Controversial opinions

[Reborn Talonflame]

Caused I’m bored, I’ve decided to rank the leagues Ash has participated in (excluding Orange League, and PWC) in terms of battling, plot and pacing.

Spoiler

Worst/7th - Unova
Seeing this league made me dizzy with fury. Not only was Cameron v Ash a completely idiotic battle that showed nothing of what Ash is capable of, but probably had one of the most boring rival fights ever against Trip, with majority (probably over half) of the battle being reduced to Pikachu being stuck in Wrap, then finishing it off with one collision. Stephan v Ash was okay, and that shows you how bad the fights were when that’s the best fight of the tournament. Bianca v Cameron was borderline forgettable. Then, to wrap it up, we had that terrible filler in the middle with Axew getting separated.

6th - Kanto
I can’t even be mad at this league. Whilst it’s still a battling objective, it wasn’t trying to be outright serious with that department, unlike Unova, so it gets a pass on the comedy; I can take Pikachu getting OHKO’d by a Bellsprout, as it’s not being serious at all. Of course none of the fights are brilliant, but there was some fun moments between battles, and Gary’s final moment with his Nidoking was probably the best highlight.

5th - Johto
Probably my hot-take of this list. I’m sorry, but the only highlights of this arc was Charizard v Blaziken & Half of Gary’s team. Whilst those fights were cool, I noticed that a lot of the other battles between the other Pokemon were really, really short, like everything was getting one-shot. Gary’s Arcanine was taken out with one Hyper-Beam, his Nidoqueen with one Ice Punch, Golem was taken out with one Dragon Rage, and few of Harrison’s Pokemon were one-shot as well, like his Sneasel beat Pikachu, then immediately got beat by Totidile ten seconds later. Even Pikachu got beat by Sneasel within a few seconds. Not to mention, the Group Stage matches weren’t really that special to watch. There wasn’t any real strategies in place, and it just came down to the final battle as always - Bulbasaur v Meganium, which was pretty much a copy-cat fight drawing parallels, whilst Squirtle v Quilava was forgettable.
Charizard’s fights carried pretty hard, but the rest fell flat.

4th - Hoenn
I understand why people don’t like Hoenn/Advanced series as the lack of rivals for Ash, but I thought the league was pretty fun.
I think it’s the fact we got to establish Tyson and Morrison’s battling styles in the preliminaries, getting to see a few of their Pokemon as well in 2v2s, which built hype. Seeing Tyson’s Sceptile own an Aggron was cool, and reflected Tyson’s calm battling skills, whilst Morrison’s pure determination with Growlithe and Gligar was neat, and I think built a parallel between them and Ash - his whole journey was learning to becoming more calm, whilst still having that flair like Morrison. Other things like Ash v Katie was a fun, dynamic battle that allowed for some serious questioning of Ash’s skills, only to be reminded of his pure strength. And of course, whilst Morrison v Ash was a bit ruined, I still think Ash v Tyson remains an underrated fight. Just seeing the ways they counters each other and clashed was so intense, and eight year-old me was on the edge of my seat watching Pikachu v Meowth.
Maybe the league dragged a bit too long, but was fun none-the-less.

3rd - Kalos
Awesome battles, and every one of them was quick and intense. Seeing Trevor getting squished by Alain showed how much he’s come from the Mega Evolution trial presented by Lysandre, the fact he just beat down Mega Charizard-Y, and even Mega Garchomp, so easily. Then, Sawyer v Tierno showed Sawyer’s new gimmicks off well, whilst leaving surprises for Ash v Sawyer, which was a ton of fun to watch. Again, Ash v Alain was too intense not to love, and the animation was stellar.
Lacked the emotional drive of the other two to be top.

2nd - Alola
The only thing I can say is that this league started off slow, but then rapidly made me fall in love when Guzma faced Lana. From that point on, the battles were so intense and brutal - Pikachu couldn’t even watch Lana getting beat so badly, and this league easily has the best plot with Ash’s willingness to beat Guzma for the sake of Kukui’s dream. Such an Ash thing to do, and even better when thinking Lana was crushed.
Noteable mentions goes to Kiawe v Gladion, which is by far the most underrated fight in the entire series, whilst even seeing Sophocles battle was cool considering the variety on display, complimented by everyone else, whether that was TR, or Mallow’s style, or Gladion’s ferocious assaults, or even typical Ash craziness.
However, this league dragged for quite a while, and a few of the fights were pretty poor, especially with Hau’s, with some fights generally not being interesting.
What takes it over Kalos is easily the dramatic edge it has, further pushed by Ash v Kukui (yes, I’m counting it as a part of the league), what more do I need to say. Oh wait, yeah, this is how you do 2v2s Journeys, intense and dynamic in battling styles.

1st - Sinnoh
Whilst fights like Ash v Tobias and Nando were fine, the rest of this league is prepelled into my top pick. Whether that’s the diversity, perfect pacing of the battles, or genuinely the emotions at stake, even seeing Barry fight Paul, or Ash v Conway were incredible.
Then, we have the holy land of battles - Ash v Paul. In general, it has the emotions, pacing, and diverse enough style to crown it my top

 

[prog rocker]

This show always seems episodic to me, with some character arcs and running gags, which is not so different from what we got in this series.

And you said what I meant. Maybe it's because Pokémon doesn't have traditional arcs (except the League or other main events), but there generally where a lot of gaps.

