Pokémon seemed like a risky property when it first debuted, but it’s firmly proven itself to be one of the world’s most successful franchises. The popularity of the Pokémon video games is still going strong with no end in sight, but the anime series that grew out of the games has found just as much of an audience and has celebrated thousands of episodes across its many series.
Ash has remained the star of the Pokémon anime since its start and even though the series does a good job at portraying him as a relatable and sympathetic protagonist, he’s still far from perfect. In fact, there are certain occasions throughout Pokémon where Ash’s behavior is downright alarming.
10 He Overruns Professor Oak's Lab With Destructive Pokémon
There are so many Pokémon in the world and obviously Ash can't keep all of them by his side at every moment. There's nothing wrong with transferring Pokémon over to Professor Oak's lab, but Ash engages in this to a reckless degree and the anime even shows the stress that it provides Professor Oak.
Ash is guilty of this in many occasions, but the situation with his copious amount of Tauros is especially irresponsible. They ruin Oak's lab. Ash could easily set them back into the wild or even give them to struggling Pokémon trainers, but instead he just hordes.
9 He Abuses A Spearow With Rocks
Ash’s earliest adventures in the Pokémon anime detail his struggles to bond with Pikachu and get the Pokémon to obey him. When Pikachu initially puts up a fight, Ash decides to try and catch a Pokémon by himself without the use of a Pokémon helper.
Ash’s solution here is to injure an innocent Spearow by throwing rocks at it, hoping it’ll become weak enough that he can capture it. Ash’s idea doesn’t pan out, but even if it did, it’s still cruel treatment for a Pokémon.
8 He Aligns Himself With Team Rocket
Team Rocket are definite threats and a scourge to the community, but they're still a bumbling organization that need help every so often. Even though Team Rocket have repeatedly endangered the lives of Ash's Pokémon, he still decides to help them out. One of the biggest consequences from this behavior occurs when Ash, Jessie, James put on a ruse to gain entry to the Celadon Gym. Ash gets what he wants, but in doing so Team Rocket sets the gym on fire, which doesn't just hurt the city, but could have seriously injured the gym’s leader, Erika, or her Pokémon.
7 He Neglects Pokémon Types When He Should Know Better
Ash has been battling Pokémon for years and while nobody's perfect, the amount of negligent mistakes that Ash has made is just embarrassing. Some mistakes are acceptable when Ash was first starting out, but he still puts Pokémon into battle that will be incredibly weak against their opponents, as if he's learned nothing. This is still happening in the newest Pokémon anime where he's been viciously defeated due to his arrogance in battle, with the most recent example being a rough loss against Saito, Galar’s fighting-type gym leader, which leaves Ash’s Pokémon feeling useless.
6 He Pushes A Shorted Out Pikachu Past Its Limits
Pikachu is the star Pokémon on Ash's team, but they’ve endured a lot over the course of the anime, particularly in the Unova region. Pikachu gets hit by a Zekrom's lightning blast, which shorts him out and leaves him unable to use his electrical attacks for a stretch of time. Ash is well aware of this, but he still puts Pikachu into battle and frequently tries to get him to use electrical moves to no avail. It makes Pikachu feel bad and it leads to a brutal defeat by a Snivy that could have been avoided.
5 He Belittles The Concept Of Gym Badges By Not Actually Earning Them
There are plenty of aspects in the Pokémon series that are loose, but one thing that's widely agreed upon is the basic idea that a badge is obtained by beating a gym leader. Despite this, Ash acquires the majority of his gym badges from the Kanto League either through dumb luck or pity. Ash actually only wins three gym battles and even those are circumstances where he's given more than one chance. Every other situation sees Ash being gifted badges as thanks for dealing with other obstacles. In doing so, Ash makes a mockery of the badge concept.
4 He Lets A Dangerous Charizard Loose
One of the most emotional and deep relationships to come out of Ash's Kanto League adventures is his bond with his Charizard. Ash hastily evolves his Charmander, which becomes a formative lesson for him in the future. Charizard ignores Ash, which is irresponsible to the Pokémon’s development, but Ash also endangers lives through this negligence. His inability to tame Charizard leads to him burning a Tauros to a crisp in a manner that looks fatal, only to then flee the scene and set a city in the Orange Islands ablaze.
3 He Lies To His Pidgeot And Abandons It
Pikachu is the first Pokémon that Ash acquires, but his third partner and the second Pokemon that he actually catches is a Pidgeotto. Later on in the series, Ash's iconic flying-type Pokémon evolves into a Pidgeot. Ash decides to leave behind his Pokémon so it can protect a flock of Pidgey and Pidgeotto, but he tells his Pokémon that he'll return for it once he's done in the Orange Islands. Not only does this not happen, but Ash proceeds to basically never even mention the Pokémon again. It does appear in the new series, but it’s purely a coincidence.
2 He Makes His Bayleef Run Away
Ash is usually pretty considerate of his Pokémon’s feelings, but there are occasions where he messes up. Ash's Bayleef loves to tackle him, yet the aggressive gesture grows to be too much for Ash. He knows that it's just the Pokémon’s way of showing affection, but he still can't control his emotions and he snaps at Bayleef one time. Bayleef is so hurt that the Pokémon actually runs away from Ash. It’s a brutal turn for their relationship and it hammers in how Ash fails to consider his sensitive Pokémon’s feelings.
1 He Lets His Friends' Souls Get Trapped In Dolls
One of the most exciting periods during the early episodes of the Pokémon anime is when Ash faces a very powerful foe in the psychic-type gym leader, Sabrina. Sabrina's high stakes for loss involve the trainer's soul being trapped in her dolls for the rest of eternity. Ash gets cold feet against Sabrina and leaves Brock and Misty behind, with their souls getting the doll treatment. Ash eventually returns, but Brock and Misty are left in the dark and have no idea of what he's doing. Ash doesn’t even know if Sabrina’s magic can be reversed.