Top 10 Pokémon Fights in the Anime Ranked By Otaku In Town
- Jatin Thukral
- Dec 1, 2020
- 7 min read
Updated: Dec 6, 2020
Pokémon has made its way around the top anime shows to ever have shown on the Television by surprising its fans on a regular basis. The show has been in the talks without ever being out of the light for more than 20 years now. The X factor for the dreamy success of Pokémon could be that the show never missed on any opportunity to please its fans and always showed something new whenever fans desired for it.
One of the major amplifiers of the show’s popularity is the quality of fights that have been featured in the show throughout all these years. Here are some of the fights that we think are the best, taking in consideration all the factors that make a fight sequence memorable in an anime show; the animation, the sound and of course the story that leads up to these fights.
10 – Ash with Charizard v/s Noland’s Articuno
Ash won his first Kanto Battle Frontier Symbol only after taking a serious toll having his faithful and extremely powerful Charizard fighting from his side against Brain Noland’s legendary Pokémon Articuno.
The battle happed at the Battle Factory, where Charizard had to bring all his free and hot flames out against legendary Ice-type Pokémon Articuno. Ash saw what it’s like to fight against a legendary Pokémon as Noland’s Articuno dodged almost all of Charizard’s quick and powerful attacks with utmost ease, and missed on no chance of overpowering Ash’s one of the strongest Pokémons. However, Charizard’s trademark attack Seismic Toss attack proved fatal for the legendary Pokémon as Ash registered his first-ever win over any legendary Pokémon.
9 – Ash’s Mug Vs Jeanette’s Bellsprout
The good old days of the Indigo League featured many cheerful, nail-biting battles of Ash’s Pokémons against various gym trainers. Ash fighting against Jeanette in the final of Indigo League where his Bulbasaur seems to have all the answers to all the questions that Jeanette’s bug type Pokémons had to ask, as he managed to defeat Scyther and Beadrill with next to no difficulty.
It was only until Jeanette took an unexpected turn and shot her Bellsprout out of the Pokeball into the battle ring. Bellsprout not only took the Bulbasaur, who seemed invincible that day, but he also defeated Ash’s Pikachu with a single tiny blow. In order to win the fight, Ash also had to think out of the box and he ultimately launched Mug against Bellsprout. Bellsprout couldn’t move or jump around freely under the humongous slime of Ash’s Mug, as he suffocated was turned to the ground, letting Ash win the Indigo League.
8 – Ash with Bulbasaur v/s Brendon and his Dusclops
Ash took on against Brendon, the pyramid king, in his last bout of Kanto Battle Frontier in a four v/s four battle. Ash once again relied on his Charizard, just as his first battle of the Battle Frontier, but this time his flying-fire type couldn’t prove as effective as before. Charizard’s Seismic Toss backfired when Dusclops managed to hit him with his Shadow Punch, turning Charizard incapable of continuing the fight.
What made this fight so great was the reappearance of Ash’s oldest friends, Squirtle and Bulbasaur. Not only did they appear but it possible for Ash to stand a chance against the ferocious Pokémon trainer like Brendon with his mysterious Pokémons. Bulbasaur battled unexpectedly against Dusclops and defeated him. The climax featured Pikachu fighting bravely against Brendon’s legendary Pokémon Regice. Regice had no answer to Pikachu’s power-packed Volt Attack, as he fell on his face on the ground with Ash emerging as the winner of that unforgettable fight.
7 – Ash Vs Paul
The second act of any story should leave the hero at their lowest point, and by that definition, Ash and Paul's battle at Lake Acuity certainly ends the second act of the Diamond & Pearl saga. In their first full six-on-six battle, Ash slowly had his confidence broken down bit-by-bit as Paul overwhelms him with brutally strategic thinking and his Pokémon's raw power.
Paul ends the match victorious, with four Pokémon still standing to boot. It takes Ash a full episode to get out of the funk the loss leaves him in, and the way it forces him to evolve as a trainer shows why most fans still consider Paul the most important rival Ash has faced to date.
6 – Ash V/s May
Ash and May are the two protagonists of the Advanced Generations Arc of Pokémon show. Although Ash is seldom seen fighting against his friends even for a friendly spat, here Ash and May had to fight against each other to find out who of them has learned ore over their adventurous journey.
May used her Blaziken while Ash used Sceptile, and both Pokémon proved evenly matched, with Blaziken's type advantage countered by Sceptile's agility. The matched ended in a draw, with Ash and May deciding to split the ribbon they're awarded by having Sceptile slice it down the middle with Leaf Blade. The two slices of the ribbon reminded each of the trainers of how much they have done alongside each other and to what extents have they helped each other to grow throughout their journey.
