You all must have heard that after a span of 25 years, Ash Ketchum has finally become the world’s strongest pokemon trainer after winning the Pokemon World Championship. This feat came straight after he became a league champion of the Alola region. He is also the first-ever champion of Alola and is now the strongest in the world. Since Ash Ketchum finally achieved a champion feat, I decided to dedicate a post to one of the most nostalgic anime characters. So without any further ado let’s get started.
Ash’s Greatest Pokemon battles in the last 25 years
I will include some of the best Pokemon battles that featured Ash Ketchum in this list. Also, these need not be the battles that Ash won, there are going to be some that he even lost but were great to watch and contributed to his character development.
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Ash vs Alain (Kalos League final)
I would rate this the best battle in the whole Pokemon anime history of 25 years. Ash had lost to Alain a couple of times before, but this is where everyone was expecting a win for Ash and he even had the most unique transformation that was exclusive solely to Ash which was the bond phenomenon. It made him capable of mega evolving his Greninja (The coolest Pokemon) without a mega stone. He had complete mastery over it and even had a type advantage.
What could have gone wrong?! Well, everything was perfect about this match until Greninja lost after so much hype. It made us really angry and I almost gave up on Pokemon anime until I heard that Ash became Alola’s champion. So, anyways apart from the result, everything about this series and this battle was phenomenal.
| Highlight | Ash-Greninja vs Mega Charizard |
| Result | Ash lost |
Ash vs Diantha
This is also among the best Pokemon battles ever and the sole reason being the transition of Greninja to incomplete Ash-Greninja. It was a one-on-one battle between Ash and Diantha. For those who don’t know she is the champion of Kalos region and even more amazing was the fact that she almost lost. The reason was the transformation running out otherwise it would have been the biggest Pokemon upset ever. Ash Ketchum might have lost this one but won our hearts and made Greninja the coolest Pokemon ever.
| Highlight | Ash-Greninja vs Mega Gardevoir |
| Result | Ash lost |
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Ash vs Drake
This was a full-on 6v6 battle and at that time Dragonite was considered to be a top-tier Pokemon and was very rare. The Orange Island cup was at stake and Ash had to defeat a semi-legendary Pokemon who was also among the strongest Pokemon of that time. It was a difficult one, but Ash did manage to get out with a victory against Drake. It was also Ash Ketchum’s first major title victory.
| Highlight | Pikachu vs Dragonite |
| Result | Ash won |
Ash vs Guzma
No matter what anyone says about the Sun and Moon anime, this rivalry, or I should say the contest of ideologies was very well written and developed and the Semifinal battle of Alola League was given so much more depth because of their previous encounters. Guzma had obliterated Ash before but the stark contrast between their ideologies was very interesting to see. I also think that this was the highlight of the show apart from Ash becoming the Champion of course. I could say that this was very similar to Ash and Paul, only that these two weren’t showcased as rivals. Yet, one of the best Pokemon battles for me.
| Highlight | Contrast between ideologies |
| Result | Ash won |
Ash vs Blaine
This battle is from the first season of Pokemon anime, at a time when Ash had just started as a Pokemon Trainer and was having troubles with his Charizard. This was the only battle when Charizard was not in sync with Ash and yet he fought the gym battle with him against Magmar. Magmar was a formidable Pokemon at that time and that is why it was imperative that Charizard took it seriously. It was the 7th gym battle at the Indigo league and possibly the best of Season 1.
| Highlight | Charizard vs Magmar |
| Result | Ash won |
Ash vs Paul (Acuity Lake Battle)
Many would agree with me that Paul was the best rival Ash Ketchum has ever had. Instead of taking the League, I took the acuity lake battle because that was where the rivalry had developed deeply. It showed that no matter the difference in thought, Paul was able to best Ash. I also believe that Ash developed the most in this series only because of Paul. It was a full-on 6v6 battle and Ash had lost miserably.
Still, this is one of my favorites in the Pokemon anime. The only good thing that happened was that Monferno was able to gain a lot of confidence and showed that even though Paul may have controlled the battle but the fire inside him won’t go out.
| Highlight | The whole battle |
| Result | Ash lost |
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Ash vs Noland
Noland was the first Pokemon trainer who was shown to be directly connected with a legendary Pokemon, Articuno. Ash was given a chance to choose any one of the Pokemon and he chose Articuno to fight and brought back Charizard. We should also know that Charizard is among the strongest Pokemon that Ash has ever had. This was just an occasion to show how strong he actually is as it was a one on one against Articuno. The end result was that Charizard was able to win against the legendary bird. If this doesn’t show how strong he is then what will.
| Highlight | Charizard vs Articuno |
| Result | Ash won |
Ash vs Brandon (final battle)
Brandon is among the toughest trainers Ash has ever faced and it seemed almost impossible for him to defeat him until he did. All thanks to Pikachu, of course, coming out as the ace once again. One of the reasons for such high difficulty was also because of the fact that Brandon was in possession of the legendary Regis(Regirock, Registeel, Regice). They made it almost impossible for Ash to win. But, as they say, “third’s the charm “, and it was the case for Ash as well. He defeated Brandon and got the opportunity to become a frontier brain himself, which he obviously declined.
| Highlight | Pikachu vs Regiice |
| Result | Ash won |
Ash vs Cynthia
Cynthia’s smart thinking and carefully planned strategies had taken Ash by storm. He was completely puzzled as Cynthia played with him like he was an amateur. It’s not that Ash was it’s just she was that good. In fact, I wouldn’t have even minded if Ash lost the semifinal of the World Championship to her. This was the most wanted battle by the Pokemon anime fans and it was totally worth it. Of course, Ash clinched the victory but no one would have any concerns even if it was otherwise.
| Highlight | Lucario vs Garchomp |
| Result | Ash won |
Ash vs Leon
One of the greatest Pokemon battles with the most historic finale. After the Cynthia fight, I thought that what could top this and the finale of the World Championship delivered at that aspect. Leon was the undefeated World Champion until Ash and Pikachu took it away from him and showed who the real OG is. This is the peak Ash moment as he is the strongest in the world.
| Highlight | Pikachu vs Charizard |
| Result | Ash became World Champion |
How do you think will the next season proceed since there doesn’t seem to be anything more that Ash has left to do? I won’t mind even if he comes back but I’d love it more if he is not the protagonist but rather a goal for someone else to reach. Also, it would be great to see him finally age, but that’s just wishful thinking. So, let’s wait and see what happens.
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