Ash Ketchum has trained many Pokémon teams over the years, including one that won him the Pokémon League - but which team is the strongest, and why?
Summary
- Ash's Pokémon Journeys team is his strongest ever, with fully-evolved Pokémon, special techniques, and great firepower.
- Ash's Kanto team, though iconic, is not powerful enough, with too many unevolved Pokémon.
- Ash's Johto team is his weakest, lacking heavy hitters and Pokémon that reached their full potential.
Ash Ketchum has had many Pokémon teams over the years, and fans love to debate which one is the strongest. Ash, as the Pokémon anime’s longest-running protagonist, has caught many different Pokémon across many different regions. Each time he visited a new region, he’d assemble a new team to take on that region's Pokémon Gyms, eventually heading towards the Pokémon League to fulfill his dream of becoming a Pokémon Master.
Famously, Ash's won his first (official) Pokémon League Champion title in Alola, although this proved controversial. Though audiences were glad to see Ash finally achieve his goal, Ash’s battle against rival and friend Alain in the Kalos League’s final match had initially seemed like the best opportunity for Ash to win his first official championship. His team was stronger, Ash’s character seemed more mature, and his run in the Kalos League was the best he’d ever had. The sting of his loss in the Pokémon XYZ anime was soothed by his win in the Sun and Moon anime – but only just. Of course, Ash's later victory in the global World Coronation Series overshadows all his previous achievements.
9 Ash's Kanto Team is Iconic, But Not Powerful
Pikachu, Bulbasaur, Squirtle, Charmander, Pidgeotto, Butterfree.
Ash Ketchum’s first Pokémon team in Kanto failed to win the Pokémon League's Indigo Conference, but he did manage to make it to the top 16 of 200 candidates, which is no small feat for a debut trainer. His main team in Kanto consisted of his very first Pokémon Pikachu, a fully evolved Butterfree, a Pidgeotto, Bulbasaur, a fully evolved Charizard, and a Squirtle. This first team set a precedent for Ash nearly always having a fire, water, grass, and flying-type Pokémon on his team, often including at least two of a region’s starter Pokémon. Other honorable mentions include Kingler and Muk, who participated in some of the matches during the Indigo Conference. Butterfree does eventually leave Ash’s team in what remains an emotional episode, a recurring event throughout the Pokémon anime.
Despite being Ash’s first full team as a trainer, it does involve some heavy hitters. Ash's Charizard, in particular, becomes one of his most powerful Pokémon, though it took a while for it to be disciplined enough to obey Ash’s commands. His relationship with Pikachu also counts for something, and Pikachu famously becomes his one constant companion. Still, there are a few too many unevolved Pokémon on this particular team for it to be powerful, no matter how lovable and memorable some of those Pokémon are.
In a follow-up to the original Indigo Plateau arc, Ash participated in the Orange League, a conference that takes place in The Orange Islands. He did win, meaning that his championship in Alola wasn’t technically the first time Ash Ketchum truly won a Pokémon league. In that arc, Ash switched up the Kanto team a bit and included a Lapras and a Snorlax. Snorlax, in particular, was quite a powerhouse, and one of Ash’s strongest contenders at the time. Despite his Orange League win, this team still doesn’t qualify as one of Ash’s strongest teams – there simply wasn’t enough diversity.
8 Ash's Johto Team May Be His Weakest
Pikachu, Cyndaquil, Totodile, Bayleef, Heracross, Noctowl.
Ash’s second team brought him to the top eight in the Johto League's Silver Conference. Ash memorably faced off against his greatest rival, Gary, and won, though a few of his old Kanto Pokémon were involved in that victory. Once again, Ash managed to catch a full set of starters in Johto, only one of which evolved at all. Alongside Cyndaquil, Totodile, Bayleef (evolved from Chikorita), and, of course, Pikachu, Ash’s Johto team also included Heracross, a shiny Noctowl, and Phanpy.
In comparison to Ash’s Kanto team, his Johto team is probably the weaker of the two. It never really found a proper replacement for heavy hitters such as Charizard and Snorlax, though Heracross was probably the most powerful on this team, together with Bayleef. Unfortunately, most of Ash’s Pokémon on this team never realized their full potential power. Ash loved his Pokémon and wanted them to become the best versions of themselves, without forcing them to evolve. That’s an admirable position to take, and it does remain one of Ash’s best qualities, but it took him a while to combine his love for his Pokémon with his cunning as a trainer.