 

[nickdt]

This show always seems episodic to me, with some character arcs and running gags, which is not so different from what we got in this series.

Except those all felt connected due to the characters having focus, some backstory and the Pokemon showed up more often as well.. even if it weren't battle heavy episodes and those Pokemon sometimes also got their own episodes.

 

[marshiyanmisuta]

Except those all felt connected due to the characters having focus, some backstory and the Pokemon showed up more often as well.. even if it weren't battle heavy episodes and those Pokemon sometimes also got their own episodes.

Which is exactly what is happening in Journeys.

 

[Enzo]

Which is exactly what is happening in Journeys.

?

I think you meant ''exactly what's not happening in Journeys''.

Pokémon don't show up that much and are not allowed to actually be characters, Ash's team barely gets focus or anything at all, and all of the other complains everyone talks about all the time, so I won't bother to list them all. JN is failing at doing the bare minimun.

 

[nickdt]

Which is exactly what is happening in Journeys.

Really?

When did we get Dragonite, Lucario, Dracovish, Gengar, Sirfetch'd bonding with eachother episodes.

And don't tell me it happens off-screen, since then its yet again a Journeys thing - Tell, don't show, while they should do show, don't tell.

 

[Reborn Talonflame]

Since I’m still bored, I figured I’d do another ranking list, this time of all the starters the main travelling characters of the anime have owned. Feel free to reply with your opinions, cause the Top 4 were hard to rank.

EDIT: Kurolegacy made some good points about Quilava (I placed it quite low originally, sitting at 25th) which I agree with, so it’s been updated a bit.

Spoiler

27th - Goh’s Grookey
Harsh? Yes. Grookey hasn’t really had enough time yet to develop anything noteable, but as of now, Grookey has only really served to be comedic-relief (a poor one at that), and hasn’t even used a single move.

26th - Brock’s Marshtomp
I really cannot remember anything about this thing. It got outshadowed by another water-type Brock had that series, in Ludicolo, which doesn’t help, either.

25th - Ash’s Totidile
Just acted as a comedic-relief. Wasn’t funny, but wasn’t annoying. Didn’t really do much outside of that. It was just there.

24th - Ash’s Oshawott
Probably my least favourite of Ash’s. I always found Oshawott to be on the annoying side of comedic-relief, and it was fairly weak in all honesty. It lost battles you’d think it would win, then do well when it shouldn’t. That, and it had one of the stupidest plot line for development in the history of the show, being afraid of having its eyes open in water…But, with that being said, it did have its moments.

23rd- Serena’s Braixen
Average at best. Wasn’t anything wrong with it, it just served its purpose and didn’t really stand out.

22nd - May’s Venasaur
Had a cool first few episodes, then fell away. It served its purpose, but was always getting overshadowed by Advanced series having four other starters ahead of it.

21st - Lana’s Primarina
Served its purpose as well. Didn’t do much, but at least had a continuous goal that defined its character.

20th - May’s Wartortle
Served its purpose, and was pretty cute that led to some nice moments here and there with the rest of the squad.

19th - Goh’s Drizzile
Has a unique set-up. Doesn’t really do much, but at least it has some funny moments. Could be higher if Journeys shows it off in the right way.

18th - Dawn’s Quilava
Cute, and had a personality that was clear to see, blending in well with Piplup. Didn’t have much development, but felt decent none the less. Helped push Dawn’s prowess in Contests by creating some really nice techniques, showing her versatility from the start of the series.

17th - Clemont’s Chespin
Funny, on the right side of comedy for me. Practically interacted with every Pokemon from the XY crew, and was pretty wholesome in general.

16th - Ash’s Snivy
Always thought this thing got screwed in battles. Was always doing well, then came up against a stupidly strong opponent, which wasn’t its fault. Had some connection to Pignite, and in general felt like the mother of the B&W squad. Had a very commanding attitude which felt cool. Probably slightly under-utilised, though.

15th - Ash’s Quilava
This thing got done so dirty. It had a storyline of being unable to fully use its fire-type attacks, but only really did two things in the entire Johto series, helping against Bugsy and Jasmine. Just underused. Even in the Sinnoh League, it evolved prior to the first match, then randomly got cut to an off-screen battle…how kind. Kurolegacy made some good points below for why it’s here.

14th - Ash’s Pignite
Whilst it’s storyline was unoriginal, and literally took from Charmander and Chimchar’s pages, and rushed, it was defiantly good in battle, and would at times have some funny moments.

13th - Ash’s Bayleef
Simply adorable. Never got tired of its gag, and was pretty strong too. Seeing it being so defensive of Ash helped with the humour of the episodes at times.

12th - May’s Blaziken
I don’t know what’s with the Hoenn starters, but I keep drawing blanks. I don’t think this thing really have any development, it just evolved and served as May’s go-to powerhouse. Cool to watch in contest battles. Maybe too high, to be honest.

11th - Goh’s Cinderace
Is the designated leader in Journeys to be honest. It has probably interacted with more Pokemon than anything else in the series, and has some really cute moments. It’s story was completely glossed over, and so was it’s relationship with Lucario, but it’s still enjoyable to watch. Still feels somewhat wasted, though.

10th - Ash’s Rowlet
Is this thing absolutely stupid? 100%. But, this is defiantly my favourite comedic-relief Pokemon of the entire series. Every time Rowlet was on screen was a blast to watch with its expressions, several of which spawned memes. It was helpful in battle as well at times, too, making it basically Oshawott, except 10000x better.

