Pokémon has brought back its YouTube channel, Pokémon TV, meaning that fans can once again delve into the anime without needing to hop through numerous streaming services. It also gives newer fans who joined through the most recent season, Pokémon Horizons: The Series, the chance to get caught up on the story of Ash Ketchum. For twenty-five years, Ash was the face of the anime, traveling across the Pokémon world as he strove to become a Pokémon Master.
Before he retired as the protagonist, Ash caught and trained many Pokémon that distinguished themselves in the numerous Pokémon Leagues. However, not all of Ash's teams were made equally: some contained Pokémon he never evolved, while others saw one or two members overshadowing the rest. This list will rank each of Ash's major Pokémon teams based on how well they performed at their respective competition, how balanced they were, and how memorable they are in the anime's larger context.
The Unovan arc of the anime tried to mimic the games and serve as a soft reboot. The writers tried to achieve it by playing back to Kanto as much as possible, such as giving Ash a large team that rotated members between episodes, with the Pokémon mirroring many of his Kanto mons. Unfortunately, they also made Ash too dumb this season, resulting in some of the most frustrating battles in the Pokémon anime, including his humiliating defeat to Cameron in the Vertress Conference.
In terms of Pokemon as characters, Ash had some good ones: Oshawott made up for a terrible battle record with his cute and boisterous personality, Snivy served as an experienced big sister, and his Krookodile went from being a humorous recurring wild Pokémon to a physical powerhouse. However, other Pokémon ranged from forgettable, like Unfezant and Boldore, to rip-offs of more popular characters, like Pignite, who was the third Fire-type starter to have a traumatic past. The fact that most of them didn't evolve also complicated things, as it denied audiences the chance to see Ash bring out the best in many of Unova's most iconic Pokémon.
9 Ever Grande Conference
Located in Hoenn
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Just as Pokémon Ruby and Saphire didn't allow you to transfer Pokémon from the early games into them, Ash decided to catch a new team in Hoenn. He wound up with a diverse cast of personalities, such as an emotionally unstable Torkoal, a mischievous Corphish, and a cool Grovile whose calm demeanor shattered when his pride was on the line. However, this was another region where Ash barely evolved his Pokémon, and he entered the Ever Grande Conference with only two fully evolved teammates: Swellow and Glalie.
The Hoenn team never reached the height of Ash's Kanto mons, but they worked thanks to their extreme personalities that played off one another well. However, since the Hoenn arc continued into the Battle Frontier, the team's participation in the Ever Grande Conference felt less like the conclusion of the story and more like the wrapping up of the most recent arc. It also doesn't help that Ash lost to the Meowth equivalent of Puss in Boots, which made the defeat feel more like a joke than in previous seasons.
8 Indigo Plateau Conference
Located in Kanto
The original season of the anime is wild, to say the least, having little regard for the rules of the games and leading to numerous crazy battles that ran on the rule of cool. Ash's team was the largest it's ever been, forcing him to rotate out his Pokémon. While the Indigo League didn't have any six-on-six matches, Ash used six Pokémon across his numerous matches: Pikachu, Bulbasaur, Charizard, Squirtle, Kingler, and Muk.
The Indigo League had some interesting moments for Ash, such as watching his Kingler sweep through three Pokémon or his Muk flatten an agile Belsprout. However, his run ended in a heartbreaking defeat to Richie when Charizard refused to battle, and Squirtle was disqualified for being put to sleep, something that, up to that point, had never counted towards a loss. Still, Kanto is where most of Ash's iconic Pokémon came from, and though Charizard disobeyed him here, his relationship with Ash would improve over later seasons.
7 Silver Conference
Located in Johto
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The release of Pokémon Gold and Silver was a massive shake-up for the franchise, introducing one hundred new Pokémon and a new region to explore. Unfortunately, the anime didn't capitalize on this premise: Ash started off Johto mainly using his Kanto Pokémon and even replaced his first Johto catch, the woefully underused Heracross, with one of his many Tauros. He eventually increased his number of Johto Pokémon, but for the Silver Conference, he only brought Noctowl, Bayleef, and Totodile alongside his powerhouses from previous adventures, Charizard and Snorlax.
Unfortunately, Bayleef and Totodile were still unevolved, but they made up for it with their vibrant personalities. Charizard also went through some solid character development in Johto thanks to training at the Charicific Valley and helped Ash achieve an impressive victory against his long-term rival, Gary Oak. Unfortunately, he was eliminated in the Top 8 by Harrison from Hoenn, which pointed Ash in the direction of his next journey.
6 Battle Frontier
Located in Kanto
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After losing the Ever Grande Conference, Ash set his sights on conquering the Battle Frontier, numerous specialized battle facilities that only the strongest trainers can overcome. He set out with most of his Hoenn team but, curiously, chose to leave behind Torkoal and Glaile. To replace them, he brought the Phanphy he hatched from an egg in Johto and captured a wild Aipom who was obsessed with his hat.
This was the true chance for Ash's Hoenn team to shine, especially his Grovile, who finally evolved into a Sceptile and took his place as Ash's Hoenn ace. As for the new additions, Phanphy's evolution into Donphan turned him into a powerhouse while retaining his friendly disposition, and Aipom was a lovable prankster who formed a close bond with Ash that, sadly, did not last in Pokémon Diamond & Pearl: The Series. Their additions not only meshed well with Ash's Hoenn team but also gave him new tools to overcome the various challenges of the Battle Frontier, showing Ash's knack for inventive strategies that play to his team's strengths.
