Summary

• Ash's unconventional battle strategies and outside-the-box thinking have led to many victories.
• Ash has earned the title of Pokémon Master through challenging battles and clever tactics.
• Ash's adaptability and respect for his Pokémon help him overcome tough opponents and win championships.

Becoming a Pokémon master isn't easy, as Ash Ketchum's 25-year journey should clearly prove. However, Ash has often proven he was on the right track all along with his unconventional battle strategies and outside-the-box thinking, which would bring him many of his victories.

There are battles from throughout Ash's career which can help illustrate this point in different ways. Some are among the hardest opponents Ash has ever faced, while others were run-of-the-mill gym battles that Ash managed to turn into exciting matches with a wacky plan that turned out to work perfectly. Whatever the reason, these matches prove that Ash has more than earned the title of Pokémon Master, perhaps even long before his champion status.

10 Ash Takes Down Whitney's Miltank

Episode: Pokémon Gold & Silver, "A Dairy Tale Ending"

Fans who've played the Johto-based Pokémon games are likely to have flashbacks to their own first encounters with Whitney and her Miltank, which infamously stomped teams with its relentless Rollout attack. That was Ash's first experience battling gym leader Whitney as well, as he was rather quickly defeated by that very technique. However, Ash would go on to have a rematch with Whitney in the next episode, and that's when Ash put his brain to work.

After Cyndaquil succumbs to Rollout, Ash sends out Totodile, which he uses to attack the ground rather than Miltank directly, carving out large ditches and potholes in the battlefield. While Totodile is ultimately defeated, this set Pikachu up to utilize its speed and maneuverability, which Miltank could no longer do thanks to the battlefield being torn up. Pikachu was able to launch Miltank into the air, putting an end to Rollout and finally taking Miltank down for good with a Thunderbolt.

9 Ash Bounces Back Against Gladion

Episode: Pokémon Sun & Moon, "Final Rivals!"

In the final round of the Alola League, Ash was up against Gladion, a rival he'd had for most of the time he'd been in Alola. The match started off rough for Ash, with his Melmetal getting taken out by Gladion's Silvally. Ash called in Pikachu next, but found that Silvally was almost as quick as Pikachu was, negating one of Pikachu's big advantages.

So, what better strategy than to simply go faster than that? Ash ordered Pikachu to fire off an Electroweb, which missed Silvally--but it was never intended to hit Silvally in the first place. Instead, the Electroweb acted as a trampoline, bouncing Pikachu backwards towards Silvally at an even greater speed, allowing Pikachu to land a powerful Iron Tail and knock out the mysterious Pokémon. That wasn't the end of the battle, but it was a key highlight, showing Ash's adaptability.

8 Ash Develops An Impossible Technique Against Tate and Liza

Episode: Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, "Solid as a Solrock"

One of Ash's most unconventional strategies emerged in his double battle with the Psychic gym leaders, Tate and Liza. Tate and Liza were using Lunatone and Solrock, and while initially out of sync with one another, eventually they were able to align their strategies, creating a difficult situation for Ash. Ash chose Pikachu and Swellow for this battle, perhaps not the best choice type-wise from his available options.

However, this is a double battle, meaning the two Pokémon need to be working in tandem. After taking a serious combined Solar Beam/Ice Beam attack, Swellow with Pikachu riding on it nearly crashes. That's when Ash orders Pikachu to use Thunder, drawing a lightning bolt from the clouds above, which supercharges Pikachu and provides both him and Swellow with "Thunder Armor." Pikachu and Swellow burst through Lunatone and Solrock's defenses and deal devastating blows, ending the match in Ash's favor thanks to his improbable strategy paying off.

7 Ash Proves Power Isn't Everything to Lt. Surge

Episode: Pokémon Indigo League, "Electric Shock Showdown"

Ash's battle with Lt. Surge is one of Pikachu's most legendary battles, as the Electric Mouse Pokémon proved it could stand up to the strength of its evolved form. This battle isn't important so much for Ash's strategy, although the idea to use Pikachu's speed to gain the upper hand on Raichu was a fantastic one. Instead, it's more symbolic of Ash's philosophy on Pokémon in general.

While Ash momentarily considers evolving Pikachu, Pikachu refuses, and Ash respects Pikachu's decision to stand tall and win as a Pikachu. It's a level of respect that not every Pokémon trainer has for their Pokémon, especially knowing how badly Raichu had beaten Pikachu already. Ash sees Pikachu as an equal partner, and respects his opinions even when they differ from his own. Ash resolves to find a strategy that can help Pikachu win--and find one he does.

6 Ash Heats Up the Battlefield for Paul

Episode: Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, "A Real Rival Ro!"

Ash's full battle with Paul in the Sinnoh League's semifinals was a long battle, lasting three episodes as the two rivals really went at it. One of Paul's key strategies was to use Toxic Spikes to cover the battlefield with poisoned obstacles, causing damage to be inflicted on Ash's Pokémon as soon as he sent them out. Ash struggled against these Toxic Spikes, but as Infernape came up against Ninjask, he developed a plan.