5 – Red’s Charizard against The Mewtwo
Charizard has sure earned his OP status by fighting his way around some of the strongest ever Pokémon in the Pokémon world and it was never easy, but Charizard never fell short at fighting and winning over the legends.
Pokémon Origins tells the story of Red, a Pokémon trainer, much like our Ash, only a little better(arguably). The series marked a memorable moment in the history of Pokémon franchise when Red’s pulled out the Pokeball where his Charizard rested to fight against the mysterious Mewtwo. This was the battle where Pokémon fans were introduced with the Mega Evolutions and the X and Y factors of Pokémon species. This was undoubtedly a must-watch for any person who has ever watched even a little of Pokémon show.
With fast-paced action and beautiful visuals, Charizard and Mewtwo serve a tasty treat for all the fans of anime.
4 – May’s Combusken and Squirtle Vs Drew’s Absol and Flygon
May has had a healthy share of challenges posed against her by her competitors during her journey. The fight that she had to engage into against Drew, another aspiring Pokémon coordinator in the Kanto Grand Festival is with no second thoughts the best of all, and a match to remember.
When both the coordinators used striking attack combinations, with May blending her Combusken's Fire Spin and Squirtle's Bubble, while Drew amplified his Absol's Razor Wind with Flygon's Dragon Breath, all the fans watching the match could not help but raise glasses in their hands. In the end, it came down to Combusken vs Absol, where Combusken’s fire breathe proved fatal for Absol marking its win.
3 – Ash’s Infernape against Paul’s Electivire
Ash found quite a lot of rivals during his days of becoming the best Pokémon trainer in the world and in his efforts of caching all the Pokémon roaming in the world. Some of these rivals proved extremely useful in shaping the strong character of Ash throughout his journey.
One of such names is Paul from Pokémon Journeys: Diamond and Pearl. The signature battle between the two trainers came only after these two had already fought against each other in attempts of testing each other’s strengths and skills whilst their Pokémons fought. The fight in the quarter-finals of Sinnoh Championship was the final and most electrifying fight of all, where Ash’s Infernape fought against a well trained Electivire under Paul’s command.
Filled with both red hot flames and thunderbolts, it was an intense fight that pushed both the Pokémon trainers to their limits. It was quite predictable that only Ash was going to win as Paul’s cynical behaviour and allegedly abusive approach toward training its Pokémon had to be defeated. As such, it was an unbelievable satisfying moment when Ash's Infernape, abandoned by Paul as a Chimchar, triumphed over Paul's Electivire, proving that it was Ash's nurturing approach which unlocked Infernape's full potential, not Paul's abuse.
2 – Ash Vs Gary (Silver Conference)
The best rivalry of Pokémon can only be that of Ash and Professor Oak’s grandson Gary. Both the trainers started off together on their respective journeys of becoming the best Pokémon master in history one day. Their methods could’ve been different from each other, but both the teenagers bore the same ambitious dream in their hearts.
Finally, Ash had a chance to prove himself to Gary who had so often mocked his training abilities. While Gary held the upper hand for most of the battle, Ash's Charizard brought Ash back from the brink of defeat, triumphing over Scizor, Golem, and Blastoise, thus winning the battle for Ash. While Ash has won many battles since then, this was the first that proved he could surpass a longtime rival.
Watching this fight, again and again, gives you that sudden hit of early days Pokémon nostalgia without giving you a single moment of boredom. Plus, the emotional element in this particular fight is far higher than in any the fight.
1 – Ash Vs Professor Kukui (Alola League)
With many discussions going around among the fans of the series regarding the best ever battles that have ever been fought by Ash, we decided it would be best to give the top spot to the fight to which the whole of the anime and the journey of 20 years has led up to.
Here it is; the battle that finally gave Ash the championship title he'd been after since the beginning of the series. If this battle had been a letdown, the whole journey to that point would have been undermined. Thankfully, that wasn't the case. The battle had some memorable match-ups and stunning victories for Ash's team, with his Torracat felling both Kukui's Venusaur and Incineroar, before Melemele Island Guardian Tapu Koko appeared to test Ash by fighting for Kukui.
The battle came to Z-Move vs Z-Move, specifically Tapu Koko's Guardian Of Alola vs Pikachu's 10000 Volt Thunderbolt, but in the end, Ash and Pikachu's bond prevailed. With this victory, Ash surpassed the man who had mentored him throughout the Sun & Moon saga while becoming the first champion of Alola.
What do you think of our list? Please tell if we missed any other amazing fight to feature in the above list. And don’t forget to like and subscribe Otaku in Town.
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