Ash Ketchum has traveled across many regions of the Pokémon world in his journey to become the very best. In almost all of them, he ends up competing in the region's Pokémon League tournament, where he battles for the chance to become the region's top Trainer.
Ash's many Pokémon League runs all feature unique themes, battles, and opponents, and over the years, he has competed in them to varying levels of success. It's no secret that Ash's journey is filled with ups and downs, and this is especially true of the Pokémon Leagues due to their huge importance to the show.
7 The Indigo League Has Aged Poorly
The hardest Pokémon League to go back to is easily the Indigo League, where Ash's inexperience is just as evident as the show's. What's frustrating about this arc is that neither Ash's wins nor his losses are properly earned.
Ash wins multiple rounds using untrained yet inexplicably overpowered Pokémon, and his loss to Ritchie is largely forced by Team Rocket, who exhaust Ash's team and force him to use his disobedient Charizard. The one redeeming quality of the Indigo League is how it contributes to Ash's character development, forcing him to accept his shortcomings as a Trainer and better himself.
6 The Unova League Made Many Bizarre Choices
The Black & White series is controversial for many reasons, but one particularly frustrating part to get through is the Unova League. It's the only Pokémon League where Ash actually performed worse than he did in the previous series, regressing from the top four to the top eight due to the soft reset of his character.
Ash's regression on its own would be enough to taint the Unova League, but it's also filled with a ton of padding between battles and anticlimactic fights, such as Ash's 1-on-1 battle with Trip or his 6-on-5 battle with Cameron. Ash's battle with Stephan is the most enjoyable, but it's not enough to salvage the League's poor writing.
5 The Hoenn League Left Little Impact
With no notable gimmicks or recurring subplots to resolve, the Hoenn League is the most straightforward Pokémon League of the series. While its flaws don't stick out as much as many other Leagues', it suffers from both a lack of stakes and variety.
Advanced Generation is the only series where Ash doesn't have any major rivals, so there's no reason to get invested in the battles beyond cheering for Ash. He also sticks strictly to his Hoenn team for the entire tournament, and because almost every on-screen battle is focused on Ash, his limited range of options starts to feel like a drag.
4 The Kalos League Was Thrilling But Rushed
The Kalos League is notorious for having many of the highest peaks and lowest valleys of any Pokémon League arc. On one hand, the battles shown are visually breathtaking and feature several creative strategies from Ash and his rivals. Unfortunately, the writing suffers from the incredibly fast pacing of XY's final few arcs.
So many battles are skipped that Ash reaches the semifinals by the second episode, and two of Ash's six Kalos Pokémon don't get any on-screen victories. The lack of time also prevents the League from fully exploring its themes about the meaning of victory, culminating in Ash's controversial loss to Alain.
3 The Johto League Was Satisfying For Its Time
By the end of the original series, the Johto League was able to come into its own and make up for many of the things that the Indigo League lacked. Most importantly, it gave a proper battle and conclusion to Ash's rivalry with Gary, and its battles demonstrate Ash's growth in skill and maturity.
There are missed opportunities with the Johto League, such as the absence of characters such as Casey and Ritchie, and it lacks the ambition of many of the later Leagues. Overall, though, it accomplishes what it needed to do and allows the original series to go out on a high note.
2 The Alola League Shakes Up The Formula
The Alola League is easily the most unique of all the Pokémon Leagues. Due to it being the region's very first League, there are no requirements on who can enter, and Ash's classmates and even several villains joined in on the action. Most shocking of all, though, was the fact that Ash finally won this League and became Alola's first Champion.
This shake-up to the usual format means leads to some very hit-or-miss battles, but the positives far outweigh the negatives. The Alola League focuses more on character than grand fights and gives nearly the entire Sun & Moon cast a final moment to shine. In addition, the more intense battles near the end prove Ash a worthy Champion.
1 The Sinnoh League Was Consistently Exciting
The Sinnoh League captures everything necessary to make a Pokémon League arc succeed. Every battle shown is strategic and engaging, and each battle gets progressively more intense up to Ash's legendary battle with Paul. It's also the final time to date Ash brings back his reserve Pokémon for important battles, so it pays tribute to the past while remaining fresh.
The most glaring flaw of the Sinnoh League is the complete absurdity of Ash's loss to Tobias, but even this battle comes with many memorable scenes and some of Ash's most impressive feats of strength. Besides that, the Sinnoh League is a simple one but is executed well.