9th - Ash’s Torterra
Had a cool storyline of adapting its battling style once it evolved, which made Ash really think outside of the box, and even had some other areas of development. It was better as a Turtwig, and the moments it had bitting Ash and playing with Piplup made me put it here. Helped Ash in battle several times early on, despite its unfortunate circumstances as a fully evolved Pokemon.

8th - Ash’s Sceptile
Just a cool Pokemon. Sad that it peaked so late on, in the Battle Frontier, but has always been fun to watch.

7th - Dawn’s Piplup
Good comedic-relief, that really stretched the comedy to every Pokemon in D&P. Also, probably bounced off and helped Dawn’s personality better than any Pokemon. It seriously helped Dawn’s character. Not only that, it was dope in contest battles.

6th - Ash’s Squirtle
Yes, the Kanto trio starts here. A symbol of the incredible cohesion the team had, Squirtle was just too awesome and fun to watch.

5th - Ash’s Bulbasaur
Basically like Squirtle, but even better at the interactions and comedy routine.

4th - Ash’s Incineroar
Admit it. You were always rooting for this thing when it was on screen. Like every one of Ash’s Pokemon in Alola, had a fun interactive personality with the rest of the squad, and it’s triumph at the end of the series was such a good pay-off.

3rd - Ash’s Greninja
Really reflected Ash, and was by far the best fighter he’s had. Helped with the storyline in general. Doesn’t really interact with the team like it did as a Froakie, but still awesome. You could feel the rivalry with Sawyer’s Sceptile.

2nd - Ash’s Charizard
Powerful, and what made Ash what he is today. Charizard was the first to help determine what kind of a trainer Ash is. He would never abandon a creature that even didn’t listen to him. Not only that, had some nice interactions with the rest of the squad. And, of course, a great battler.

1st - Ash’s Infernape
Peak of entertainment. Whenever this thing was on-screen, I acted like Team Rocket, I was sucked in. It always had a cool development, and shined Ash’s beliefs through time and time again. An awesome battler, to top it off.

 

[Kurolegacy]

Since I’m still bored, I figured I’d do another ranking list, this time of all the starters the main travelling characters of the anime have owned. Feel free to reply with your opinions, cause the Top 4 were hard to rank.

Spoiler

27th - Goh’s Grookey
Harsh? Yes. Grookey hasn’t really had enough time yet to develop anything noteable, but as of now, Grookey has only really served to be comedic-relief (a poor one at that), and hasn’t even used a single move.

26th - Brock’s Marshtomp
I really cannot remember anything about this thing. It got outshadowed by another water-type Brock had that series, in Ludicolo, which doesn’t help, either.

25th - Ash’s Quilava
This thing got done so dirty. It had a storyline of being unable to fully use its fire-type attacks, but only really did two things in the entire Johto series, helping against Bugsy and Jasmine. Just underused. Even in the Sinnoh League, it evolved prior to the first match, then randomly got cut to an off-screen battle…how kind.

24th - Ash’s Totidile
Just acted as a comedic-relief. Wasn’t funny, but wasn’t annoying. Didn’t really do much outside of that. It was just there.

23rd - Ash’s Oshawott
Probably my least favourite of Ash’s. I always found Oshawott to be on the annoying side of comedic-relief, and it was fairly weak in all honesty. It lost battles you’d think it would win, then do well when it shouldn’t. That, and it had one of the stupidest plot line for development in the history of the show, being afraid of having its eyes open in water…But, with that being said, it did have its moments.

22nd- Serena’s Braixen
Average at best. Wasn’t anything wrong with it, it just served its purpose and didn’t really stand out.

21st - May’s Venasaur
Had a cool first few episodes, then fell away. It served its purpose, but was always getting overshadowed by Advanced series having four other starters ahead of it.

20th - Lana’s Primarina
Served its purpose as well. Didn’t do much, but at least had a continuous goal that defined its character.

19th - May’s Wartortle
Served its purpose, and was pretty cute that led to some nice moments here and there with the rest of the squad.

18th - Goh’s Drizzile
Has a unique set-up. Doesn’t really do much, but at least it has some funny moments. Could be higher if Journeys shows it off in the right way.

17th - Dawn’s Quilava
Cute, and had a personality that was clear to see, blending in well with Piplup. Didn’t have much development, but felt decent none the less. Helped push Dawn’s prowess in Contests by creating some really nice techniques, showing her versatility from the start of the series.

16th - Clemont’s Chespin
Funny, on the right side of comedy for me. Practically interacted with every Pokemon from the XY crew, and was pretty wholesome in general.

15th - Ash’s Snivy
Always thought this thing got screwed in battles. Was always doing well, then came up against a stupidly strong opponent, which wasn’t its fault. Had some connection to Pignite, and in general felt like the mother of the B&W squad. Had a very commanding attitude which felt cool. Probably slightly under-utilised, though.

14th - Ash’s Pignite
Whilst it’s storyline was unoriginal, and literally took from Charmander and Chimchar’s pages, and rushed, it was defiantly good in battle, and would at times have some funny moments.

13th - Ash’s Bayleef
Simply adorable. Never got tired of its gag, and was pretty strong too. Seeing it being so defensive of Ash helped with the humour of the episodes at times.

12th - May’s Blaziken
I don’t know what’s with the Hoenn starters, but I keep drawing blanks. I don’t think this thing really have any development, it just evolved and served as May’s go-to powerhouse. Cool to watch in contest battles. Maybe too high, to be honest.

