Following Ash Ketchum’s varied levels of success over the course of the Kanto stage of his Pokémon journey, he swiftly moved on to explore Johto with his close friends Misty, Brock, and his Kanto Pokémon in tow. Johto is where Ash started to think more like an experienced Pokémon Trainer, earning his victories rather than having them handed to him.
His earlier battles in this new region helped him to shape his new team, and in the process raise a team worthy of going further at the Pokémon League in this region and even beating his rival Gary Oak.
10 Casey Was A Rookie & Stood No Chance Against Ash’s Charizard (Result: Win)
For most of his Pokémon journey, Ash has been known to leave many of his Pokémon behind when journeying to a new region, with the exception of Pikachu. But when Ash set off for Johto, he kept his main party with him. Aside from a classic tussle with Team Rocket, Ash’s first proper battle in the Johto region is with a new trainer called Casey, a spirited young girl who refuses to give up despite being out of her depth.
Ash easily sweeps through her team of Pidgey, Rattata, and Chikorita with his overpowered Charizard, and despite them commending her resolve, Casey is upset and leaves in a hurry.
9 Casey & Chikorita Rallied, Determined To Get Immediate Revenge On Ash (Result: None Due To Interruption)
Following her defeat by the much stronger Ash, Casey runs off distraught. But with cheering and support from Team Rocket, she is convinced to channel her favorite baseball team, Team Electabuzz, by refusing to give up no matter how hard the task at hand.
Team Rocket convinces Casey that Ash cheated by using Charizard, prompting Casey to become fired up and challenge Ash to a rematch, pitting Chikorita against Pikachu. Chikorita starts off strongly this time and dominates Pikachu before Team Rocket reveals their true intentions and interrupts the battle.
8 Rochelle’s Strongest Donphan Was Too Much For Heracross To Handle (Result: Loss)
When Ash and friends rescue a trainer’s Donphan from the clutches of Team Rocket, Ash challenges her to a battle. The trainer, named Rochelle, uses her Donphan against Ash’s newly acquired Heracross, pitting two powerhouses against each other.
Heracross shows glimpses of promise but is ultimately outmatched and dominated by Donphan and its powerful attacks, including Rollout and Tackle. Donphan picks up an impressive win after an entertaining back and forth and Ash acknowledges Donphan’s strength in graciously accepting defeat.
7 Ash Only Just Had Enough To Get Past Falkner & Earn His First Johto Badge (Result: Win)
By the time Ash makes it to his first Gym in Violet City, he is starting to formulate a team made up of both Kanto and Johto Pokémon. His opponent is the Flying type specialist Falkner, and it ends up being a closely fought 3-on-3 battle.
Chikorita loses to Falkner’s Hoothoot, but Pikachu eliminates the Owl Pokémon and the Dodrio that follows before falling to Falkner’s prized Pidgeot. Pidgeot versus Charizard becomes a fiercely fought final stage of the match, with Falkner urging a defiant Ash to forfeit when he has him on the backfoot, which Ash immediately rejects. Charizard is eventually able to push through Pidgeot’s speed, hitting it with a Fire Spin and Seismic Toss for the win.
6 Chikorita’s Disobedience Stopped Ash From Winning Against A Schoolboy (Result: None Due To Interruption)
In Chikorita’s Big Upset, Ash is battling a Schoolboy, pitting Chikorita against his Raticate. Ash eventually recalls Chikorita due to it being tired. But Chikorita starts acting out and refuses to get back into its Poké Ball, wasting time until the mother of Ash’s opponent calls him away, thus ending their battle.
It is eventually revealed that Chikorita is jealous that it isn’t the center of attention and Ash’s sole focus, a fact that is later suppressed and remedied when Ash takes notice and tries to give it more recognition.
5 Pikachu Only Beat Mareep Due To Exhaustion (Result: Win)
As Ash and his friends continue their Johto adventures on the way to his second Gym challenge, they encounter a young girl named Mary who has a Mareep called Fluffy. Mary has dreams of entering a festival for Mareep, but she believes she is a long way off.
Ash agrees to battle Mary, pitting Pikachu against Fluffy. But when both Pokémon exhaust their electricity during the battle, Fluffy faints, thus losing the bout. It isn’t a conventional battle by any means, but Ash takes the chance to improve Pikachu’s agility and dodging capabilities by avoiding Fluffy’s attacks until it tires.
4 Heracross & Blade Had A Closely Fought Battle (Result: Win)
When Ash and friends come across a Pokémon dojo, they encounter a difficult student who has given up hope on battling, instead turning to statistics and his Poké-database. The student, Shingo, discovers that Ash lost in the last 16 of the Indigo Plateau Conference and mocks him as a failure and someone not suitable to teach students anything.
Ash eventually succeeds in coaxing Shingo into battling him, with Heracross facing Shingo’s Scizor, named Blade. After an intense 1-on-1 battle, Heracross eventually emerges victorious, but the bout makes Shingo finally abandon his laptop and rush to his Pokémon’s side, implying he has found some love for Pokémon and battling once again.
3 Cyndaquil Battled Immediately After Being Caught & Defeated Koji’s Sandslash (Result: Win)
Good ‘Quil Hunting sees Ash and friends meet an aggressive trainer named Koji, who is intent on catching himself a Cyndaquil. After needless sabotaging from Koji and attacks from Team Rocket, Ash ends up catching the Cyndaquil himself in order to keep it safe, much to Koji’s dismay.
A desperate Koji challenges Ash to a battle to decide who should be its owner, but Ash uses the Cyndaquil to face Koji’s Sandslash. Cyndaquil proves its worth by defeating Sandslash and has to scare off Koji afterward when he can’t accept defeat and tries to capture the Fire type in a net.
2 Ash Managed To Overcome Bugsy Despite Several Scares (Result: Win)
In Gettin’ The Bugs Out, Ash finally takes on his second Johto Gym challenge, facing off against Azalea Town’s Bug-type specialist Bugsy. Continuing on from his recent momentum in Pokémon battles, Ash starts off quickly with Chikorita blowing past Bugsy’s Spinarak before becoming complacent and losing to a Metapod.
Bugsy’s Metapod eventually falls to Ash’s Pikachu, but when Scyther avenges its teammate, it is down to Cyndaquil versus Scyther. Cyndaquil is able to outsmart Scyther and end the battle by engulfing it with a powerful Flamethrower, earning Ash the win and the Hive Badge.
1 Ash’s Tauros Was Too Powerful For Fernando’s Own (Result: Win)
Trading Pokémon is the main focus of Tricks of the Trade, with the anime-exclusive location of Palmpona playing host to the Pokémon Swap Meet. Ash garners attention for the event after displaying his Tauros in a battle against another Tauros belonging to a trainer named Fernando.
Ash emerges victorious after multiple Take Downs, winning the Tauros competition. This gets the attention of many members of the public who want to trade their Pokémon for Ash’s Tauros, but he refuses them all.
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