Ash Ketchum’s Best Pokemon

Key Takeaways

• Pikachu has a battle win rate of 89% in 538 battles, proving to be Ash’s strongest Pokemon.
• Greninja showcases a win rate of 87% in 55 battles, transforming into Ash-Greninja to secure victories.
• Goodra boasts a win rate of 88% in 16 battles, defeating opponents with its powerful Dragon-type moves.

On his journey to becoming a Pokemon Master, Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town has come a long way, venturing across many different regions of the world and catching tons of powerful Pokemon in the process. Ash has always had a knack for bringing out the true potential of partners. Together, he and his Pokemon have ventured across various lands, faced countless trials, and battled a vast assortment of trainers and Pokemon, to become a Pokemon Master.

Ash’s mission to be the very best finally came to a close when he ranked first in the World Championships, defeating the most powerful trainers from across all regions. Now that his journey is over, it makes perfect sense to look at all of Ash’s strongest Pokemon and determine his most powerful partners, which would make him almost impossible to defeat.

Updated November 22, 2024 by Ben Painter: Ash Ketchum may no longer be the main protagonist of the Pokemon anime, but he still holds a special place in fans’ hearts, with that tag now belonging to Roy and Liko in Pokemon: Horizons. From his journey starting back in 1999, Ash caught 59 Pokemon, a far cry from catching them all, but that tagline was dropped from the series early on.

Ash had a tendency to not fully evolve a lot of his Pokemon, but he proved many times that he did not need to, and they still performed admirably in battle. This update adds five more of Ash Ketchum’s strongest Pokemon to the list.

30 Naganadel

Battle Win Rate: 50% (1/2)

• Defining moment: Defeating Lucario in the final battle against Kukui in the Manalo Conference.

With Ultra Beasts introduced in Generation 7 of Pokemon, it made sense for Ash to have one in his team for the Alola region. This came in the form of Naganadel or its pre-evolved form of Polipole.

The Poison/Dragon-type was not a main member of his team, only really being a part of its team from a storytelling perspective. It did take part in two major battles during its tenure on Ash’s roster. This came in the final of the Manalo conference, where it defeated Professor Kukui’s Lucario but fell in the following battle to Tapu Koko. A criminally underused Pokemon that didn’t reach its full potential.

29 Talonflame

Battle Win Rate: 50% (9/18)

• Defining moment: Evolving into Talonflame and taking on a wild Moltres.

Talonflame was the token Flying-type of the Kalos region, and it became a vital part of Ash’s team. Easily, its best moment was going toe-to-toe with a wild Moltres, a legendary Fire bird. Although it didn’t win that battle, it more than certainly held its own against a stronger foe.

It had some use in the Pokemon gym’s taking on Wulfric’s Avalugg and Korrina’s Machoke, which were important in the Pallet Town trainer’s X&Y adventure. There was a sense that Talonflame’s impact was overshadowed by Ash’s other Fire/Flying-type Charizard and Swellow, who came in so clutch for Ash in Hoenn.

28 Gible

Battle Win Rate: 50% (2/4)

• Defining moment: Mastering Draco Meteor and defeating Shuckle and then Dusknoir in the Lily of the Valley Conference

This is perhaps the worst example of Ash not evolving his Pokemon, the first of the powerful Dragon-type that he owned. Gible evolved into the pseudo-legendary Pokemon Garchomp, an insanely strong ‘mon and the signature of Sinnoh Champion Cynthia. Ash kept his Gible in its base state, but it did prove to be a powerful, albeit underused, battler.

After many failed attempts, its key moment was mastering the move Draco Meteor, which was used successfully to aid in Ash’s battle against Conway and advance him into the next round. It is a shame that Gible is rarely seen again once Ash departs for Unova and leaves all of his Sinnoh Pokemon behind.

27 Glalie

Battle Win Rate: 50% (3/6)

• Defining moment: Defeating Morrison’s Metang to advance Ash into the next round of the Ever Grande Conference.

Ash did not use a great deal of Ice-type Pokemon, the other being Lapras, who was not used much in battle. Glalie was caught by Ash as a Snorunt and, initially, it had no control over its Ice moves. With some help from the Pallet Town trainer, it got over it.