11th - Goh’s Cinderace
Is the designated leader in Journeys to be honest. It has probably interacted with more Pokemon than anything else in the series, and has some really cute moments. It’s story was completely glossed over, and so was it’s relationship with Lucario, but it’s still enjoyable to watch. Still feels somewhat wasted, though.

10th - Ash’s Rowlet
Is this thing absolutely stupid? 100%. But, this is defiantly my favourite comedic-relief Pokemon of the entire series. Every time Rowlet was on screen was a blast to watch with its expressions, several of which spawned memes. It was helpful in battle as well at times, too, making it basically Oshawott, except 10000x better.

9th - Ash’s Torterra
Had a cool storyline of adapting its battling style once it evolved, which made Ash really think outside of the box, and even had some other areas of development. It was better as a Turtwig, and the moments it had bitting Ash and playing with Piplup made me put it here. Helped Ash in battle several times early on, despite its unfortunate circumstances as a fully evolved Pokemon.

8th - Ash’s Sceptile
Just a cool Pokemon. Sad that it peaked so late on, in the Battle Frontier, but has always been fun to watch.

7th - Dawn’s Piplup
Good comedic-relief, that really stretched the comedy to every Pokemon in D&P. Also, probably bounced off and helped Dawn’s personality better than any Pokemon. It seriously helped Dawn’s character. Not only that, it was dope in contest battles.

6th - Ash’s Squirtle
Yes, the Kanto trio starts here. A symbol of the incredible cohesion the team had, Squirtle was just too awesome and fun to watch.

5th - Ash’s Bulbasaur
Basically like Squirtle, but even better at the interactions and comedy routine.

4th - Ash’s Incineroar
Admit it. You were always rooting for this thing when it was on screen. Like every one of Ash’s Pokemon in Alola, had a fun interactive personality with the rest of the squad, and it’s triumph at the end of the series was such a good pay-off.

3rd - Ash’s Greninja
Really reflected Ash, and was by far the best fighter he’s had. Helped with the storyline in general. Doesn’t really interact with the team like it did as a Froakie, but still awesome. You could feel the rivalry with Sawyer’s Sceptile.

2nd - Ash’s Charizard
Powerful, and what made Ash what he is today. Charizard was the first to help determine what kind of a trainer Ash is. He would never abandon a creature that even didn’t listen to him. Not only that, had some nice interactions with the rest of the squad. And, of course, a great battler.

1st - Ash’s Infernape
Peak of entertainment. Whenever this thing was on-screen, I acted like Team Rocket, I was sucked in. It always had a cool development, and shined Ash’s beliefs through time and time again. An awesome battler, to top it off.

Gotta disagree with Ash’s Quilava placing so low on the list. While its issue with its flame was resolved pretty fast, it was definitely one of the stars of Ash’s Johto team. Not only did it earn Ash 2 of his gym victories but in every gym battle that it was used in, it came out with at least 1 win, beating Bugsy’s Scyther, Whitney’s Clefairy and Nidorina, Morty’s Ghastly, Jasmine’s Steelix and Pryce’s Dewgong. And while it does stink we didn’t get to see its Sinnoh League battle, the fact that the writers brought it back and rectified the mistake that was not evolving it in Johto when it definitely deserved it was a great occasion especially when no other past Pokémon who was retired and not brought back into Ash’s team got such an occurrence.

 

[Reborn Talonflame]

Gotta disagree with Ash’s Quilava placing so low on the list. While its issue with its flame was resolved pretty fast, it was definitely one of the stars of Ash’s Johto team. Not only did it earn Ash 2 of his gym victories but in every gym battle that it was used in, it came out with at least 1 win, beating Bugsy’s Scyther, Whitney’s Clefairy and Nidorina, Morty’s Ghastly, Jasmine’s Steelix and Pryce’s Dewgong. And while it does stink we didn’t get to see its Sinnoh League battle, the fact that the writers brought it back and rectified the mistake that was not evolving it in Johto when it definitely deserved it was a great occasion especially when no other past Pokémon who was retired and not brought back into Ash’s team got such an occurrence.

Yeah, I get that. I’ve edited my post now to put Quilava higher, cause I agree with your points. Still got screwed in the Johto League, though.

 

[Unireon]

Since I’m still bored, I figured I’d do another ranking list, this time of all the starters the main travelling characters of the anime have owned. Feel free to reply with your opinions, cause the Top 4 were hard to rank.

EDIT: Kurolegacy made some good points about Quilava (I placed it quite low originally, sitting at 25th) which I agree with, so it’s been updated a bit.

Spoiler

27th - Goh’s Grookey
Harsh? Yes. Grookey hasn’t really had enough time yet to develop anything noteable, but as of now, Grookey has only really served to be comedic-relief (a poor one at that), and hasn’t even used a single move.

26th - Brock’s Marshtomp
I really cannot remember anything about this thing. It got outshadowed by another water-type Brock had that series, in Ludicolo, which doesn’t help, either.

25th - Ash’s Totidile
Just acted as a comedic-relief. Wasn’t funny, but wasn’t annoying. Didn’t really do much outside of that. It was just there.

24th - Ash’s Oshawott
Probably my least favourite of Ash’s. I always found Oshawott to be on the annoying side of comedic-relief, and it was fairly weak in all honesty. It lost battles you’d think it would win, then do well when it shouldn’t. That, and it had one of the stupidest plot line for development in the history of the show, being afraid of having its eyes open in water…But, with that being said, it did have its moments.