7 Ash's Hoenn Team Set A New Bar
Pikachu, Sceptile, Swellow, Torkoal, Glalie, Aipom.
The third iteration of the Pokémon anime saw Ash head to the Hoenn region. He may have caught the least amount of new Pokémon in this region, but it was a more well-defined team than his previous efforts, and interestingly enough, it only included one starter Pokémon. His Hoenn team (including the Battle Frontier arc), included a fully evolved Sceptile, a fully evolved Swellow, Corphish, Torkoal, a fully evolved Glalie, and eventually an Aipom that he caught in the wild.
With this team, Ash once again placed in the top eight of the Evergrande Conference. Again, it’s an impressive feat, but it does mean that his team was not as strong as it could have been. Ash’s potential as a trainer is explored more fully in the Hoenn series though, and it shows in his Pokémon. More of them have reached their final evolution (except Pikachu), and yet Ash doesn’t allow his quest to train his Pokémon to their fullest potential to stand in the way of treating them with respect and care. Sceptile and Glalie are strong Pokémon, and his Swellow was the strongest Flying-type he’d had thus far.
6 Ash's Sinnoh Team Shines With Good Development
Pikachu, Infernape, Staraptor, Torterra, Gliscor, Gible.
Ash’s Sinnoh team is the first team where most of his newly caught Pokémon reach their final evolutionary stages. It’s an undeniable fact that most Pokémon (perhaps barring Ash’s Pikachu), are simply stronger when they’ve fully evolved. Ash tends to catch Pokémon that either can’t or won’t evolve, and while he still tries to bring out the best in them, Ash’s team in Sinnoh exemplified what he could do as a trainer without those restraints.
Ash landed a spot in the top four of the Lily of the Valley conference – but no Pokémon shines more in this Pokémon League than Ash’s fully evolved starter Pokémon, Infernape. Abandoned by Paul, who later becomes one of Ash’s rivals, Infernape remains one of Ash’s strongest Pokémon due to its unique Blaze ability, which increases power in dire circumstances. Other Sinnoh Pokémon include a fully evolved Staraptor, a fully evolved Torterra, Buizel, a fully evolved Gliscor, and a Gible, Ash’s first Dragon-type Pokémon. Regrettably, Gible never evolved, as its final form, Garchomp, is a very strong Dragon and Ground-type Pokémon that would've been a perfect fit.
5 Ash's Unova Team Was A Step Backward
Pikachu, Oshawott, Pignite, Snivy, Unfezant, Krookodile.
Unfortunately, Ash’s progress with his Sinnoh team was almost completely reversed with his Unova team. The Black and White series was something of a soft reboot, and with that fresh start went many of Ash's hard-earned skills. Quite a few of his Pokémon never reached their full potential, including all three of the starter Pokémon that he caught in the region. This team does include the fully-evolved Pokémon Unfezant, Leavanny, and Krookodile, the last of which is an undeniably solid Pokémon. In addition, Ash also raised an Oshawott, a Snivy, a Scraggy, a Palpitoad, as well as Tepig (evolved into Pignite) and Roggenrola (evolved into Boldore).
The regression of Ash’s Pokémon team in the fifth generation of the anime is reflected in his Unova League performance. Ash once again finishes in the top eight, which, while still an impressive result, is a step down from where he placed in the Sinnoh League. What is interesting about his Unova team, however, is that because of the amount of new Pokémon he managed to catch, Ash was able to rotate his team members instead of forcing some to become second-string players. This system of rotation meant that Ash had a much more versatile roster, though it couldn’t cancel out that these are some of Ash's weakest Pokémon.
4 Ash's Kalos Team Is One of His Strongest
Pikachu, Greninja, Talonflame, Hawlucha, Noivern, Goodra.
Ash in the Pokémon XYZ anime is almost unrecognizable compared to what came before. Though he was still 10 years old, he was portrayed as more mature and cunning as a Pokémon trainer. No other team realized its full potential the way Ash's Kalos team did; each Pokémon was fully evolved, and his Kalos team had a diverse range of types, strengths, and weaknesses, and even included two Dragon-type Pokémon. On this impressive team, Ash had a Greninja, Noivern, Goodra, Talonflame, Hawlucha, and his ever-present Pikachu.