5 Lily Of The Valley Conference
Located in Sinnoh
Ash's Sinnoh run is seen by many as one of his best. Its status comes partly because of his rivalry with Paul, one of the Pokémon anime's best original characters, and partly because of the impressive team Ash put together. His Pokémon party includes an oblivious Gible trying to master Draco Meteor and Paul's discarded Chimchar, whom Ash evolved into Infernape and used to defeat Paul in their climactic showdown in the Lily of the Valley Conference. Unfortunately, Ash was defeated by Tobias, a mystery trainer who swept the league with a Darkrai and had a Latios waiting in reserve.
Gible was the only Sinnoh Pokémon Ash used against Tobias; the others were Pikachu, Heracross, Torkoal, Sceptile, and Swellow. While it might feel a little unfair that the Sinnoh team didn't get to participate in this fight, they already had their showdown with Paul, and it makes sense that Ash would bring out some of his best reserves to try and defeat Tobias. Even if he ended up losing, nobody can forget how cathartic it was for Sceptile to get the KO on Darkrai, and it was nice to see many of the old guard in one last battle.
4 Orange League
Located in the Orange Islands
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Before the Generation 2 games were released, the anime created a filler arc for Ash and his friends called the Orange Islands. Looking back at it, the area is almost a prototype for Pokémon Sun and Moon: it's a series of tropical islands with rare kinds of Pokemon, and rather than traditional gym battles, each gym leader presents a unique challenge that must be overcome with the help of their Pokémon. Ash mainly used his Indigo team to complete them but also utilized one of his thirty Tauros and caught two new members: an orphaned Lapras and a hungry Snorlax.
Much like the Battle Frontier, the Orange Islands were a chance for Ash's Pokémon to receive more character development. This can best be seen with Charizard, who finally came to respect Ash after he worked all night to nurse it back to health after losing his Pokeball. It also marks the first time Ash won a Pokémon League, and fittingly, the ace of Champion Drake was a Dragonite, a worthy final challenge for Ash's Kanto journey.
3 Manalo Conference
Located in Alola
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The Alola seasons of the anime are a mixed bag among fans: some love it for its focus on slice-of-life and more comedic tone, while others despise it for those very reasons. There's no denying, though, that Ash developed quite a team. His Pokémon are loved both for their power and their personality, partially because it's another season where Ash only caught five Pokémon. With their help, Ash became Alola's first-ever champion.
The standout Pokémon this season is Incineroar, whose journey of overcoming grief and rivalry with Professor Kukui's Incineroar made him one of Ash's best Pokémon. Following him were Rowlet, who had a habit of sleeping all the time, and Lycanroc, who went on a similar journey of overcoming adversity and his inner savagery. Melmetal and Naganadel didn't have as much personality due to coming in later, but it was still awesome to see Ash capture two rare and powerful Pokémon. Melmetal was a highlight, thanks to his friendship with Rowlet and being Ash's first Steel-type.
2 Lumiose Conference
Located in Kanto
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Kalos started a bit rocky, but by the end, it had eclipsed Sinnoh in terms of storytelling, animation, and character work. When Ash entered the Lumiose Conference, it felt like he could finally win. Not only had he proven himself to be a masterful trainer, but his team of Greninja, Talonflame, Hawlucha, Goodra, and Noivern had proven themselves strong again and again. Greninja was a standout, unlocking a unique form thanks to his bond with Ash.
Ash's Kalos team benefited from not having to fight for space with other Pokémon on rotation, allowing each one to get a full arc. Besides Greninja's arc, Goodra learned to become strong to protect his friends, and both Hawlucha and Talonflame helped raise Noibat to go from a newborn to a champion-level dragon. Alas, the writers pulled the rug out from under the fans and had Ash lose to Alaine and his Mega Charizard X, but this team is still beloved for how much they grew over their adventure.
1 The Pokémon World Coronation Series
Held around the world, and the finale in Galar
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Pokémon Journeys: The Series was Ash's final run as the protagonist, and fittingly, the writers had him visit other regions besides Galar as he participated in the Pokémon World Coronation Series. It ended with the Masters Eight, where Ash faced off against the strongest trainers in the Pokémon World and overcame Leon to become the number one ranked trainer. Here, Ash had perhaps his strongest team ever: Pikachu, Dragonite, Gengar, Lucario, Sirfetch'd and Dracovish.
There is an argument to be made against this team that the writers used it to make up for previous mistakes, such as Ash not catching Haunter in Kanto or receiving a Lucario despite how well it matched his personality, but that doesn't take away from how well constructed this team is. Every member has a memorable personality, even if it's as simple as Dracovish biting to show affection, Dragonite's big heart and need to hug everyone, or Sirfetch'd striving to become stronger. Gengar and Lucario were the standouts, though, the former for his mischievous personality and story of overcoming trauma, and Lucario for being a worthy successor to Greninja and his powerful demonstration of Mega Evolution.
Image via The Pokémon Company
Image via The Pokémon Company 
Image via The Pokémon Company 
Image via The Pokémon Company 
Image via The Pokémon Company 
Image via The Pokémon Company 
Image via The Pokémon Company 
Image via The Pokémon Company 
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