Throughout his many travels through multiple regions in the Pokemon anime, Ash Ketchum has battled countless strong Gym Leaders over the years while experimenting with a host of new Pokémon, albeit sometimes on the receiving end of their talents.
There are plenty of Pokémon that have challenged Ash, but the ones that can turn the tide of a battle on his head in an instant are the ones that have to be considered among the best he’s ever faced, especially within the confines and pressures of a battle. gym battle.
10 Flannery’s Torkoal shows how good the species can be
Torkoal often gets a bad rap for its poor performances under Ash’s ownership throughout the anime, but the Fire-type Pokémon’s true potential is shown in Lavaridge Town Gym Leader Flannery’s own Torkoal, who single-handedly turns the battle with Ash into a close decision.
Flannery’s Torkoal beefs up its protection with Iron Defense before unleashing powerful attacks to take out both Ash’s Treecko and Pikachu before finally falling to the Water-type Corphish. Without Torkoal, Flannery would lose this battle, as Slugma and Magcargo can’t deal any serious damage to Ash’s Pokemon.
9 Roxy’s Garbodor is one of three powerful poison types displayed against Ash.
Ash’s battle with Roxie, Virbank’s gym leader, has to be considered one of the highlights of his campaign on Unova, with a very close contest even though the 6v3 battle odds were in Ash’s favor. . As Scolipede takes out Leavanny and Koffing knocks out both Boldore and Unfezant, Garbodor is seen as the main threat.
The Trash Heap Pokemon’s sheer size and toxic threat mean it can take down Ash’s Palpitoad and Pignite with impressive maneuvers. Garbodor eventually succumbed to Ash’s Pikachu and its effective use of paralysis.
8 Blaine’s Magmar gets the best of Ash’s Charizard
Ash’s Kanto campaign is largely marred by earning his gym badges without necessarily earning them, but the fact that he outclasses Cinnabar Island gym leader Blaine’s fire-types feels like a real deal. victory for the Pueblo Paleta coach.
Blaine’s Magmar somehow bends over backwards in their rematch and encourages Ash’s Charizard to have a proper battle. Charizard acknowledging Magmar’s power is a testament to Magmar’s strength. It can even be argued that Magmar only loses the hard battle against Charizard because Charizard uses his Flying-type.
7 Sabrina’s Kadabra is too much for Ash’s Pikachu
Sabrina of Saffron City is one of the most feared Gym Leaders in both the games and anime, due to her usually serious and mysterious personality, not to mention the terrifying threat her Psychic-types can pose to her opponents.
When Ash faces Sabrina, the Psychic-type specialist Abra immediately evolves into Kadabra when facing Ash’s Pikachu and Kadabra quickly outclasses the little Electric-type. With a Teleport, Recover, Confusion, Psychic, and Psybeam moveset, Kadabra is too much for his opponents.
6 Candice’s Abomasnow changes the complexity of the entire battle
Ash can hardly believe his luck when he seems to be getting over his Snowpoint Gym battle against Ice-type specialist Candice. However, the final boss is Candice’s Abomasnow, and it doesn’t take long for him to see the strength of it. Abomasnow rampages through Ash’s unsuspecting group and makes for a close contest.
Abomasnow can capitalize on its type advantages over Staraptor and Grotle, but it still shows off its formidable power. Ultimately, losing to Chimchar does nothing to lessen the impact he has in this matchup, and losing to a type disadvantage is nothing to be ashamed of.
5 Both Maylene’s and Korrina’s Lucario cause Ash a lot of trouble.
Lucario is considered to be one of the best Pokémon in all of anime and rightfully so. Multiple talented trainers own one, including Ash in the latest pokemon trips Serie. Dual-typing Fighting-Steel is a handful for any opponent, with two examples being a draw with Veilstone Gym Leader Maylene and mixed results against Shalour’s Korrina.
As Maylene’s Lucario cuts through Ash’s Staravia and Chimchar before fighting to a draw with Buizel in one of diamond and pearlKorrina’s best battles have more than one basic story, as she struggles to adjust to her Mega Evolution.
4 Clemont’s Luxray prevents the long-awaited gym battle with Ash from ending quickly.
Ash traveling with a gym leader isn’t necessarily a new trope by the time it applies to Clemont in the X and Y series, but it doesn’t stop their impending battle from being one of the most anticipated gym battles in all of anime. As the Lumiose Gym challenge begins, it appears to be almost over as Ash’s Pikachu and Hawlucha knock out Clemont’s Bunnelby and Heliolisk respectively.
However, Luxray steps forward to crash the party and does so with aplomb, taking out both Pikachu and Hawlucha before finally falling to Goodra’s use of Bide, using her own power against him.
3 Whitney’s Miltank almost destroyed Ash’s team of three in two consecutive battles.
Miltank has built a reputation within the Pokémon franchise, all thanks to Whitney, a gym leader from Goldenrod City. In the games, she is considered one of the toughest Gym Leaders when difficulty is considered in relation to the game’s level scale. Her Miltank is just as dangerous in the anime.
In Ash’s first battle with Whitney, Miltank destroys Ash’s team of Cyndaquil, Totodile, and Pikachu. Miltank only loses in the rematch thanks to a clever strategy implemented by Ash and his Pokemon creating trenches to obstruct Miltank’s powerful Rollout before finishing it off as it tries to regain its footing.
two Wulfric’s Avalugg is a huge hurdle for Ash’s Kalos team to overcome.
As is often the case at least once per campaign, Ash loses a Gym battle against Snowbelle’s Wulfric during his adventures in Kalos before winning the rematch. The first fight involves Wulfric’s Avalugg, avenging his fallen teammate Abomasnow by destroying Ash’s team of Hawlucha, Talonflame, and Greninja.
He even has a part to play in the rematch, knocking out Pikachu and seriously injuring Talonflame before finally being eliminated. Avalugg’s moveset of Avalanche, Ice Fang, Gyro Ball, and Stone Edge offers excellent coverage. Its colossal size and power make it an immensely strong Pokémon.
1 Drake’s Dragonite Has An Impressive Undefeated Record Before Pikachu Puts An End To It
Drake is introduced during the Orange Islands arc after Ash’s Kanto campaign. Despite not being known as a regular Gym Leader compared to those in other regions, he is known as the ultimate Gym Leader of the Orange League’s Orange Crew.
When Ash Ketchum battles Drake, his reputation has been hyped with stories of how other trainers have fallen to his strong team, with his mighty Dragonite remaining undefeated. Dragonite is called as Drake’s sixth and final Pokémon and proceeds to win back the match for his trainer by taking out Charizard, Squirtle, and Tauros before finally falling to Ash’s Pikachu.
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