used Pignite, Snivy, Oshawott, Scraggy, and Unfezant; but it also included occasional appearances from Leavanny, Boldore, Krookadile, and Palpitoad. While some people argue that this team is the worst team in the whole franchise, I believe it’s better than his Johto team in terms of diversity and battle performance. However, what makes this team fall flat is its amount of wasted potential. Ash clearly had some pretty big hitters, with his Krookadile being on top with its Dragon Claw and Aerial Ace attacks, but even Leavanny and Boldore were tanks in their own rights. Instead, he decides to use an extremely weak Oshawott, equally weak Scraggy and Unfezant, and un-evolved Snivy. Meanwhile, Pignite has to make up for all the slack, but it could’ve been so much more if it just evolved.
Aside from that, there’s also the fact that the only Pokémon to get the most screen time in this section of the series are the starters. Surprisingly more so than Scraggy and Unfezant, but whenever we get episodes that revolve around a Pokémon and its training or character development, it’s mainly one of them. Meanwhile, we barely get anything about Krookadile or any of the others, so it’s really hard to emotionally connect with this particular team.
6. Alola
While on vacation in the Hawaii of the Pokémon world, Ash caught a Rowlet, Incineroar, Dusk Form Lycanroc, Melmetal, and Naganadel. Most fans would strongly disagree with putting this team so low, but my personal issues with it are that there isn’t a lot of diversity and it’s also not very memorable. While Ash does have a Mythical and an Ultra Beast at the same time, Meltan didn’t come onto his team until MUCH later in the series, and evolved longer after that. Plus, while he kept Poipole around, he didn’t use it for battle and eventually released it, only for it to return after evolving offscreen. Aside from these, and in between each catch, there have been long gaps where Ash never caught more interesting Pokémon like Golisopod or Dhelmise.
With that being said, I still can’t deny how impressive they are in battle, especially in the Alola League. For instance, Ash’s battle against Gladion started off strong with Melmetal against Silvally. And while Melmetal didn’t win, it still held up pretty well against its opponent’s strong attacks and abilities, plus I could just feel the force of every swing from its Double Iron Bash! In addition, I never would have thought that you could use Counter against Counter (and I still feel like that shouldn’t be possible), but Ash once again not only defied expectations but also defied the concept of battle mechanics doing just that! This is only scratching the surface of the battles he partook in during the League, but his team ultimately won him the whole thing. While this team still isn’t my favorite, his victory makes the team truly worthy of recognition.
5. Sinnoh
Striving to conquer the Sinnoh League, Ash builds up a strong team consisting of Torterra, Buizel, Gliscor, Staraptor, Gible, and Infernape. While half of his Pokémon consist of Ground-types, that specific type of Pokémon seem to offer a great amount of defensive capabilities. Plus, with additional secondary typings like Grass, Flying, and even Dragon, Ash’s Pokémon provide vast type coverage against his opponents while keeping some bulky defense.
However, this team does way more than make a good case for Ground-types. Throughout the whole season, his Pokémon show admirable battle prowess, but battling against Paul is where they truly get a chance to show their stripes. For example, Ash’s battle against him at Lake Acuity may have been a humiliating loss, but it still pushed each member of the team to their limits. In the end, it helped train them to the point where they defeated Paul’s heavy hitters like Drapion and especially Electivire. And of course, who could forget Infernape going Super Sayan and utterly demolishing Electivire while going on borrowed time?
However, due to Torterra’s depressing drop of victories after evolving, this team can’t be ranked any higher.
4. Hoenn
This is the era where Ash decided to leave his Johto team behind and start fresh, leading him to catch Swellow, Sceptile, Corphish, Torkoal, and Glalie. Unlike his Sinnoh team, Ash’s Pokémon in this season don’t have a vast type coverage due to every single member being a single type rather than having secondary types. Plus, Ash’s Torkoal is so weak that it doesn’t help his case here. However, the overall team more than makes up for it with their amazing battle capabilities!
For example, even though Corphish never evolved, it demonstrated multiple times that it never needed to. No matter what opponent Ash put it up against, that lobster-with-an-attitude pummeled its way through and toughened out whatever punishment its opponent dished out. As if that wasn’t enough, Swellow shows why many fans consider it to be Ash’s best regional bird in the series. Not only does Swellow possess an amazing amount of resistance towards electricity, but one time, Ash’s Pikachu was able to somehow coat Swellow in what is popularly known as Thunder Armor. But, of course, this entry wouldn’t be complete without mentioning Ash’s amazing Sceptile. Even as a Grovyle, it was already impressive, but Sceptile would eventually grow strong enough to accomplish one of the most iconic feats in the whole show: conquering Darkrai’s Dark Void and defeating it in the Sinnoh League.
3. Kalos
In the era of the Fairy-type’s introduction, Ash catches himself Greninja, Hawlucha, Goodra, Noivern, and Talonflame. Now, I could go on and on about how the writers and animators seriously COOKED with this season, but where they especially cooked was with this amazing lineup! Sure, half of this team are either Flying or Dragon types, but this actually provides some excellent benefits when you stop to think about it. For instance, Dragon types are already resistant to pretty much anything except three types, and Flying types give the Pokémon some extra speed and mobility. With opponents such as Trevor or Alain, such traits are must-haves when preparing for battle!