Another thing that gives this team an advantage over any of the others so far is Greninja’s unique transformation, called the Bond Phenomenon. Ash and Greninja’s bond was so strong that they would join as one in battle, with Greninja transforming to look more like Ash, and Ash feeling each blow that Greninja takes as if it were him. This once again proves how diligently Ash raised his Pokémon this time around, and the results speak for themselves. Ash placed second overall at the Kalos League, and discussions still rage to this day on whether Ash should have won this league.
3 Ash's Alola Team Is Exotic And Powerful
Pikachu, Rowlet, Incineroar, Melmetal, Lycanroc, Naganadel.
In the seventh generation of the anime, Ash arrives in Alola and goes back to school. It was a strange turn of events, considering how far Ash went in the Pokémon League last time, but it seems to have done the trick. Ash would go on to win his first league tournament here, a radical and unexpected shift. However, it should be taken into account that this was the first time that a Pokémon League championship was ever held in Alola, and as such it's possible that Ash’s opponents this time around were a bit easier to contend with.
However, his team here was no joke, either. With a fully evolved rare-form Lycanroc, a fully evolved Incineroar, the mythical Pokémon Melmetal, and an Ultra Beast (Naganadel), Ash’s Alola team had quite a few heavy hitters. Unfortunately, his Rowlet never evolved past its first form, but Ash was able to master Z-Moves, giving most of his Pokémon, even the weaker ones, an extra boost of power.
2 Ash's Pokémon Journeys Team Is Easily The Strongest.
Pikachu, Sirfetch'd, Gengar, Dragonite, Dracovish, Lucario.
Due to the globe-trotting nature of Pokémon Journeys, Ash had the option to pull Pokémon from regions around the world, creating the best team possible. All the Pokémon on this team were fully evolved, barring Pikachu of course, and many are considered powerhouses by fans of the games. Beyond that, Ash also had access to all the previous power-ups, like Z-moves, Mega Evolution, and Dynamaxing, ensuring that he had plenty of options in battle, which aided him strategically. His team, aside from Pikachu, includes a Lucario, a Gengar, a Dragonite, a Dracovish, and Sirfetch’d.
Ash seems to have learned from his time in Kalos, as his team once again is mostly evolved and includes two Dragon-types. Dragonite, Lucario, and Gengar in particular are surprisingly powerful choices. Pokémon Sword and Shield also proved that Dracovish is an unexpectedly dangerous Pokémon, too. Quite a few of his Pokémon in the Journeys anime can either Mega Evolve or Gigantamax, and use Z-Moves as well. This gives these Pokémon a distinct advantage in terms of boosted power, something that no other team had to the same extent.
With a pseudo-legendary, an extraordinarily rare fossil Pokémon, and several fully-evolved Pokémon, this team looks the most like one that a competitive player of the Pokémon video games might use. Many of these Pokémon also knew special techniques or had special forms, such as his Gengar's ability to Gigantamax, or Lucario's ability to Mega Evolve. No matter how one looks at it, this is the team that Ash put together with the greatest firepower, and it led him to his greatest heights.
1 Why Ash's Journeys Team Takes the Strongest Pokémon Team Crown
Ash's top three teams are also his three most recent ones: Kalos, Alola, and Journeys. It's a testament to how much Ash has developed as a trainer over the years, and how committed the anime was to building upon that development with each new iteration of the show. Despite Pokémon like Melmetal and Naganadel, Alola easily comes in third of the three; Melmetal never fared that well in battle, despite his potential, and the presence of unevolved Pokémon like Rowlet brings it down overall. Kalos is a respectable team, and the anime went out of its way to show the depths of Ash's bond with several of these Pokémon, like Greninja and Goodra. However, on relatively even footing, Ash wasn't able to take this team to victory and defeat Alain.
For Journeys, though, the proof is right there in the series. In the final Masters' Eight Tournament, Ash had to face off against incredibly powerful trainers like Cynthia, Steven Stone, and the undefeated Leon himself. And yet, despite the challenge, Ash managed to rise above, defeating each of them in turn with his Journeys team. The team had adequate type coverage, took full advantage of the battle "gimmicks" like Mega Evolution, and still had powerful bonds with Ash, with each of the Pokémon on the team undergoing special training with Ash over the series. Fittingly, Ash's final team in the Pokémon anime was also his best, and that's what brought him the glory of being number one.