23rd- Serena’s Braixen
Average at best. Wasn’t anything wrong with it, it just served its purpose and didn’t really stand out.

22nd - May’s Venasaur
Had a cool first few episodes, then fell away. It served its purpose, but was always getting overshadowed by Advanced series having four other starters ahead of it.

21st - Lana’s Primarina
Served its purpose as well. Didn’t do much, but at least had a continuous goal that defined its character.

20th - May’s Wartortle
Served its purpose, and was pretty cute that led to some nice moments here and there with the rest of the squad.

19th - Goh’s Drizzile
Has a unique set-up. Doesn’t really do much, but at least it has some funny moments. Could be higher if Journeys shows it off in the right way.

18th - Dawn’s Quilava
Cute, and had a personality that was clear to see, blending in well with Piplup. Didn’t have much development, but felt decent none the less. Helped push Dawn’s prowess in Contests by creating some really nice techniques, showing her versatility from the start of the series.

17th - Clemont’s Chespin
Funny, on the right side of comedy for me. Practically interacted with every Pokemon from the XY crew, and was pretty wholesome in general.

16th - Ash’s Snivy
Always thought this thing got screwed in battles. Was always doing well, then came up against a stupidly strong opponent, which wasn’t its fault. Had some connection to Pignite, and in general felt like the mother of the B&W squad. Had a very commanding attitude which felt cool. Probably slightly under-utilised, though.

15th - Ash’s Quilava
This thing got done so dirty. It had a storyline of being unable to fully use its fire-type attacks, but only really did two things in the entire Johto series, helping against Bugsy and Jasmine. Just underused. Even in the Sinnoh League, it evolved prior to the first match, then randomly got cut to an off-screen battle…how kind. Kurolegacy made some good points below for why it’s here.

14th - Ash’s Pignite
Whilst it’s storyline was unoriginal, and literally took from Charmander and Chimchar’s pages, and rushed, it was defiantly good in battle, and would at times have some funny moments.

13th - Ash’s Bayleef
Simply adorable. Never got tired of its gag, and was pretty strong too. Seeing it being so defensive of Ash helped with the humour of the episodes at times.

12th - May’s Blaziken
I don’t know what’s with the Hoenn starters, but I keep drawing blanks. I don’t think this thing really have any development, it just evolved and served as May’s go-to powerhouse. Cool to watch in contest battles. Maybe too high, to be honest.

11th - Goh’s Cinderace
Is the designated leader in Journeys to be honest. It has probably interacted with more Pokemon than anything else in the series, and has some really cute moments. It’s story was completely glossed over, and so was it’s relationship with Lucario, but it’s still enjoyable to watch. Still feels somewhat wasted, though.

10th - Ash’s Rowlet
Is this thing absolutely stupid? 100%. But, this is defiantly my favourite comedic-relief Pokemon of the entire series. Every time Rowlet was on screen was a blast to watch with its expressions, several of which spawned memes. It was helpful in battle as well at times, too, making it basically Oshawott, except 10000x better.

9th - Ash’s Torterra
Had a cool storyline of adapting its battling style once it evolved, which made Ash really think outside of the box, and even had some other areas of development. It was better as a Turtwig, and the moments it had bitting Ash and playing with Piplup made me put it here. Helped Ash in battle several times early on, despite its unfortunate circumstances as a fully evolved Pokemon.

8th - Ash’s Sceptile
Just a cool Pokemon. Sad that it peaked so late on, in the Battle Frontier, but has always been fun to watch.

7th - Dawn’s Piplup
Good comedic-relief, that really stretched the comedy to every Pokemon in D&P. Also, probably bounced off and helped Dawn’s personality better than any Pokemon. It seriously helped Dawn’s character. Not only that, it was dope in contest battles.

6th - Ash’s Squirtle
Yes, the Kanto trio starts here. A symbol of the incredible cohesion the team had, Squirtle was just too awesome and fun to watch.

5th - Ash’s Bulbasaur
Basically like Squirtle, but even better at the interactions and comedy routine.

4th - Ash’s Incineroar
Admit it. You were always rooting for this thing when it was on screen. Like every one of Ash’s Pokemon in Alola, had a fun interactive personality with the rest of the squad, and it’s triumph at the end of the series was such a good pay-off.

3rd - Ash’s Greninja
Really reflected Ash, and was by far the best fighter he’s had. Helped with the storyline in general. Doesn’t really interact with the team like it did as a Froakie, but still awesome. You could feel the rivalry with Sawyer’s Sceptile.

2nd - Ash’s Charizard
Powerful, and what made Ash what he is today. Charizard was the first to help determine what kind of a trainer Ash is. He would never abandon a creature that even didn’t listen to him. Not only that, had some nice interactions with the rest of the squad. And, of course, a great battler.

1st - Ash’s Infernape
Peak of entertainment. Whenever this thing was on-screen, I acted like Team Rocket, I was sucked in. It always had a cool development, and shined Ash’s beliefs through time and time again. An awesome battler, to top it off.

I wouldn't rank the Galar Starters yet, since their series is still airing.
The anime can mess them up even more, or lightly improve their characterization.

Though, you made some good points.

 

[Blob]

Caused I’m bored, I’ve decided to rank the leagues Ash has participated in (excluding Orange League, and PWC) in terms of battling, plot and pacing.

