Top 10 Epic Pokemon Beatdowns

It’s not every day you see a Legendary as powerful as Lugia get smacked out of the sky. Then again, it’s not every day you see the Kanto Legendary Birds in action, either. Together, the trifecta of elemental fliers put Lugia in its place via fire, ice, and electricity. The Guardian of the Sea tries to put up a fight, but three on one, it just can’t keep up. It’s not like the birds are going easy on it. Even once Lugia falls, they keep firing attack after attack until they’re sure the Pokemon is down for the count. This really is a battle of legendary proportions.

Ultra Beast or not, no one stands between Bewear and what it wants! Bear in mind, Pheromosa had been running literal circles around everyone all episode. But, as soon as the fluffy Pokemon stepped up to the plate, the fight was as good as over. With a single, resounding uppercut, the bug type got royally squashed into oblivion. To really rub it in, Bewear doesn’t even hang around to take its spoils. Content with a job well done, it grabs up Team Rocket and storms off, leaving Pheromosa behind to fix the remnants of its broken body and shattered ego.

When Brandon lands in Snowpoint City, Paul is determined to do what his brother couldn’t and scale the Battle Pyramid! All he has to do is defeat the Frontier Brain’s army of Regis. Sadly for Paul, Regorick is unbreakable, Registeel is unbendable, and Regice is just plain cold. It’s supposed to be a six-on-six fight, but Paul’s team keeps getting mopped so hard, Brandon only swaps to share the glory. At a certain point, Paul accepts defeat and stops giving his Pokemon orders at all. You know it’s a crazy beatdown when someone as prideful as Paul gives up.

For the first time in ages, it seemed like Jessie, James, and Meowth might actually get a win… then Stenee entered the fray and stomped on their dreams. By evolving into Tsareena, the grass type leveled up its kicks enough to send Team Rocket blasting off again. It’s probably for the best that Bewear whisked them away. Based on how effortlessly Tsareena used Meowth as a soccer ball, they wouldn’t have fared much better if they stuck around. Tsareena also crushed her allies’ cages into dust, but that was just for show. Clearly, she had this one under control all on her own.

Never, ever challenge a Pokemon Champion unprepared. Especially not Cynthia. Paul being Paul, though, decided his ragtag team would be able to compete with Sinnoh’s best. All he got for his efforts was a total thrashing from a very gnarly Garchomp. Cynthia’s ace eviscerates Paul’s team one by one until it’s not even exciting anymore - it’s just sad. Then again, what else did Paul expect? He challenges Cynthia wanting to prove a point. But, all he proved was that they’re in completely different leagues.

Look, every trainer has to start somewhere, and usually it’s with a lot of losses. But, Casey beginning her journey by staring down a Charizard just feels mean. Ash sends out the Kanto fire type against the girl’s freshly caught team of Pidgey, Rattata, and Chikorita. Just saying it out loud sounds disrespectful. None of Casey’s team even warrant Charizard’s attention. In fact, Casey’s starter spends more time trying to put out the fire on its leaf than it does actually fighting. For someone with so much spunk, it’s sad to say Casey’s debut as a trainer goes down as a total embarrassment.

In order to reignite Volkner’s passion for battling, Ash and Flint give him a front row seat to their fiery match. Good news: it works and makes Volnker good as new! The bad news; it’s not because it’s a particularly close fight. Ash opened with a type advantage using Buizel, but Flint’s not a member of the Elite Four for nothing. His Infernape wrecks Buizel, and then Ash’s own Infernape in a mirror match. We aren’t sure how such a lopsided match connected with Volnker, but at least something good came out of this burning defeat.

Let’s not mince words here; when Ash and Pikachu first arrived in Vermillion City, Lt. Surge’s Raichu positively roasted them. It was hard to see a way the Pallet Town duo could ever come back from such a blunder. But, thanks to some novel use of Pikachu’s speed, the pair didn’t just rise from the ashes, they rose all the way to the thunderclouds! Surge’s Raichu does more damage to itself as it tries to keep up its more nimble, pre-evolved form. Once it’s good and dizzy, Pikachu delivers the finishing blow, earning Ash one of his most gratifying Gym Badges to date. It’s a positively electrifying ending.

Imagine you make it all the way to the Semi-Finals of a Pokemon League, only to get rocked without even seeing two-thirds of your opponents team. Well, Ash doesn’t have to imagine it. That’s exactly what happened when he went up against Tobias in the Lily of the Valley Conference. Even using an all-star team from his entire journey, Ash’s Pokemon can barely land a scratch on Tobias’ OP Darkrai. They eventually wear it down… only for Tobias to bring out a freaking Latios in reserve. Ash put up a good fight given the circumstances, but this still goes down as one of the most one-sided League matches to date.

Is this a gym match or a assassination? Sabrina’s creepy vibes make it hard to tell. Her Abra alone was tricky enough for Pikachu to pin down. But, once it evolved into Kadabra, the psychic type turned this into a telekinetic tantrum for the history books. Pikachu is tossed around like it weighs less than a Mimikyu, unable to even fire a thundershock in retaliation. The match is such a wash, Ash has to forfeit even though it means sacrificing his friends to Sabrina’s wicked schemes. If he hadn’t stopped the battle when he did, who knows what would’ve happened to Pikachu? Sabrina really is something else.



What’s your favorite slam-dunk win in “Pokemon?” Let us know in the comments below!