In the world of Pokémon, having a Flying-type is critical for any trainer hoping to travel the whole world, whether it is for the HM Fly in the games, or to partake in aerial contests and thwart Team Rocket's escapes in the anime.
Over the course of his long Pokémon journey, Ash has stayed consistent in catching at least one Flying-type native to each region that he has visited, with Pokémon Journeys being the only exception due to Ash's Flying-type being Dragonite which does not originate from Galar. Flying-types nearly always have an additional secondary typing, which gives them a varied move-pool that can be applied in aerial combat.
13 Ash Never Got To Properly Use His Pidgeot Before Its Release
Ash caught Pidgeotto in the immediate aftermath of his first ever capture, Caterpie. This started Ash's tradition of catching a Flying-type Pokémon native to his current region.
Pidgeotto was barely used in Gym Battles compared to its counterparts in other regions, but was still useful in scouting ahead and thwarting Team Rocket on multiple occasions. Ash released it almost as soon as it had evolved into Pidgeot, which fans saw as a serious opportunity missed.
12 Butterfree Was Another Released By Ash Too Soon
As the first wild Pokémon that Ash ever caught on his journey, since he obtained Pikachu rather than catching it, Caterpie quickly also became Ash's first ever Pokémon to evolve, with it quickly going through the stages to become a Butterfree.
Ash was quick to trade his Butterfree for a Raticate, before almost immediately changing his mind due to his fondness for the Butterfly Pokémon, but he did end up releasing it in "Bye-Bye Butterfree." Butterfree signified the beginning of Ash's Pokémon journey and certainly deserved to be given more time in the anime.
11 Ash Barely Called Upon His Unfezant
One of many average-to-underwhelming additions to Ash's team during his time in Unova, Unfezant was arguably one of the weakest examples of Ash's traditional native Flying-types. Managing just three wins and three losses over the entire campaign, Unfezant was limited on appearances, but was still called upon to do the usual Flying-type things of scouting ahead and thwarting Team Rocket escapes.
In the next region that Ash visited after Unova, Kalos, Ash squared off in the final of the Lumiose Conference against Alain, who had a much more impressive Unfezant, which forced Ash's Talonflame into a double knockout draw. This was proof that Unfezant had more potential than what Ash ultimately managed.
10 Ash's Noivern Was Still Young And Inexperienced
Ash's Noivern didn't get a whole lot of battle experience over the course of the X & Y anime. It originally hatched from egg as a Noibat, and being a baby Pokémon, it was protected from battle for a long time.
It eventually evolved into Noivern in order to save its friends from a Zapdos, but this impressive feat and any momentum didn't amount to an especially good win-rate. Over the course of four battles--two each with Sawyer and Alain, with two bouts being at the Lumiose Conference--Noivern picked up just the one win, with three defeats and a double knockout out against Sawyer's Salamence.
9 Gliscor Certainly Improved After Its Special Training But Still Left A Lot To Be Desired
As both a Gligar and its evolved form Gliscor, Ash's lovable dual Ground and Flying-type was used more for comic relief with a complete underdog aesthetic, with it losing several times and only getting a couple of wins to show for its efforts.
Those wins were vitally important however, with it defeating Gym Leader Byron's bulky Bastiodon and Paul's dangerous Drapion at the Lily of the Valley Conference.
8 Noctowl Proved Its Value On Its Rare Appearances
Noctowl was another Flying-type Pokémon like Unfezant that didn't get a whole lot of action as a part of Ash's teams. It did show its value against Ecruteak Gym Leader Morty in Johto by defeating two Ghost-types, but it was ultimately defeated in its Silver Conference appearance by Harrison's Steelix.
Ash called upon its services once again for the Sinnoh League for his bout against Conway. Noctowl defeated Lickilicki before falling to a Trick Room-using Dusknoir.
7 Talonflame Brought The Frantic Fire To Every Battle
It took Ash until the sixth generation and Kalos region for his almost-traditional native bird Pokémon to have a typing other than just Normal and Flying. With Talonflame's line including Fletchling and Fletchinder being part Fire-type, it allowed Ash to play with all sorts of combinations with moves like Flame Charge, Steel Wing and Brave Bird.
Talonflame's aggressive offense earned it a 50% win rate--it would go all out to defeat one Pokémon, only for it to often be defeated straight after.
6 Hawlucha Was Integral To Ash's High Team Morale In Kalos
Alongside Talonflame, Hawlucha was one of the workhorses of Ash's impressive Kalos team. They would both often start battles and wear opponents down while getting as much offense in as possible before their inevitable demise.
Hawlucha's friendship with Noivern was also vital motivation that got the best out of Hawlucha especially, as a protective friend who would always go all out when trying to avenge its friend.
5 Rowlet Was A Valued Member Of Ash's Alola Team Despite Never Evolving
Fans are often quick to criticize Ash when he doesn't evolve Starter Pokémon and subsequently doesn't get the best out of them. However, with Rowlet, everything made sense, and there was even given narrative to it not evolving.
Rowlet swallowed an Everstone while trying to learn Bullet Seed, and due to the size of the stone, it was able to improvise and learn Seed Bomb instead. The Everstone not only stopped Rowlet from evolving, but it became a powerful weapon in Rowlet's arsenal. Rowlet picked up countless impressive victories for Ash, helping him through Grand Trials and even defeating its final evolved form Decidueye at the Manalo Conference.
4 Staraptor Brought Its Fighting Spirit To The Skies
Despite having an extended period of not doing too much as a Staravia, other than its usual non-battle responsibilities, Ash's Sinnoh Flying-type fought in a lot of battles and picked up several important victories, especially as a Staraptor.
It was one of Ash's most aggressive bird Pokémon of the entire anime, with it often going all-out with its offense, especially with the likes of Brave Bird and Close Combat.
3 Ash Finally Has A Powerful Dragonite On His Team
Fans rejoiced when Ash finally caught a Dragonite in Pokémon Journeys. Drake, Lance and Iris are three more examples of strong trainers who had already shown of the might of the Dragon Pokémon, and Ash experienced this for himself when he finally caught one.
Dragonite have been shown to have particularly diverse personalities, with Iris's being more aggressive and Drake's being proud, while Ash's has proven to be rather affectionate. This leaves plenty of room for Ash's Dragonite to grow, as it learns how to be a better battler. It has already shown its potential in Pokémon Journeys, when it defeated Iris's Haxorus.
2 Swellow Had A Rather Basic Move-Set But Still Carried Ash's Hoenn Team Through Several Battles
Ash's Swellow easily cemented its name as Ash's best region-native Flying-type due to it picking up several more wins than losses, including some vitally important victories.
It being such an important member of Ash's Hoenn team and one of Ash's best ever birds is somewhat surprising, due to it not even being able to learn the traditionally powerful Gen IV Flying-type move, Brave Bird, and having Aerial Ace as its ace move instead.
1 When It Could Be Bothered, Charizard Was A Force To Be Reckoned With
Even after Charmander's emotional introduction to the anime and Ash adopting it, as soon as it evolved into Charmeleon it appeared to lose all respect and loyalty for Ash, which only worsened when it became Charizard.
Charizard's power was undeniable but its motivations were consistently infuriating for Ash. It only battled when it felt like and if it deemed its opponent worthy. This even cost Ash his match with Ritchie at the Indigo League due to Charizard refusing to fight. However, when Ash put his life on the line to protect Charizard during the Orange Islands arc, Ash finally gained an obedient and truly valuable team member. Charizard would eventually be left at Charicific Valley for training, but would still re-join Ash on occasion to demonstrate its always-progressing and improving power.