Spoiler

Worst/7th - Unova
Seeing this league made me dizzy with fury. Not only was Cameron v Ash a completely idiotic battle that showed nothing of what Ash is capable of, but probably had one of the most boring rival fights ever against Trip, with majority (probably over half) of the battle being reduced to Pikachu being stuck in Wrap, then finishing it off with one collision. Stephan v Ash was okay, and that shows you how bad the fights were when that’s the best fight of the tournament. Bianca v Cameron was borderline forgettable. Then, to wrap it up, we had that terrible filler in the middle with Axew getting separated.

6th - Kanto
I can’t even be mad at this league. Whilst it’s still a battling objective, it wasn’t trying to be outright serious with that department, unlike Unova, so it gets a pass on the comedy; I can take Pikachu getting OHKO’d by a Bellsprout, as it’s not being serious at all. Of course none of the fights are brilliant, but there was some fun moments between battles, and Gary’s final moment with his Nidoking was probably the best highlight.

5th - Johto
Probably my hot-take of this list. I’m sorry, but the only highlights of this arc was Charizard v Blaziken & Half of Gary’s team. Whilst those fights were cool, I noticed that a lot of the other battles between the other Pokemon were really, really short, like everything was getting one-shot. Gary’s Arcanine was taken out with one Hyper-Beam, his Nidoqueen with one Ice Punch, Golem was taken out with one Dragon Rage, and few of Harrison’s Pokemon were one-shot as well, like his Sneasel beat Pikachu, then immediately got beat by Totidile ten seconds later. Even Pikachu got beat by Sneasel within a few seconds. Not to mention, the Group Stage matches weren’t really that special to watch. There wasn’t any real strategies in place, and it just came down to the final battle as always - Bulbasaur v Meganium, which was pretty much a copy-cat fight drawing parallels, whilst Squirtle v Quilava was forgettable.
Charizard’s fights carried pretty hard, but the rest fell flat.

4th - Hoenn
I understand why people don’t like Hoenn/Advanced series as the lack of rivals for Ash, but I thought the league was pretty fun.
I think it’s the fact we got to establish Tyson and Morrison’s battling styles in the preliminaries, getting to see a few of their Pokemon as well in 2v2s, which built hype. Seeing Tyson’s Sceptile own an Aggron was cool, and reflected Tyson’s calm battling skills, whilst Morrison’s pure determination with Growlithe and Gligar was neat, and I think built a parallel between them and Ash - his whole journey was learning to becoming more calm, whilst still having that flair like Morrison. Other things like Ash v Katie was a fun, dynamic battle that allowed for some serious questioning of Ash’s skills, only to be reminded of his pure strength. And of course, whilst Morrison v Ash was a bit ruined, I still think Ash v Tyson remains an underrated fight. Just seeing the ways they counters each other and clashed was so intense, and eight year-old me was on the edge of my seat watching Pikachu v Meowth.
Maybe the league dragged a bit too long, but was fun none-the-less.

3rd - Kalos
Awesome battles, and every one of them was quick and intense. Seeing Trevor getting squished by Alain showed how much he’s come from the Mega Evolution trial presented by Lysandre, the fact he just beat down Mega Charizard-Y, and even Mega Garchomp, so easily. Then, Sawyer v Tierno showed Sawyer’s new gimmicks off well, whilst leaving surprises for Ash v Sawyer, which was a ton of fun to watch. Again, Ash v Alain was too intense not to love, and the animation was stellar.
Lacked the emotional drive of the other two to be top.

2nd - Alola
The only thing I can say is that this league started off slow, but then rapidly made me fall in love when Guzma faced Lana. From that point on, the battles were so intense and brutal - Pikachu couldn’t even watch Lana getting beat so badly, and this league easily has the best plot with Ash’s willingness to beat Guzma for the sake of Kukui’s dream. Such an Ash thing to do, and even better when thinking Lana was crushed.
Noteable mentions goes to Kiawe v Gladion, which is by far the most underrated fight in the entire series, whilst even seeing Sophocles battle was cool considering the variety on display, complimented by everyone else, whether that was TR, or Mallow’s style, or Gladion’s ferocious assaults, or even typical Ash craziness.
However, this league dragged for quite a while, and a few of the fights were pretty poor, especially with Hau’s, with some fights generally not being interesting.
What takes it over Kalos is easily the dramatic edge it has, further pushed by Ash v Kukui (yes, I’m counting it as a part of the league), what more do I need to say. Oh wait, yeah, this is how you do 2v2s Journeys, intense and dynamic in battling styles.

1st - Sinnoh
Whilst fights like Ash v Tobias and Nando were fine, the rest of this league is prepelled into my top pick. Whether that’s the diversity, perfect pacing of the battles, or genuinely the emotions at stake, even seeing Barry fight Paul, or Ash v Conway were incredible.
Then, we have the holy land of battles - Ash v Paul. In general, it has the emotions, pacing, and diverse enough style to crown it my top

I'd put Sinnoh as second worst, since it's yet another battle where Torterra does nothing at all and Infernape gets all the wins. I also didn't like how Tobias felt like a cheep obstacle to get in Ash's way of winning the league. Kalos and Alola definitely improved on leagues, while also having their own downfalls.

Kalos league was annoying because Alain just kept on winning and it felt like his fear of losing meant nothing. The rest of the fights were much better overall I'd say. Still, it's a pity we didn't see any of Ash's older Pokémon participate.