Ash ordered Infernape to use Dig, then had it execute a Flare Blitz attack while underground. This caused the battlefield to ignite, burning away the spikes and dealing some major damage to Ninjask, leaving everyone in the audience shocked at the unusual strategy. This also had the side effect of slowing Ninjask down, allowing Infernape to emerge from underground and land a Mach Punch, finally taking down the Ninjask.

5 Ash Stops Aegislash's Troublesome Transformations

Episode: Pokémon XY, "A Riveting Rivalry!"

In his semi-finals match against Sawyer, Ash soon found himself and Pikachu up against Sawyer's Aegislash, a powerful Pokémon which can transform between offensive and defensive forms. With their battlefield a forest area, Aegislash begins clearcutting the trees, removing places for Pikachu to hide and creating difficult terrain for Pikachu to traverse. Each time Ash sees an opening, Aegislash switches back to its Shield form, blocking the attack and lowering Pikachu's stats.

That's when Ash realizes that it might be possible to prevent Aegislash from taking on its Shield form. Ash has Pikachu launch a chunk of tree log at Aegislash as it's in the middle of transforming, lodging it behind its shield and preventing it from completing the transformation. This finally gives Ash an opening, and Pikachu is able to knock out Aegislash with Thunderbolt.

4 Ash Invents a Brand-New Technique

Episode: Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, "Shield with a Twist!"

Ash's strategies aren't always offensive ones, however. In his gym battle with Fantina, Ash struggled to keep his Pokémon from falling victim to her Gengar's Hypnosis, which was putting Pokémon to sleep and allowing them to easily be defeated. Ash lost his first match against Fantina, but came back with a special strategy that he'd developed for his rematch: the Counter Shield.

Ash orders his Buizel to spin and use Water Gun at the same time, spewing water everywhere and blocking the energy of the Hypnosis, keeping Buizel from falling asleep. Fantina is so impressed she gives the technique a name, Counter Shield, and it quickly turns the battle in Buizel's favor. The Counter Shield would go on to be a common trick in Ash's arsenal throughout Diamond and Pearl, and was even used by characters like Leon in the World Coronation Series, proving how brilliant it really was.

3 Ash Never Gives Up, Even Against the Odds

Episode: Pokémon: Adventures in the Orange Islands, "Enter the Dragonite"

In the Orange Islands, Ash went up against their ultimate trainer, Drake, and his undefeated Dragonite. Dragonite proved it was worthy of the title by knocking out Charizard, Squirtle, and Tauros, all in a row. Ash went from having four Pokémon left versus Drake's one, all the way down to being left with just Pikachu. There were plenty of reasons to despair, but that just isn't who Ash is.

Ash makes use of Pikachu's size and speed once again, allowing Pikachu to get on top of Dragonite--another of Ash's favorite tactics. Holding on to Dragonite's head, Pikachu delivers one powerful Thunder directly to Dragonite, causing it to finally collapse and winning Ash is first championship. Ash was able to take on the undefeated Dragonite without fear, and recognized that the victory was a combined effort of every Pokémon who went up against Dragonite doing their best.

2 Ash Defeats His Greatest Rival

Episodes: Pokémon Gold & Silver, "The Ties That Bind" and "Can't Beat the Heat"

Gary Oak may not have been Ash's toughest rival, but he was his rival for the longest time, and Ash never spent as much time trailing a rival's achievements as he did Gary. The pair finally had their fated full battle in the Silver Conference in what is effectively the culmination of the original run of Pokémon. It's a brutal battle, with both sides determined not to lose, and Gary's team is no pushover. It's also a rare battle where Ash doesn't use Pikachu at all.

Gary makes very effective use of type advantages, which has never been Ash's strong suit, but Ash is able to overcome this disadvantage repeatedly, first with Heracross and Magmar, and then with Charizard against Golem. It came down to Charizard vs. Blastoise, with Ash in a perilous position. Ash is able to have Charizard burn up the battlefield, causing the rocks to heat up and steam when hit by Blastoise's water. Charizard uses the cover of steam to get in too close for Blastoise's cannons, and defeats it with an impeccable Seismic Toss.

1 Ash Wins the World Championship

Episodes: Pokémon Journeys, "A Flood of Torrential Gains!", "Toying with Your Motions!", "Paring Pokémon While Parrying!", and "Partners in Time!"

Of course, Ash's greatest victory has to top the list. Up against the undefeated Leon, Ash made use of every trick in his arsenal, from Mega Evolution to Gigantamax to Z-moves. It's a long battle, and Ash uses a variety of very clever strategies, such as using Gengar's G-Max attack to prevent Leon from switching Pokémon, or using its ability to disable Mr. Rime's Freeze Dry.

Of course, it all eventually came down to Ash's Pikachu versus Leon's undefeated Charizard. After exchanging blows several times, Pikachu takes a point-blank Fire Blast, seemingly knocking Pikachu out. But Pikachu gathers his strength, ing his friends and his bond with Ash, and is able to get back up. Realizing it's the end, Ash and Pikachu throw everything into one last attack, as does Charizard--and Pikachu comes out victorious. Ultimately, it's Ash's strong bond with Pikachu that enables him to win, and that's what makes Ash worthy of being called a Pokémon Master.