Glalie was a late addition to Ash’s Hoenn team, and it was used by him in the Ever Grande Conference. It played an important part in overcoming Clark’s Quilava and Charizard, and Morrison’s Metang, despite its weakness to Fire and Steel-types. After Hoenn, Glalie was not used at all by Ash in battle. It went out with a bang defeating the strong Metang, and then was forcibly retired from battling.

26 Quilava

Battle Win Rate: 50% (9/18)

• Defining moment: Evolving into Quilava, learning Eruption, and defeating Team Rocket.

Quilava is a rare example of one of Ash’s Pokemon that evolved after the region it was initially caught in. As a Cyndaquil, it was a core member of Ash’s Johto team and took part in many major battles, such as defeating Bugsy’s Scyther in the Azalea Gym and Jasmine’s Steelix in the Olivine Gym.

During Sinnoh’s Lily of the Valley Conference, Cyndaquil was recalled by Ash to help him in the finals. There it evolved into Quilava to defeat Team Rocket, mastering its newly learned Eruption move. Ash then took Quilava into battle against Nando and his powerful Armaldo. The Fire-type defeated that Pokemon but was also knocked out in the battle, resulting in a tie.

25 Dragonite

Battle Win Rate: 50% (4/8)

• Defining moment: Defeating Korrina’s Mega Lucario to win Ash the battle and promote him up to the Great Class.

Ash was never one to go for strong Dragon-type Pokemon when it came to his regional team. What is even stranger is that, except for Goodra, Ash had no other pseudo-legendaries on his team. This is why fans were stoked to see Ash finally catch a Dragonite in Pokemon Journeys. Dragonite joined Ash’s team with a banger episode that saw it evolve from a Dragonair into a Dragonite to save him from falling.

Ash’s Dragonite was a powerhouse, but it did not get to shine as much as it deserved. However, it still played a key role during the World Coronation arc. Ash’s Dragonite had a powerful move set, including Draco Meteor, Hurricane, Dragon Claw, Dragon Dance, and Hyper Beam. It reigned victorious over Goh’s Golurk, Korrina’s Meinshao and Mega Lucario, Iris’s Haxorus, and Leon’s Dragapult.

24 Gengar

Battle Win Rate: 54% (7/14)

• Defining moment: Defeating Leon’s Inteleon in the Masters Tournament.

Ash caught his Gengar in the final series, Pokemon Journeys, and he was a valued member of his team. Despite some losses early on during his time with Ash, Gengar had a change of fortune later on, defeating Paul’s Metagross, Stephen’s Aggron, and Leon’s Inteleon.

The Ghost-type has been a fan favorite for many years, and it was awesome to finally see Ash Ketchum use a Gengar in his team. Gengar has shown its capabilities to Gigantamax, adding some extra bulk to its battles. Dazzling Gleam, Will-O-Wisp, Shadow Ball, and Sludge Bomb are moves that Gengar possesses, and they have shown real effectiveness against opponents.

23 Staraptor

Battle Win Rate: 55% (11/20)

• Defining moment: Defeating Nando’s Roserade in the Lilly of the Valley Conference

Staraptor was an important part of Ash’s Sinnoh team. However, it was overshadowed by Infernape and Pikachu. But it more than held its own in battles, taking care of Paul’s Weavile despite the type advantage and shinning in the Lilly of the Valley Conference with an easy win against Nando’s Roserade.

The bird was somewhat overused, being mainly portrayed as a lookout Pokemon. When it did battle, it showed its power with Close Combat and Brave Bird, two strong moves that packed a punch in Sinnoh.

22 Sceptile

Battle Win Rate: 55% (16/30)

• Defining moment: Defeating Tobias’ Legendary Pokemon, Darkrai, in the Lily of the Valley Conference.

Though Ash owns many strong Grass-types, none compare to his iconic Sceptile when it comes to sheer strength. Starting as a Treeko and eventually evolving into a Grovyle, this green gecko always had a thirst for battle. As a Grovyle, it defeated Gym Leader Norman’s Slacking with its hidden ability Overgrow. Ash’s Grovyle eventually evolved into a Sceptile and battled the Frontier Brain Spencer’s Shiftree and Claydol in a powerful showdown.

