The Psychic-typing will always be synonymous with the toughest Gym Leader of the Generation I Pokémon games: Saffron City's Sabrina. However, the Pokémon anime has also done a good job over the years of portraying Psychic-types as mentally strong and generally terrifying in battle.
There's a reason why so many Legendary Pokémon are part Psychic, as fear of the unknown makes for a more intimidating aura, the same aura that most Legendaries possess.
10 Kadabra And Alakazam Both Showed Off Their Telepathic And Telekinetic Prowess
The Abra evolutionary line is arguably held in higher regard in the games than in the anime. Alakazam has always had impressive Speed and Special Attack stats, making it a formidable foe in the games, especially with Sabrina in Generation I. In the anime, Sabrina uses Abra and Kadabra, with the latter overpowering Ash's Pikachu.
Its evolved form, Alakazam, hasn't had the strongest showing in the anime, but under the ownership of Faba and Anabel of the Battle Tower, it caused problems for Gladion and Ash, respectively.
9 Medicham Is A Frustrating Fighting/Psychic Foe
Medicham is rather under-utilized in the anime, with it being a vastly underrated and useful dual-type Fighting/Psychic Pokémon. It took some creative thinking from Ash to get past Greta's Medicham at the Battle Arena; he had his Snorlax Hyper Beam itself up into the air and use the momentum to Body Slam Medicham with maximum power. This is a testament to how much trouble Medicham was causing for Snorlax up until that point.
The Snowpoint Gym Leader, Candice, also used a tricky Medicham against Ash when he was journeying around Sinnoh, and although it didn't do anything too drastic to his team, it still put up a good fight.
8 Wobbuffet Was Curiously Brilliant On The Rare Occasion Team Rocket Actually Used It In Battle
Wobbuffet became a permanent fixture of Team Rocket almost immediately after its introduction, essentially turning the trio of Jessie, James, and Meowth into a quartet. However, it slipped into the role of being a mascot of sorts, appearing merely to react to situations or to make noise instead of actually contributing.
On the rare occasions that Jessie and Team Rocket used it in battle, it actually proved to be rather useful. Its Counter move and mostly defensive move set gave its teammates that normally got defeated quickly by sheer force a chance. For whatever reason, Team Rocket never truly capitalized on this, and to this day, fans are still waiting for Jessie and James to use Wobbuffet more.
7 Diantha's Gardevoir Was Unassumingly Dangerous
Gardevoir's main appearances in the anime are under the ownership of the impressive Diantha. Diantha has such a close bond with her Gardevoir that she can essentially issue it instructions just by making eye contact. This is proven when she decimates Magnus and his Absol, and they completely outmatch Ash and Pikachu when they battle, albeit with no end result due to Team Rocket interfering.
Ash using his special bond with Greninja is nearly enough to defeat the Mega Evolved Gardevoir, but once again no concrete final result was reached due to interference and Ash losing consciousness. Gardevoir is as dangerous as it is graceful, utilizing both its Psychic and Fairy typings.
6 Latios Humbled Ash And His Team At The Lily Of The Valley Conference
In the Generation III games, Latios and Latias are considered to be almost identical, with the same Dragon/Psychic dual-typing and same general look outside of coloring. Even in Pokémon Heroes: Latios & Latias, they're inseparable as they work and live together.
However, Latios generally gets more overall attention for its anime appearances, solely due to a powerful Trainer named Tobias owning one in the Diamond & Pearl series. Tobias is one of the most intriguing Trainers in the entire franchise; he defeated Ash at the Lily of the Valley Conference with just his Latios and Darkrai, meaning that his other Pokémon were never revealed. His Latios was eventually beaten by Ash's Pikachu in a double knockout, but only after it had helped to decimate the rest of Ash's team.
5 Metagross Was Used By Multiple Strong Trainers
Metagross is known as Steven Stone's ace in his Champion team in the Generation III games, but it's also used by several others in the anime. Although Steven's is seen using Mega Evolution, other Trainers have had success with the standard version of the Steel/Psychic Iron Leg Pokémon.
At the Ever Grande Conference, not only does Morrison use his Metang in his battle against Ash, but in the following round, Ash faces the evolved form of Metagross under the ownership of Tyson, who goes on to win the entire tournament. Metagross is perceived in the anime as a Pokémon that requires persistent attacks and stamina to wear it down. This was certainly the case when Ash faced Tyson's Metagross; he had Swellow and Grovyle sacrifice themselves in order to wear it down, allowing Pikachu to finish it off.
4 The Mysterious Mew Arguably Deserves More Screen Time
While Mewtwo was the focal point of Mewtwo Strikes Back, Mew was always around, waiting for its moment to lead the original Pokémon in a battle against Mewtwo and his clones. Despite Mewtwo being larger than Mew, naturally they both had similar powers and were evenly matched.
Mew arguably deserved to be featured more in the anime considering it was introduced in Generation I, but Pokémon Journeys brought the mysterious Pokémon back to the limelight. Goh initially professed that he wouldn't catch a single Pokémon until he had caught Mew, before quickly revising that statement to catching every Pokémon including Mew.
3 Celebi's Psychic Powers Even Reach The Heights Of Time Travel
Whenever Celebi appears in Pokémon, whether in movies or the anime series itself, the focus tends to be on its Psychic-type capabilities such as time travel rather than its strength and battling prowess.
Whenever the series wanted to explore the past or the future with a plausible explanation, then they just introduced a Celebi as the go-to Psychic Pokémon to do so. Sharing many similarities with Mew, Celebi is small and quick but by no means weak. Every time humans befriend a Celebi, they make a powerful ally.
2 Lugia Commands The Scene Anywhere It Goes
Lugia is arguably one of the more majestic of the Legendary Pokémon, with its dual Flying/Psychic typing making it a formidable force wherever it goes, land or sky. Introduced in Generation II alongside Ho-oh, Lugia has had some memorable moments in the anime, from introducing the series to Legendary Pokémon offspring in the Johto adventures to providing a special moment for Ash and Goh in Pokémon Journeys.
Lugia is also one of the strongest Pokémon overall, with its 680 total base stats evenly spread across the board. A few more anime appearances would be most welcome.
1 Mewtwo's Psychic Abilities Can Reach Scary Heights
Mewtwo and Arceus are arguably the two most powerful Legendary Pokémon in the entire franchise. Arceus may be considered almost god-like, but Mewtwo also an overwhelming aura about it and an immense level of gravitas. In the movie Mewtwo Strikes Back, it realizes it's destined to be more than a tool to help Team Rocket and ends up ruling an island, tormenting its guests and their Pokémon.
Mewtwo's psychic powers even allow it to speak with mankind, as well as control people and Pokémon against their will. Mewtwo's appearance in the Pokémon Journeys series shows that it will always look out for lost and injured Pokémon, demonstrating that it isn't completely evil; its distrust of humans has just made it wary.