Many individuals who play Pokémon understand the fundamentals necessary to make each Pokémon on their team a skilled combatant. Whether a Pokémon's purpose is to set up hazards on an opponent's field or dominate with pure strength, many trainers love to strategize, research, and understand their Pokémon's weaknesses and strengths.
On the other hand, many trainers will actually rely on their Pokémon to claim a victory for them rather than put in any effort themselves. Whether these trainers are cruel, caring, or naive to their Pokémon, many novice trainers in the anime relied on their teams to secure them a win despite lacking in skill.
10 Narissa Relied On Her Ditto's Transformation Powers To Win Her Battles & Felt She Was The Greatest Trainer Ever
When it comes to Pokémon trainers who are worse than they look, Narissa fits the message as she came across as an arrogant and overly-confident trainer who had no problem belittling Ash and his team. With only a month of experience, Narissa felt she was the best trainer ever because of her Ditto's impressive copying abilities.
However, Narissa was all talk, didn't know anything about battling, and relied on her Ditto's transformation abilities to win Pokémon battles. Although Brock helps her learn more about Pokémon battling with a few training sessions, she was still a lousy and lucky trainer at the start.
9 Tobias May Have Impressive Catches But Relies On Overpowered Pokémon To Win A Battle
Tobias is a Pokémon trainer who humiliated Ash in a battle. However, many people criticize his Pokémon skills because of the members on his team at the time. Although it shows Tobias has superb skills at catching Pokémon, to come into the story with only overpowered Pokémon at his disposal says a lot about his expertise.
Further, Tobias only used his Darkrai to win himself an entry into the Sinnoh Pokémon league, as it was the only Pokémon he used against the Gym Leaders to gain their badges. His dependence on Darkrai shows how he relies too much on it to one-shot his opponent's team.
8 Molly Was A Young Girl Who Relied On Her Pokémon To Defeat Brock & Misty In Her First Battles With Them
Pokémon 3: The Movie is arguably one of the best films in the Pokémon franchise because of the Unown species and Entei's role in the film. Not only that, but the movie showcased how far people would go to rescue their families, as Ash's goal was to get his mother back from Molly.
Further, Molly's a novice Pokémon trainer. She relied on her make-believe Pokémon to defeat Brock and Misty in the film thanks to Entei's power. Along with only wanting to be a trainer because of Ash's teamwork with his, it shows that Molly should train herself before participating in Pokémon battling.
7 A.J. Put His Pokémon Through Abusive & Overwhelming Training Exercises To Make Sure People Feared Challenging Him
Although people are used to seeing Team Rocket in the evil-doer role, it was shocking to see someone other than Team Rocket abuse and physically harm Pokémon, especially for the sake of receiving kudos for their battling skills. A.J. was a Pokémon trainer who was worse than Ash and only relied on his Pokémon strengths to earn his reputation.
Despite defeating Ash with his Sandshrew after belittling his Pokémon trainer skills, Ash and friends discovered the cruel methods and torture he put his Pokémon through to ensure they'll help him claim victory. It's unknown whether A.J. took Ash's advice or not, but one can speculate that A.J. may have delivered punishments to Pokémon who tarnished his reputation.
6 Giselle Was An Overconfident Pokémon Trainer Who Relied On Type Advantages & Book Knowledge To Win Pokémon Battles
Giselle was one of the first trainers Ash battled in the Kanto region who had no issues mocking him and Misty for their view on Pokémon and training. Despite defeating Misty with a team that had a disadvantage against hers, Giselle boasted how Pokémon levels and types were what mattered most.
Further, Giselle would later learn that her bookworm knowledge of Pokémon and their weaknesses weren't worth relying on after Pikachu defeats her Cubone. Ash and friends left her an important message that day, and it shows how overreliance on one's knowledge of Pokémon isn't enough for Pokémon battling.
5 Shingo Relied Too Much On Pokémon Data & Trainer Research To The Point Where He Felt His Pokémon Could Counter Anyone's Team
Like Giselle in some cases, Shingo was another one-off character who felt understanding a trainer's battling skills and Pokémon through past data and research would ensure his victory over any trainers he can find online. When Shingo encounters Ash, he relays this message to him and felt Pokémon battling was useless since he could predict the moves the trainers would use against him. In that way, Shingo would know which Pokémon to use to best counter his opponent's strategy.
As always, Ash wishes to challenge Shingo and his overreliance on Pokémon knowledge in a battle that pitted Shingo's Scizor against Ash's Heracross, one of Ash's strongest Pokémon from the original anime. Like Ash's past opponents, Shingo suffered defeat and left the battle understanding the error of his ways.
4 Anthony Depended On His Pelipper's Beak To Store Random Pokémon Inside So It Had Type Coverages Over His Opponent's Pokémon
Despite Ash being the Pokémon anime's protagonist, who chooses to bond with his Pokémon to make them stronger, there are many times where Ash's Pokémon didn't follow the rules. Regardless of allowing Pikachu to use sprinklers to defeat Brock's Onix or Primeape not listening to his commands, Ash is notorious for breaking the rules sometimes.
However, Ash would not brag about having his Pokémon perform moves that it can't learn as Anthony does against his challengers in battle. As an unofficial Gym Leader, Anthony relied on his Pelipper's mouth to store a Magby, Magnemite, and Bellsprout in its mouth to gain more type advantages over his opponents. Though Ash defeats his Pelipper, it shows how far people will go to win.
3 Luna Was A Rowdy Trainer Who Boasted About Her Scizor's Skills & Loved Using Her Pokémon To Perform Heinous Acts On Townsfolk
Luna was a young Pokémon trainer who relied on her Scizor to defeat tough opponents and perform heinous pranks and acts toward citizens in her area. She didn't even feel remorse for the actions she made her Scizor commit. Luna even used her city's updrafts to make it look like her Pokémon was flying.
After her butler explains why Luna acted the way she did, May would step up and challenge her to a Pokémon battle. Although Luna's Scizor suffers defeat by May's Squirtle, Luna gained important information and knowledge from their Pokémon battle.
2 Sho Felt He Was An Expert Of The Pichu Evolution Line & Relied On His Team To Secure Him Victories
Ash's Pikachu is a well-beloved Pokémon in the anime because of the companionship it has with Ash. When comparing Ash's relationship with another Pikachu lover like Sho, one can tell who's the real master when it comes to that evolution line. When introduced, Sho was a bragger who felt Ash wasn't a trainer worthy of having Pikachu.
Although Ash loses to Sho in their first match, he redeems himself in his second battle against him, showcasing how overreliant Sho was toward his Raichu's Hyper Beam strategy to secure his victories.
1 Cassidy & Butch Rely Heavily On Powerful Pokémon To Help Them Succeed In Their Plans
Although some may argue Cassidy and Butch are better than Jessie and James in many ways, they're also Pokémon trainers that rely on stronger Pokémon to get the job done most of the time. Jessie and James's Pokémon may suffer defeat from Ash and friends, but they never have powerful Pokémon, unlike Butch and Cassidy.
Butch and Cassidy are one of Team Rocket's top performers and have stronger Pokémon. Even with a powerful Aggron on their team, Cassidy and Butch still somehow lose against Ash, showing their overdependency and lack of true talent.