Alolan league was fine, but each battle before Kukui being only 1v1 to 3v3 felt off and more like it was a minor league like OI instead of anything important. I also didn't like how easy it was to tell who would win and lose. Obviously a trainer with only 1 Pokémon couldn't get to the round where you need 2 and the same with 3.
It also felt like an excuse to prevent Ash from using any of his older Pokémon. Additionally, Torracat evolving for no reason was annoying. Don't even get me started on Decidueye...

 

[cricketlaxwolvesbandy]

Since I’m still bored, I figured I’d do another ranking list, this time of all the starters the main travelling characters of the anime have owned. Feel free to reply with your opinions, cause the Top 4 were hard to rank.

EDIT: Kurolegacy made some good points about Quilava (I placed it quite low originally, sitting at 25th) which I agree with, so it’s been updated a bit.

Spoiler

27th - Goh’s Grookey
Harsh? Yes. Grookey hasn’t really had enough time yet to develop anything noteable, but as of now, Grookey has only really served to be comedic-relief (a poor one at that), and hasn’t even used a single move.

26th - Brock’s Marshtomp
I really cannot remember anything about this thing. It got outshadowed by another water-type Brock had that series, in Ludicolo, which doesn’t help, either.

25th - Ash’s Totidile
Just acted as a comedic-relief. Wasn’t funny, but wasn’t annoying. Didn’t really do much outside of that. It was just there.

24th - Ash’s Oshawott
Probably my least favourite of Ash’s. I always found Oshawott to be on the annoying side of comedic-relief, and it was fairly weak in all honesty. It lost battles you’d think it would win, then do well when it shouldn’t. That, and it had one of the stupidest plot line for development in the history of the show, being afraid of having its eyes open in water…But, with that being said, it did have its moments.

23rd- Serena’s Braixen
Average at best. Wasn’t anything wrong with it, it just served its purpose and didn’t really stand out.

22nd - May’s Venasaur
Had a cool first few episodes, then fell away. It served its purpose, but was always getting overshadowed by Advanced series having four other starters ahead of it.

21st - Lana’s Primarina
Served its purpose as well. Didn’t do much, but at least had a continuous goal that defined its character.

20th - May’s Wartortle
Served its purpose, and was pretty cute that led to some nice moments here and there with the rest of the squad.

19th - Goh’s Drizzile
Has a unique set-up. Doesn’t really do much, but at least it has some funny moments. Could be higher if Journeys shows it off in the right way.

18th - Dawn’s Quilava
Cute, and had a personality that was clear to see, blending in well with Piplup. Didn’t have much development, but felt decent none the less. Helped push Dawn’s prowess in Contests by creating some really nice techniques, showing her versatility from the start of the series.

17th - Clemont’s Chespin
Funny, on the right side of comedy for me. Practically interacted with every Pokemon from the XY crew, and was pretty wholesome in general.

16th - Ash’s Snivy
Always thought this thing got screwed in battles. Was always doing well, then came up against a stupidly strong opponent, which wasn’t its fault. Had some connection to Pignite, and in general felt like the mother of the B&W squad. Had a very commanding attitude which felt cool. Probably slightly under-utilised, though.

15th - Ash’s Quilava
This thing got done so dirty. It had a storyline of being unable to fully use its fire-type attacks, but only really did two things in the entire Johto series, helping against Bugsy and Jasmine. Just underused. Even in the Sinnoh League, it evolved prior to the first match, then randomly got cut to an off-screen battle…how kind. Kurolegacy made some good points below for why it’s here.

14th - Ash’s Pignite
Whilst it’s storyline was unoriginal, and literally took from Charmander and Chimchar’s pages, and rushed, it was defiantly good in battle, and would at times have some funny moments.

13th - Ash’s Bayleef
Simply adorable. Never got tired of its gag, and was pretty strong too. Seeing it being so defensive of Ash helped with the humour of the episodes at times.

12th - May’s Blaziken
I don’t know what’s with the Hoenn starters, but I keep drawing blanks. I don’t think this thing really have any development, it just evolved and served as May’s go-to powerhouse. Cool to watch in contest battles. Maybe too high, to be honest.

11th - Goh’s Cinderace
Is the designated leader in Journeys to be honest. It has probably interacted with more Pokemon than anything else in the series, and has some really cute moments. It’s story was completely glossed over, and so was it’s relationship with Lucario, but it’s still enjoyable to watch. Still feels somewhat wasted, though.

10th - Ash’s Rowlet
Is this thing absolutely stupid? 100%. But, this is defiantly my favourite comedic-relief Pokemon of the entire series. Every time Rowlet was on screen was a blast to watch with its expressions, several of which spawned memes. It was helpful in battle as well at times, too, making it basically Oshawott, except 10000x better.

9th - Ash’s Torterra
Had a cool storyline of adapting its battling style once it evolved, which made Ash really think outside of the box, and even had some other areas of development. It was better as a Turtwig, and the moments it had bitting Ash and playing with Piplup made me put it here. Helped Ash in battle several times early on, despite its unfortunate circumstances as a fully evolved Pokemon.

8th - Ash’s Sceptile
Just a cool Pokemon. Sad that it peaked so late on, in the Battle Frontier, but has always been fun to watch.

7th - Dawn’s Piplup
Good comedic-relief, that really stretched the comedy to every Pokemon in D&P. Also, probably bounced off and helped Dawn’s personality better than any Pokemon. It seriously helped Dawn’s character. Not only that, it was dope in contest battles.

