For more than 25 years, Ash Ketchum, who has remained eternally 10 years old, has traveled across various lands, searching far and wide for new Pokémon with his ever-faithful Pikachu by his side. Over the course of visiting eight different regions, Ash has assembled some truly powerful teams and some incredibly disappointing ones. A trainer can only carry up to six Pokémon at once, and there have been a few regions where Ash would catch more than six, rotating them in and out of his team over the course of his journey. While there’s no doubt that Ash cares deeply for every single Pokémon he’s ever caught, there’s definitely been a few who deserved better, whether it be more development or a better record in battles. Let’s discuss those Pokémon of Mr. Ketchum’s that should have had more opportunities than they did.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
7 Primeape
Distributed by the Pokemon Company International
Primeape was the eighth Pokémon Ash caught in the Kanto region, being captured in the 25th episode of the show, “Primeape Goes Bananas.” First encountered as a Mankey, the mischievous Pokémon stole Ash’s hat and evolved into Primeape after Team Rocket’s James kicked it out of the way. The enraged Pokémon went on a rampage, defeating Team Rocket, but was eventually captured after a battle with Ash’s Charmander. Ash would consider using Primeape in his Gym battle with Grass-type Gym Leader, Erika, but decided not to, citing its out-of-control behavior. Ash and Primeape would eventually come to an understanding in “The Punchy Pokémon,” the 29th episode of the anime. That episode ended with Primeape winning a tournament for Fighting-type Pokémon and then being released and handed over to another trainer, where Primeape has remained ever since. Not only did Ash only have Primeape for four episodes, but he hands it over to another trainer the second they bond. Honestly, Primeape should have stuck around longer, especially since Ash went a good length of the Kanto region, only carrying five Pokémon on him.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
6 Muk
Ash caught Muk in the 30th episode of the anime, “Sparks Fly for Magnemite,” but sent it to Professor Oak immediately due to its rotten stench coming through from its Pokéball. Personality-wise, Muk was very friendly, smothering Ash or Professor Oak with love any chance it got. Its battling record was solid, too. It scored a win in the Indigo League against Jeanette Fisher’s Bellsprout, who had taken out Pikachu and Bulbasaur, and it put up a good fight against Gary’s Blastoise in the Silver Conference. Unfortunately, that’s pretty much it for Muk. It hasn’t been used in battle since, and mostly just appears to do its funny smothering act. For a Pokémon that’s been show to be able to take multiple hits with no problem, Muk definitely deserved better.
5 Scraggy
By most accounts, Ash’s travels in the Unova region were considered a major step backwards for him. True, he caught more Pokémon here than in any other region besides Kanto, but he was far less competent, and it showed in his Pokémon team, with a good amount of them not getting the time or development they deserved. Scraggy was Ash’s fifth Unova capture, hatching from an egg he’d received in the episode, “Here Comes the Trubbish Squad.” Ash’s record with Pokémon he’s received from eggs is usually pretty good. Phanpy evolved into Donphan, and Noibat and Riolu would also reach their final stages in Kalos and Pokémon Journeys, respectively. This makes Scraggy stand out, but also shows how much further it could have gone. It was used in only one Gym battle and got one win at the Vertress Conference. It should have had more chances and definitely belongs on the long list of Ash’s Pokémon that should have evolved.
4 Snivy
Snivy is one of Ash’s few confirmed female Pokémon. It had an incredible, sassy personality, took no crap from anyone, and was implied to have abandoned at least one trainer she had deemed unworthy. Somehow, she found Ash worthy, despite the massive regression he had as a trainer in Unova. Snivy really should have a little more development. At the very least, we should have met the trainer she previously abandoned. As a battler, Snivy had a unique move with Attract, but it could have done a tad better in trainer battles. It doesn’t help that Ash caught a second Grass-type, the Bug/Grass-type Levanny, who put up a much more respectable battling. Ash would catch all three Unova starters, but only one, Tepig, would evolve after meeting the trainer that had previously abused and abandoned it. Another abandoned Fire-type by Ash evolving in front of its previous trainer? Yawn. Wouldn’t it have been much better if Snivy struggled to accept Ash as a trainer, then evolved once he regained the competence he had in Sinnoh?
3 Noivern
Distributed by The Pokemon Company International
Another Pokémon Ash originally obtained as an egg, Noivern was a member of Ash’s Kalos team, a team that consistently ranks as one of the strongest teams Ash has ever assembled. However, Noivern is far and away the weak link on the roster. A large part of that is due to Noivern’s rather lackluster battling record. It doesn’t help that Noivern was the second Dragon-type on Ash’s Kalos team and the first one, Goodra, was an absolute powerhouse. Noivern just never got the time or the battles it truly deserved. A few more wins under its belt would definitely have gone a long way towards making Noivern stand out more.
2 Torkoal
Torkoal was caught in the Hoenn region and is easily the weakest Fire-type Ash has ever owned. A very emotional Pokémon, it would cry tears of joy or sadness depending on the situation. Another Pokémon let down by a pitiful battle record, Torkoal really should have notched a few more wins for Ash. It got its only win in Hoenn’s Pokémon League, defeating Tyson’s Shiftry (being a Grass-type, Torkoal had the upper hand). It put up an impressive fight in the Battle Frontier against Pyramid King Brandon’s Registeel, but ultimately lost. Toppling a legendary would have been a huge achievement for Torkoal, as only a handful of Ash’s Pokémon (Pikachu, Sceptile, and Charizard being the more notable ones) have defeated a legendary Pokémon. Torkoal would get a second shot at a legendary Pokémon during Sinnoh’s Pokémon League, where Ash would use it against Tobias’ Darkrai. Unfortunately, Torkoal was taken out in one shot by Darkrai’s Dark Pulse. You’d cry as much as Torkoal does if you got defeated as often as it did. The poor fire turtle deserved so much better.
1 Torterra
Every region, Ash catches one Pokémon that turns out to be his “ace,” that one reliable Pokémon that’s very strong and capable of getting at least one win in any trainer battle it participates in. These are Pokémon like Sceptile, Charizard, and Greninja. In Sinnoh, that Pokémon was Infernape, who had a personal connection to Ash’s main rival, Paul. As a result, Infernape got tons of focus, with some of Ash’s other Sinnoh Pokémon getting shunted to the side. None of Ash’s Sinnoh Pokémon got hit harder by this than Torterra. Before Ash caught Chimchar (Infernape’s first stage), Ash’s Turtwig (Torterra’s first stage) was actually one of his most competent battlers. Even evolution provided a good opportunity for growth, going from a small Turtwig to a bulky Grotle, gaining over 200 pounds of weight in the process and forcing it to come up with a new battling style. Grotle would triple in weight after becoming Torterra and becoming one of the few Pokémon where evolution hurt more than helped. As a Torterra, it never won a single non-Team Rocket battle it participated in. It lost to Gym Leader Volkner’s Electivire (Torterra, being part Ground-type, should have had the advantage). It lost to Elite Four member Bertha’s Hippowdon, another Pokémon it had a type advantage against. It failed to defeat a single one of main rival Paul’s Pokémon during Ash’s League battle with him. Infernape defeated three. Couldn’t one of them have gone to the giant grass turtle?
