Pokémon Scarlet and Violet is the 2022 video game developed by Game Freak. Usually, every game release is followed by a new season of Pokémon, starring recent Manalo Conference winner, Ash Ketchum.
It should be noted that it took Ketchum 21 years to reach the regional champion pinnacle. All his previous disappointing losses were a mix of overpowered final matchups (Tobias in Sinnoh league) and underwhelming Pokémon teams (Kanto). However, the Pokémon can’t entirely be blamed – after all, a team is only as good as the trainer who trains them. Despite how much fans love Ash’s devotion and ion, he seldom seems to live up to his claim to be “the very best, like no one ever was.”
Gible
During his journey in the Sinnoh region, Ash catches a Gibble who is terribly clumsy but could have been a fantastic team member had Ash devoted more training to its evolution. In particular, Gibble’s final evolution, Garchomp, is a great Pokémon to have as a battle partner.
As a model of its highest potential, Sinnoh Champion Cynthia uses her Garchomp as her ace Pokémon. Its speed, durability, and intimidation factor lend it a great success in the finale’s league tournament. That said, Gibble fought as well as anyone expected, given its under-level status against its opponents.
Quilava
Ash has a knack for acquiring fire-type Pokémon who have had abusive trainers in the past. Although Cyndaquil (Quilava’s base form) was never officially any trainer’s Pokémon, Ash showed comion and devotion to the porcupine-like Pokémon so that it could learn to handle fire-type move sets.
Once trained, Ash’s Cyndaquil does well in the Johto region. However, it doesn’t evolve into Quilava until close to the end of the season; Ash never had the chance to grow Quilava into a Typhlosion, one of that generation’s best Pokémon. Fans would have loved to see such a powerhouse take the league championship that year.
Snivy
The most unfortunate thing about Ash’s Snivy is that it had the real potential to be excellent had Ash developed it like his other team . Although Snivy rubbed fans the wrong way with its snooty attitude, it had the ambition to flourish under a strong trainer.
Ash seemed initially worthy, but he neglected Snivy’s training in favor of his main six Pokémon in Unova. Trip’s Serperior was the superior grass starter, and fans can’t help but wonder if Trip – as arrogant and annoying as he was – would have been better as Snivy’s trainer.
Torterra
Torterra is one of the Pokémon Ash never should have evolved from its base form, Turtwig. Initially, Ash had huge success harnessing the grass-type’s speed and agility, but when it evolved into Grotle, all that speed turned into a stone-wall defense. Ash and Grotle struggled for a while, but eventually, they found a strategy that would highlight its final form’s strength.
Ash’s Torterra never won any noteworthy battles, to add insult to injury. Sadly, no matter how many hits Torterra could withstand, it was a poor addition to Ash’s attack-heavy Pokémon team. Although Ash and Torterra were a decent pair, the true potential of this Pokémon remained in Turtwig.
Rowlett
Most of the flying types on Ash’s team have made it to the league championship in each region. Rowlett would be a surprising anomaly from this trend, except that it is also a grass type, a group that Ash tends to ignore in the recent seasons of Pokémon.
Though it’s unclear why Rowlett refuses to take on its final form as Decidueye, it could benefit from the speed, fighting prowess, and the movepool upgrade. Although Rowlett is far from the most underwhelming Pokémon compared to the rest of Ash’s starters, it could have been a much more potent force.
Oshawott
Ash Ketchum has the unfortunate habit of generally underperforming with the starter set of Pokémon in each league. Notably, the water-type Pokémon in Ash’s team (aside from Greninja) have almost always been relegated as the “comic relief” member in the group. This seems to be the fate that befell Oshawott.
Although its final evolution, Samurott, isn’t the best starter evolution Pokémon. It would have served Ash much better than its cute otter base form. With Samurott’s ability torrent, water-based moves are enhanced; attacks like hydro cannon, hydro pump, and waterfall hit with double the power. As it is, Oshawott has more losses under its scallop than wins.
Torkoal
Ash’s Torkoal has a decent important-battle record (4:7), but by no means is that amazing. Fortunately, Torkoal more than makes up for what it lacks in fierceness in its bond with Ash during the Hoenn region. Torkoal is primarily used as a helper and protector during Ash’s journey, and it’s best known for its comionate disposition.
With its win log only slightly better than Ash’s other mediocre battle partners, Torkoal just isn’t meant to be a fighter. Using it in a Nintendo game playthrough would be unwise when offered all the other fire-type Pokémon options.
Gliscor
Gliscor is a fan favorite of Ash’s Sinnoh team because of its loyal and ionate nature. When Ash first captured it, Gligar usually flopped against opponents due to its fear of heights and battling. Thankfully, Ash helped his Pokémon out of its traumas, and it evolved into Gliscor.
Unfortunately, Gliscor continued to be unimpressive despite acquiring a better moveset in its evolved form. Gliscor only managed to produce one win in its six major battles, which was aided by a super-effective attack by Ash’s prior Pokémon – is that really a win, then? Debatable. Ash should have trained Gliscor more.
Muk
If there was an award for underutilized Pokémon, Muk is a favorite for that title. Muk is one of five poison-type Pokémon Ash has acquired. It would be unrealistic to expect Ash to bond with all the Pokémon he’s ever caught, but Ash’s renowned partnership with all his other Pokémon makes prematurely shipping off Muk to Professor Oak seem strange.
Its only significant win came against a Bellsprout in the Indigo League, and it lost all its other battles. Fortunately for Muk, the show writers love its extroverted personality and propensity to smother – er, hug – its companions.
Pidgeot
Arguably, the worst Pokémon to grace Ash’s team is Pidgeot, one of his original Pokémon. Embarrassingly, Pidgeot (throughout its evolutions) only won against weak Pokémon. However, it has one “win,” but that battle has been disputed by fans and came at the end of the season. It finished with an abysmal 2:4 (win to loss) rate.
In Generation 1 of Game Freak, Pidgeot is actually a decent Pokémon to take to the Championship round. Though it isn’t the best option, it’ll get the job done. Ash’s Pideot eventually became a great battle partner, but he released all that potential for a good cause.