However, their best qualities aren’t found in their typings, but instead in their unbelievable battle skills. Even in the beginning episodes of this season when most of them haven’t even evolved, they still squared up with anything from a Gym Leader’s Surskit to a Pokémon hunter’s Diggersby and emerged victorious. Of course, they only grew stronger after evolving and traveling long enough, accomplishing the wildest achievements for fans to witness. After all, who could forget Fletchinder going toe-to-toe with a Moltres and evolving into Talonflame while saving Ash and the gang? Or Greninja unlocking its full power as Ash-Greninja to give us the greatest League battles in the anime? And while most consider Noivern to be the weakest link, the very fact it was able to battle with a Zapdos should make it deserving of a second glance.
2. Kanto
After receiving his first Pokémon in Pikachu, Ash starts his first journey by catching a Bulbasaur, Squirtle, Charizard, Pidgeot, Butterfree, Muk, Snorlax, Primeape, Lapras, and a whole herd of Tauros. They say that beginnings are usually the best parts of any series, and this team is definitely no exception! Seriously, I would need to write a whole other article listing every incredible feat, and every reason why this team was absolutely insane!
While, yes, Ash did end up releasing or barely using a few of his Pokémon, even they showed a remarkable amount of promise. After all, Butterfree defeated Team Rocket’s Koffing and Ekans back when it was just a tiny Caterpie. Plus, in the brief appearances that Primape had, it mopped the floor with any unlucky Pokémon or human it crossed, even beating a professional trainer’s Hitmonchan. What’s just as impressive, though, is how some of Ash’s Pokémon could’ve evolved but proved that they didn’t need to. For example, Bulbasaur and Squirtle used their size and speed to contribute towards or guarantee Ash many victories, whether it’s tying against a fully-evolved Meganium or defeating a Macy’s powerful Quilava. But of course, how could I write about this team without mentioning Charizard? Its feats deserve their own list, but this is one of the key examples of “zero-to-hero,” as it goes from being abandoned by its horrible trainer to defeating a freaking Articuno! While this brief summary doesn’t even do Charizard justice, winning a fight against a legendary Pokémon should give a clear image of its awesome power.
This whole team not only has an amazing range of type coverage, but they’ve proven time and time again that they’re a whole batch of tough cookies. Thanks to Ash, they’re stubborn to accept defeat, and will battle to their absolute limits no matter what stage of evolution they’re in nor what kind of opponent they face.
1. Galar
During his final adventure to become a Pokémon Master, he caught a Dragonite, Lucario, Gengar, Sirfetch’d, and Dracovish. This team is a bit unconventional since most of them aren’t even from the Galar region, nor has Ash trekked his traditional gym badge journey like the other regions, but it still defies all expectations in the best way possible!
First of all, Ash’s true Galar Pokémon may not have any special gimmicks like Mega Evolution, but they’re still heavy hitters in their own rights. For instance, while some consider Dracovish to be the weakest member of this particular team, it’s no slouch with its Fishious Rend attack combined with its newly unlocked spike power that entrapped Leon’s Dragapult. Sirfetch’d, on the other hand, can not only dish out a mean Meteor Assault but it was once knocked out WHILE STANDING UP! Most Pokémon usually fall flat on their faces or backs with swirly eyes, but Sirfetch’d would not show weakness even when defeated, and that takes serious guts that only a knight would possess. But these aren’t even the craziest aspects of Ash’s team.
Dragonite is already powerful enough with her pseudo-legendary status, but she’s strong enough to tank punishment from Iris’ Dragonite and still have enough energy to demolish her Haxorus with a powerful Draco Meteor. As if that weren’t enough, Dragonite can also turn HERSELF into a meteor when need be, such as the Masters Eight when she defeated Leon’s Dragapult. Oh, but that’s STILL not the craziest part about his team.
Saving the best for last, Ash took full advantage of the best aspects about his team, which mainly lie in the most recent battle gimmicks. Thanks to Ash’s love and encouragement, he turned Gengar from an abandoned and bitter ghost and unleashed its full power with a Gigantamax that could defeat Leon’s Inteleon. Gengar isn’t the only one to enjoy this privilege, though, because Pikachu is right up there with it. I still don’t know how Ash was able to do it, but he can Gigantamax Pikachu without even needing his PokéBall, and can also unleash his unique Z-Move in 10-Million-Volt Thunderbolt for good measure. Finally, while Lucario can’t grow ten stories like Gengar or Pikachu, it can still get bigger in its own way. It took Ash long enough to pick up on this, but thanks to all the love, attention, and training he poured into Riolu, it paved the way for its path to Mega Evolution! With a bond so strong, and extra training from Ash’s Greninja, Mega Lucario gained the strength to even go toe-to-toe with Cynthia’s Dynamaxed Togekiss AND WIN!
If all of these traits don’t build the very definition of “OP,” I honestly don’t know what will.
