Summary
It’s a bittersweet year to be a fan of thePokemonanime. It was recently announced at 2023’s San Diego Comic-Con that the final episodes of Ash Ketchum’s journey will premiere in early September on Netflix. As such, fans will finally get to see the trainer win his very first championship league in the 20+ years of the anime’s existence.
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Although Ash Ketchum’s journey won’t continue from here, it’d be worthwhile to take a look back at some of his former teams to see just how close he’s been to being the very best like no one ever was. These teams that Ash used in Pokemon League tournaments may not have all been successful, but they’ve been important to Ash’s journey.
8Vertress Conference
Ash Ketchum’s overall performance as a trainer inPokemon the Series: Black & Whitehas resulted in a lot of controversy among Pokemon fans. Upon entering the Vertress Conference afterhis adventures in the Unova region, many Pokemon on Ash’s team that competed weren’t even fully evolved, not including the addition of Pikachu.
As such, Ash’s assembled team of Snivy, Pignite, Oshawott, and Boldore makes for one of his more lackluster teams competitively. Though with only one fully-evolved Pokemon in Unfezant, Ash still managed to make it into the Top 8 of the conference, losing to Cameron and his much superior team, including Lucario, Samurott, Hydreigon, and Ferrothorn.
7Ever Grande Conference
The Ever Grande Conference was the culmination ofAsh Ketchum’s journey in the Hoenn region, featuring some new additions to his team from the third generation, including Swellow, Glalie, and Torkoal. However, Ash’s team also included the likes of Grovyle, who hadn’t yet evolved into Sceptile, and Corphish.
Ultimately, Ash still managed to end up placing within the Top 8 of the tournament, even though his choice of Pokemon wasn’t the best. It’s especially apparent when he lost to a trainer named Tyson, who battled with a Metagross, a fully-evolved Sceptile, and Hariyama, who Ash simply could not hold a candle to with this team.
6Lily Of The Valley Conference
Although it came at the end of Ash’s adventures in the Sinnoh region, Ash made the odd choice of filling his team for the Lily of the Valley Conference with many Pokemon he acquired in earlier regions, including Heracross, Torkoal, and Swellow. Although he finally had a Sceptile by this point,his only fourth-generation Pokemonwas an unevolved Gible.
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Suffice it to say, Ash had a lot of better options from his Sinnoh roster, including a fully-evolved Torterra and Infernape, as well as the useful Ground/Flying-type Gliscor. This was an especially poor choice of team to go against Tobias, the trainer who possessed a Darkrai and Latios on his team, though Ash’s Sceptile managed to defeat Darkrai before losing to Latios.
5Indigo Plateau
ForAsh’s very first Pokemon League tournament, he could only bring in a team of three Pokemon from his Kanto catches. His choices ended up being Pikachu, Squirtle, and Charizard, which wouldn’t have been a bad selection had Ash’s Charizard not been disobedient at the time, making it an essentially useless member of Ash’s party.
Charizard’s disobedience ended up costing Ash the entire league, losing to Ritchie and his own Pikachu, named Sparky. Ash ended up finishing in the Top 16 of the whole tournament, but perhaps with a better relationship with Charizard, Ash would’ve done a better job at defeating Ritchie and advancing to the next round.
4Silver Conference
When Ash enteredthe Silver Conference in the Johto region, he came with a much more stacked team given that he was allowed to enter a party of six. From his Kanto travels, Ash brought along Pikachu, Snorlax, and Charizard, although this time Charizard was much more obedient to Ash. Joining them were Gen 2 Pokemon like Noctowl, Bayleef, and Totodile.
Unfortunately, this team ended up not taking Ash to the finish line, disqualifying him in the Top 8 of the tournament. The trainer he lost to, Harrison, sported a Steelix, Houndoom, and even a Blaziken, which was his starter Pokemon from the Hoenn region. At the very least, losing to Harrison was what inspired Ash to make Hoenn his next area of adventure.
3Manalo Conference
Aside from the Indigo Plateau Conference, Alola’s Manalo Conference was the only other time Ash was only permitted to enter three Pokemon into a tournament. The three he ended up choosing were Pikachu, Dusk Form Lycanroc, and Melmetal, the latter of whom is an incredibly strong Mythical Pokemon, Ash’s first capture of the rarity.
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Fortunately this time, Ash’s choices were worth it, as he ended up becoming the winner of the overall regional tournament for the very first time. His victory even saw him defeat Gladion and his incredibly strong team, including Silvally, Zoroark, and Nihilego. Ash subsequently won an exhibition match against Professor Kukui and his Tapu Koko.
2Lumiose Conference
Although Ash didn’t win the Lumiose Conference, placing as the runner-up to winner Alain, it featuredone of his best teams in the entire anime, as well as one of his best performances as a trainer. Ash’s team included Pikachu, Hawlucha, Goodra, Talonflame, and Noivern, as well as his Greninja, which by this point could transform into its powerful Ash-Greninja form.
Unfortunately, Ash had an equally-matched opponent in Alain, whose team included a Charizard, Tyranitar, Metagross, Weavile, Bisharp, and Unfezant. It was a thrilling, even fight between the two trainers, and despite the strong bond between Ash and his Greninja, they were no match for Alain and his Charizard, who Mega-evolved into Mega Charizard X.
1World Coronation Series
Ash finally became the greatest trainer in the Pokemon world by winning the World Coronation Series at the end ofPokemon Ultimate Journeys: the Series. The tournament included some of the strongest trainers in the franchise, including champions like Leon, Iris, and Cynthia, as well asGym Leaders like Korrina, Volkner, and Lance.
Ash’s team, competitively speaking, was also his strongest showing in the entire anime series. Alongside his regular Pikachu, Ash also recruited new additions to his team, like Gengar, Dragonite, Sirfetch’d, and Dracovish, as well as his brand-new Lucario who can Mega-Evolve, though it was obviously Pikachu who won him the tourney overall.