6th - Ash’s Squirtle
Yes, the Kanto trio starts here. A symbol of the incredible cohesion the team had, Squirtle was just too awesome and fun to watch.

5th - Ash’s Bulbasaur
Basically like Squirtle, but even better at the interactions and comedy routine.

4th - Ash’s Incineroar
Admit it. You were always rooting for this thing when it was on screen. Like every one of Ash’s Pokemon in Alola, had a fun interactive personality with the rest of the squad, and it’s triumph at the end of the series was such a good pay-off.

3rd - Ash’s Greninja
Really reflected Ash, and was by far the best fighter he’s had. Helped with the storyline in general. Doesn’t really interact with the team like it did as a Froakie, but still awesome. You could feel the rivalry with Sawyer’s Sceptile.

2nd - Ash’s Charizard
Powerful, and what made Ash what he is today. Charizard was the first to help determine what kind of a trainer Ash is. He would never abandon a creature that even didn’t listen to him. Not only that, had some nice interactions with the rest of the squad. And, of course, a great battler.

1st - Ash’s Infernape
Peak of entertainment. Whenever this thing was on-screen, I acted like Team Rocket, I was sucked in. It always had a cool development, and shined Ash’s beliefs through time and time again. An awesome battler, to top it off.

I love Marshtomp and Oshawott

 

[PkmnTrainerV]

Additionally, Torracat evolving for no reason was annoying.

Defeating the literal strongest non-legendary non-deity Pokémon of Alola isn’t enough for you?

It is weird you’re singling it out since literally the only Pokémon that HAD a good reason to evolve on the main cast was Torracat.

 

[JinksChow]

Defeating the literal strongest non-legendary non-deity Pokémon of Alola isn’t enough for you?

It is weird you’re singling it out since literally the only Pokémon that HAD a good reason to evolve on the main cast was Torracat.

Wait, when did Ash's Torracat defeat Bewear?!

/jk

 

[Pokemonfan5]

Alolan league was fine, but each battle before Kukui being only 1v1 to 3v3 felt off and more like it was a minor league like OI inI also didn't like how easy it was to tell who would win and lose. Obviously a trainer with only 1 Pokémon couldn't get to the round where you need 2 and the same with 3.

Battle being predictable is part of every league, more than 90% league battle results can be easily predicted, for e.g except Ash Vs Alan and Tobias we know 100% about all the battles result in Sinnoh and Kalos league even before they started because Ash and his main rivals can't lose until they face each others to end their rivalry and Ash will come out on top in the end.

Also many non main characters like Hau and Accerola can easily show 6 Pokemons if writers wanted as we still don't know how many Pokemons they had unlike Ash and his classmates even Kiawe can show 6 Pokemons as he had many in his farm, Illima participated in Kalos league so he had 6 Pokemons but he was taken out in top 16.

 

[Mikuri]

I don’t mind that Dawn did not send out all of her Pokémon during her return. I know people were expecting to see them, but Dawn has traveled through Hoenn, Johto, and Unova since she first left Sinnoh so it would be weird to see her with the same exact team, and I would hate to see Dawn calling out a Pokémon only to see it use a few attacks and nothing more.

Had Dawn returned for more than two episodes, the writers would have time to introduce new Pokémon and we would get to see how her new captures interact with the remainder of her team, but that wasn’t the case here.

 

[Alola]

I don’t mind that Dawn did not send out all of her Pokémon during her return. I know people were expecting to see them, but Dawn has traveled through Hoenn, Johto, and Unova since she first left Sinnoh so it would be weird to see her with the same exact team, and I would hate to see Dawn calling out a Pokémon only to see it use a few attacks and nothing more.

Had Dawn returned for more than two episodes, the writers would have time to introduce new Pokémon and we would get to see how her new captures interact with the remainder of her team, but that wasn’t the case here.

While Dawn having new friends is a tantalizing thought, I think a lot of people wanted to see an evolution or two if anything - her having Lopunny or Typhlosion by now would be really satisfying and would satisfy the "new Pokémon" expectation. I'm hoping she returns around when BDSP comes out, with more than Piplup.

Also, quick aside, but I'm happy Piplup relearned Whirlpool! Along with Bubble Beam, it just feels like a character staple.

 

[nickdt]

While Dawn having new friends is a tantalizing thought, I think a lot of people wanted to see an evolution or two if anything - her having Lopunny or Typhlosion by now would be really satisfying and would satisfy the "new Pokémon" expectation. I'm hoping she returns around when BDSP comes out, with more than Piplup.

Also, quick aside, but I'm happy Piplup relearned Whirlpool! Along with Bubble Beam, it just feels like a character staple.

I am one to believe Buneary wasn't gonna evolve anyways cuz of her 'crush' for Pikachu. So the only possible candidate was Quilava regardless.

 

[PkmnTrainerV]

I am one to believe Buneary wasn't gonna evolve anyways cuz of her 'crush' for Pikachu. So the only possible candidate was Quilava regardless.

I don’t see how that would've influenced things since Dawn, Ash and their Pokémon didn’t interact much anyways.

 

[nickdt]

I don’t see how that would've influenced things since Dawn, Ash and their Pokémon didn’t interact much anyways.

It didn't for this arc, but there is a possibility Dawn shows up in the future as well and maybe then showcases more of her Pokemon for Sinnoh promotion.