There are all sorts of franchises that have their temporary moment in the spotlight, only to gradually become less relevant. Against all odds, Pokémon has somehow found a way to not only remain on the precipice of pulp culture, but it’s expanded its empire and become an even more addictive and enjoyable series in the past few years. The Pokémon anime series has celebrated over 1000 episodes and it’s become a reliable source of Pokémon entertainment.
Ash Ketchum leads the way in the Pokémon anime, and it’s been exciting to watch him evolve as a Pokémon trainer. Ash has caught many strong Pokémon, however that doesn’t mean that they’re necessarily his best companions in battle.
10 Tauros’ Aggression Doesn’t Amount To Much In Battle
Ash doesn’t just catch a Tauros during his early adventures in the Kanto region, but he catches over two dozen of them during an outing in the famous Safari Zone attraction. Ash struggles for a long time to actually do anything with them in battle. Ash finally does take advantage of the versatile Generation I Pokémon and gives it a decent amount of attention during his Pokémon League battles. However, Tauros sadly delivers disappointing results, and despite a victory and a draw, the rest of its battles end in defeat.
9 Totodile Has Tons Of Potential That It Never Gets To Realize
It’s incredible to consider just how many new generations of Pokémon titles have come along and the many new features and creatures that have been introduced in each new game. Some consider the franchise to have become bloated, but Generation II’s Gold and Silver marks a beloved time of creativity for the series. Totodile is one of the three new starter Pokémon to crop up and an important capture for Ash while he’s in Johto. There’s so much that can be accomplished with starter Pokémon, yet Totodile mostly experiences losses and it makes for one of Ash’s least effective starters.
8 Boldore’s Durable Exterior Isn’t Enough To Stave Off Defeat
Ash first catches the Rock-type Pokémon from the Unova region when it’s still a Roggenrola. After a thrilling gym battle, Roggenrola is able to evolve into the more robust Boldore, but unfortunately, this ends the Pokémon’s success streak when it should act as just the beginning.
Boldore doesn’t perform well for Ash and while sometimes a rushed evolution is the reason for a poor performance, it seems like Boldore is just more the victim of bad luck. Under different circumstances, Ash would have stuck by Boldore’s side and turn his losses into victories, but he instead decides to move on.
7 Torterra Experiences Major Growth But Is Still Held Back
Ash’s Bulbasaur stays with him for a long time, but it’s a Grass-type starter Pokémon that doesn’t evolve while in Ash’s care. A refreshing change of pace occurs with Turtwig, Sinnoh’s Grass-type representative, that Ash fully evolves into a Torterra. Torterra is supposed to be a beast on the same level as Venusaur and even though Ash wins a few times with Turtwig’s evolutionary line, he still faces even more failures. Torterra is an absolute juggernaut and has several powerful moves at its disposal, which makes its poor performance with Ash all the more puzzling.
6 Donphan’s Fury Can’t Get Properly Channeled
The Pokémon series knows how to effectively play with expectations. Some creatures are deceptively powerful or have aggressive appearances that are meant to be a ruse, but the majority of Pokémon can be judged by their basic looks. Donphan, as well as its previous form Phanpy, are armored versions of elephants, which is an example of brute strength that’s made to be even more dangerous. Donphan should be one of Ash’s heaviest hitters from the Johto region, but instead, it’s a Pokémon that’s more familiar with losses than victories.
5 Palpitoad Disappoints Both Ash & Itself
There are plenty of Water-type Pokémon that blend into the crowd and are easy to forget, but Palpitoad is actually one of the more creative new Pokémon that get introduced in the Unova region. Ash has mixed luck when it comes to his Water-type Pokémon, but Palpitoad is a strong fighter who doesn’t need to evolve in order to become useful.
However, Palpitoad only brings Ash one victory and faces more defeats, which gives the Pokémon an embarrassing track record during Ash’s time in Unova.
4 Talonflame Gets A Lot Of Play, But It Mostly Tastes Defeat
It’s sometimes easy to dismiss the more basic Bird Pokémon since they’re so prevalent in each game and often treated like fodder during forest and trail sections. However, there are also a lot of powerful Flying-type Pokémon that come in inconspicuous packages. Ash catches a Fletchling while in the Kalos region and pushes it to evolve all the way into a Talonflame. Despite how Talonflame is also a Fire-type Pokémon, Ash primarily loses with this useful Pokémon. There are still lots of victories courtesy of Talonflame’s evolutionary line, but they mean less when they’re mixed in with so much defeat.
3 Sceptile’s Time In Hoenn Is Filled With More Losses Than Wins
Generation III of Pokémon brings in another trio of starter Pokémon, with Treecko acting as Hoenn's Grass-type mascot. Ash puts in the work and helps Treecko grow from a Grovyle into a Sceptile, but it’s a process that’s steeped in more hardships than it should be. Ash finds a rhythm with his Grass-type Pokémon and even though they share lots of successes as a team, they also must contend with an even larger number of losses. It’s crushing for this promising Pokémon and it even inadvertently sours the anime’s representation of Generation III.
2 Leavanny Deserves A Larger Amount Of Success
Some of Ash’s Pokémon only spend a brief time with him or are immediately sent away to laboratories. However, Leavanny is one of Ash’s Unova acquisitions that he’s put a great deal of effort into, and he helps the Grass-type Pokémon evolve all the way to the end of its chain. Most Pokémon that Ash pushes this far should be at the top of his team, but Leavanny has won just as often as it’s lost. This isn’t necessarily bad, but the Pokémon deserves a higher success rate based on its abilities and the work that Ash has put in.
1 Goodra Is Incredibly Average For Ash Even Though It’s A Pseudo-Legendary
It’s incredibly exciting when Ash first catches Goodra because it’s not just a Dragon-type Pokémon but also a rare Pseudo-Legendary, which are both uncommon factors for Ash’s Pokémon party. Despite the immense potential that lies in a Pokémon like Goodra, it becomes more of a passing thought for Ash than an impressive point of pride. Goodra loses just as much as it experiences wins and losses, but it’s a Pokémon that should be in the top percent of Ash’s companions and instead, Goodra feels incredibly inconsequential for the Pokémon trainer.