Sceptile had a tough time against Frontier Head Brandon’s Legendary Pokemon Regirock and eventually lost the battle. Sceptile also fought against May’s Blaziken in a contest battle, where both Pokemon awakened their hidden abilities. The match ended in an epic draw as the timer ran out. In the Sinnoh League, Sceptile made its legendary return and went up against Tobias’ Powerful Darkrai, which had previously defeated many of Ash’s best Pokemon. Sceptile eventually won against Darkrai, however, solidifying its status as one of Ash’s strongest Pokemon. It had access to moves like Quick Attack, Leaf Blade, Leaf Storm, and Solar Beam.

21 Dracovish

Battle Win Rate: 56% (5/9)

• Defining moment: Defeating Leon’s Rillaboom In The Master’s Eight Tournament.

Ash’s Dracovish was brought to life from a fossil by two quirky scientists, both of whom did not know what Dracovish originally looked like. Thus, by combining parts of different fossils, Ash’s Dracovish was born, having both Water and Dragon typing. Ash eventually formed a strong bond with Dracovish and captured him. Beneath the Pokemon’s goofy exterior lay a powerful monster with immense potential, which became evident when Dracovish pulled off the powerful move Fishious Rend.

Dracovish also had access to other strong moves like Dragon Rush, Water Gun, and Ice Fang. The Pokemon went on to beat lots of powerful trainers and their Pokemon, including Iris’s Dragonite, Clement’s Diggersby, Elite Four Drasna’s Noivern, Champion Cynthia’s Roserade, and Champion Leon’s Rillaboom.

20 Bayleef

Battle Win Rate: 56% (6/11)

• Defining moment: Evolving from Chikorita into Bayleef to protect Ash from Team Rocket.

Bayleef is remembered among Pokemon fans for being very affectionate to Ash, but that wasn’t always the case. She was always jealous of Ash’s other Pokemon, but eventually, she learned to love them, and most definitely Ash.

The Grass-type showed her strength many times in battles with powerful Vine Whips and Body Slams, including against Chuck’s Poliwrath and Machoke in the Cianwood City gym and Harrison’s Fire-type Houndoom at the Silver Conference. She even won Ash the Extreme Pokemon Race. Although not a battle, she certainly proved her strength in that competition. Bayleef turned out to be a valued team member in the Johto adventures.

19 Pignite

Battle Win Rate: 58% (13/24)

• Defining moment: Defeating Cameron’s Hydreigon and Ferrothorn in the Vertress Conference.

Despite Ash’s large roster of Pokemon in Unova, Pignite got a lot of play, even when it was still a Tepig, taking part in 24 battles and winning 13 of them. The highlight of these battles was defeating the pseudo-legendary Pokemon Hydreigon, and then Ferrothorn straight after, in the Unova League finals.

Pignite proves itself to be one of Ash’s strongest Pokemon with its mega Fire Pledge, Brick Break, and Flamethrower attacks. This pig was a resilient battler, taking a lot of hits and always getting back up to keep going, a trait that a lot of Ash’s Pokemon shared, proving how good of a trainer he is.

18 Squirtle

Battle Win Rate: 58% (7/12)

• Defining moment: Learning Hydro Pump to defeat Rudy’s Starmie in the Orange Islands.

Despite being one of Ash’s first Pokemon, Squirtle was criminally underused, even going as far as saying it no longer is his Pokemon anymore, due to being under the care of Officer Jenny as part of the Squirtle Squad.

He was only used in one Gym Battle in Kanto, against the Fire-type trainer Blaine, a battle which surprisingly, Squirtle lost despite having the type advantage. Squirtle was more used in the Orange Islands and the early Johto campaign, where it was used to successfully defeat Rudy’s Starmie and Drake’s Onix. Squirtle is notable for his out-of-battle exploits, becoming a firefighter and saving many lives. In some ways, Squirtle is the best of all of Ash’s Pokemon.

17 Corphish

Battle Win Rate: 59% (16/29)

• Defining moment: Defeating Flannery’s Magcargo and Torkoal to win Ash the Heat Badge.

A very friendly but brash member of Ash’s team, it has shown to be an effective battler, using its strong exoskeleton as a way of defending itself from a barrage of attacks.

Corphish was used in a lot of battles across Hoenn and the Kanto Battle Frontier and always put in a shift, hitting many with powerful Bubblebeam attacks. In the Victory Tournament, Corphish proved his determination and fought a much stronger opponent in Swampert and tied that match. It proved many times just how strong it can be, despite never evolving into its more powerful form in Crawdaunt.

