Top 10 Biggest Victories of Ash Ketchum (Pokemon)

The Alolan tournament was packed with some major competition for Pallet Town’s favorite son, and none were quite as intimidating as Guzuma. Ash met the Team Skull leader in the semi-finals of the tournament, with a 2 vs 2 battle that saw them bring their best. Despite Guzuma’s switching in-and-out tactics, Torracat was able to dispatch Scizor effortlessly with a well-timed fire blast. But it was when Golisopod stepped up that things really became difficult for our hero. This was a major test for Ash and Pikachu, whose battle with Guzuma earlier in the series ended with Golisopod refusing to battle such a weak opponent. Thankfully, this time Ash was able to put employ all his lessons learned in the Alola region to finally prove they weren’t such weaklings after all.

This may just be another gym battle to some, but what really makes this battle stand out is the fact that Ash was able to face a Mega-Evolved Pokemon and still come out on top. Facing off against the leader of Shalour City’s gym, Ash was prepared to face Korrina’s MVP pokemon, but he had to get past Mienfoo and Machoke first…which was no easy task. The efforts of Hawlucha and Fletchinder got it down to sudden death between Pikachu and the insanely powerful mega-evolved Lucario. In what many consider the best battle in X & Y, sparks flew across the arena! Pikachu finished up the battle with a hellacious thunderbolt, earning Ash the coveted Rumble badge!

Ash has quite a habit of making rivals throughout his journeys in different regions, and Trip was that dude in the Unova region. Considered by many to be Ash’s worst rival to date, everyone was rallying behind Ketchum to make quick work of his rival in the Unova Pokemon league tournament… and that he did. Coming down to a tooth and nail brawl between Pikachu and Serperior, this match was chock-full of explosions. But when the dust settled, Pikachu was the one still standing. This was sweet revenge for Ash after losing to Trip in the Junior cup… and the fact that this was the first round of the tournament is just the cherry-on-top of the Vanilluxe.

Hey, we never said ganging up one someone was out of the question! When the evil leader of Team Flare, Lysandre, finally initiated his wicked plan, it was up to tournament finalists Ash and Alain to put a stop to him. This wasn’t going to be easy, because Lysandre was packing a mean Pyroar and Mega-Gyarados in his arsenal. Lysandre seemed nigh unbeatable with his ferocious Pokemon, but the young dream team brought the fight back and then some! While it may not be Ash’s fairest battle, the fact that he was able to save the world counts for something, right?

After Ash’s heartbreaking loss to Richie in the Indigo league, he sought redemption by running through the Orange islands with his woes. His final hurdle would be taking on the leader of the Supreme Gym, Drake, who made sure Ash worked damn hard for the trophy. Most terrifying of all was his powerhouse of a Dragonite, which was able to take down several of Ash’s pokemon in succession. This brought it down to Pikachu who, despite the seemingly impossible odds, was able to bring the brute down with a point-blank Thunder. This marked Ash’s first major victory as he claimed the prize of champion of the Orange Islands.

Say what you will about this pint-sized trainer, but he was one hell of a challenge for Ash. Facing off in the semi-final round of the Kalos league, Ash would have to bring his best against the genius-level pokemon trainer, Sawyer. With incredible showings from the likes of Salamence and Aegislash, things looked absolutely hopeless for Ash’s humble team. The fight would be decided in a nail-biter between Greninja and the Mega-Evolved Sceptile, a major type disadvantage for Ash, but one he was able to pull off non-the-less. An absolute spectacle of a fight, this victory against his Kalos rival brought Ash a tournament final for the first time… which of course, he lost. But hey, good effort, mate.

Paul was less of a rival and more the antithesis of Ash with his ruthless disregard for his Pokemon. While Ash had always preached friendship with his partners, Paul was always focused on power – and power is definitely what he brought in this Sinnoh league contest. This battle is still one of Ash’s biggest to date, taking place over three episodes of pure action, and coming to a head with Electivire vs Infernape. It was a majorly cathartic victory as the Chimchar Paul had once deemed expendable was the one to give him the boot out of the tournament. How’s that for karma?

This one will mean a lot to anyone who started watching the show from day one. Gary Oak, always seemed to be one step ahead of our hero throughout their rivalry but this was Ash’s first chance to prove that wrong. The two met in the Johto Victory league first round where we saw absolute slobberknockers between the likes of Heracross and Magmar & Scizor and Snorlax. But the winner would be decided between Ash’s Charizard and Gary’s starter Pokemon, Blastoise, another terrible typing match up for our boy. But shockingly, it was Charizard who stood on top, proving that Ash truly was Pallet Town’s best, and putting an end to their legendary rivalry.

#2: Battle Frontier Victory

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Having once again lost the Pokemon league in the Hoenn region, it was time for Ash to prove why he was the main character of the goddamn show. After all, its no fun watching someone lose over and over. The best course of action? Taking on the Frontier brains of the battle frontier and their incredibly powerful Pokemon. While his matches against Lucy, Tucker, and Greta were all impressive, it was his climactic showdown against Brandon that proved to be the most challenging. Able to dispatch Brandon’s Regice with ol’ reliable Pikachu, this was validation once again for Ash and his competency as a Pokemon trainer.

#1: The Alolan League Champion

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Top 10 Best Pokemon League Battles From The Anime

It took 22 years, but it finally happened. It was an unwritten rule in anime that Ash always loses the pokemon league, no matter what, but hell finally froze over when Ash faced off against Gladion in the Alola league finals. A relatively humble tournament by normal standards, this battle nevertheless proved to be one of Ash’s best, opening with Sivally vs Melmetal. When this proved to be too much, Pikachu evened the odds by finishing off Sivally and bringing Gladion’s Zoroark to a draw. Surprisingly the decisive battle was Lycanroc vs Lyanroc with Ash’s pulling off the W! This marked the very first time Ash had ever won a Pokemon league… Proving that we all grow up some day.