16 Noctowl

Battle Win Rate: 60% (3/5)

• Defining moment: Defeating Morty’s Haunter & Gengar, despite the unfavorable type matchup to win Ash the Fog Badge.

The only shiny Pokemon that Ash caught on his journeys, Noctowl was mainly used as a scouting Pokemon, much like all of his Flying types throughout his journeys. In the battles that Noctowl was used in, he performed admirably.

Using a very varied move pool, Noctowl made use of Psychic attacks such as Confusion and Extrasensory, Flying type moves like Sky Attack and Air Slash, but also Foresight and Hypnosis to aid in battle. These moves were vital in overcoming Morty’s Ghost types in the Ecruteak Gym. Noctowl was recalled a few times for major battles but with no real success.

Battle Win Rate: 60% (3/5)

• Defining moment: Calling all the other Meltan to evolve, giving Ash a more powerful Pokemon.

Ash’s Alola team was stacked, and it even included his very first (and so far only) Mythical Pokemon, Melmetal. But this ‘mon was underused in Alola, being caught late on in his adventure and then evolving into its final form just before the final battle of the series.

The fact Ash has a Melmetal alone is enough to make this list, and it did have a few wins under its belt, including defeating Kukui’s Empoleon in the final battle but falling against Incineroar, which is fair giving the type advantage and being weak from the previous battle.

14 Scraggy

Battle Win Rate: 61% (4/6)

• Defining moment: Learning Focus Blast to defeat Simisage in the Clubsplosion Tournament

Ash used a lot of Pokemon in Unova, so the Pokemon he used there were largely spread out, hence Scraggy’s low number of major battles. Since it hatched under Ash’s care, it has shown to be a headstrong Pokemon going all out in his battles, hitting powerful moves such as Focus Blast and High Jump Kick which are risky and prone to miss.

Scraggy is shown to take on groups of Pokemon all by himself, best shown in the episode Scraggy-Hatched to be Wild! when he goes for many Galvantula with no help. Ash left Scraggy at Professor Oak’s Lab when he left the Unova region and has never returned to his party. There is certainly a case that Scraggy has a lot of unfinished business as part of Ash’s roster.

13 Swellow

Battle Win Rate: 63% (14/23)

• Defining moment: Combing with Pikachu to create a Thunder armor to defeat Solrock and Lunatone in the Mossdeep Gym.

Swellow was used by Ash a lot throughout his battles in the Hoenn region, he was part of his main core of Pokemon present in a lot of big matches. It has shown to be resilient and determined in its battles, never giving up until it cannot fight anymore, a trait that is shared among many of Ash’s Pokemon.

Despite being weak to Electric-type attacks, it has been shown to handle its weakness very well. Even using it as a weapon, after being shocked by Pikachu’s Thunder, it turned it into a Thunder Armor which was key to defeating Tate and Lisa’s Lunatone and Solrock. Even defeating it with a super-powered Aerial Ace, a Flying-type move that shouldn’t deal much damage to the Mossdeep Gym leader’s Rock Pokemon.

12 Lycanroc

Battle Win Rate: 64% (7/11)

• Defining moment: Defeating Gladion’s own Lycanroc to win Ash the Manolo Conference.

The Rock-type Pokemon was a regular in Ash’s roster in the Alola region, and it showed its real strength on several occasions, striking down opponents with Stone Edge, Accelerock, Counter, and some powerful Z-Moves.

Lycanroc got his revenge against Gladion’s Midnight from Lycanroc in the finals of Alola, which in turn won Ash his first-ever Pokemon League Championship. It is a crying shame that Lycanroc was not used anymore, as it remained with Professor Kukui in Alola. Ash could have made use of its red-eye form in his future journeys, but considering his success, he did not really need his wolf.

11 Incineroar

Battle Win Rate: 67% (6/9)

• Defining moment: Defeating Kukui’s Incineroar as a Torracat and then evolving into its final form.

Ash’s Alola team was iconic, and a big part of this was Torracat, who was in the series from the beginning as a wild Litten. A truly iconic moment in the series was Torracat defeating its evolved form of Incineroar, who was a powerful foe, and then evolving into its final form at the end of the battle.

It was a shame that fans did not see much of Incineroar; it did make an appearance in Pokemon Journeys, showing to have rejoined Ash’s team for a brief period after becoming Pokemon Masters Eight Champion, which was something at least, although it did not get a chance to show its prowess in battle.