Ash's Aces

[Ash Ketchum!]

It's times like this you realize how badly handled the Johto and Unova teams were. I don't know what the writers were thinking not fully developing those teams and giving him some standout pokemon.

Blows my mind people think Ash getting all the starters is a good thing.

Some of the Pokemon choices for those two regions are.... baffling to say the least.

What were they thinking?

 

[Lambda|Chaostra]

It's times like this you realize how badly handled the Johto and Unova teams were. I don't know what the writers were thinking not fully developing those teams and giving him some standout pokemon.

Blows my mind people think Ash getting all the starters is a good thing.

Johto ace was most likely bayleef or totodile

 

[Rockapheller]

Johto ace was most likely bayleef or totodile

I cannot imagine Totodile being the ace of the region. The poor thing's strongest move was, and to this day still is, Water Gun, and it was mostly used for the gag. I think Cyndaquil had more potential to be considered as ace than Bayleef and Totodile combined, but the writers did not allow that poor thing to improve all that much either, for some odd reason. It has at least been a bit justified when they decided to evolve it two series later, but still.

 

[Broseph08]

I think Ash's MVP in Johto is debatable. Cyndaquill arguably had the most best and most consistent gym performance but Charizard beat Faulkner and Claire while also being his clear MVP in the Johto League. For the OS as a whole since Kanto and Johto were considered the same series, it was Charizard but for Johto, it's more debatable with Charizard absent for 6 gym battles.

Also, I never really viewed Sceptile as Ash's Hoenn ace. It was very strong and proved its worth as one of Ash's best but I feel like Pikachu was showcased as Ash's ace for the first time ever. IMO AG was when Pikachu started to stand as Ash's strongest. Similar situation in Alola where despite Lycanrock's work, Pikachu again got the 'ace' treatment

I feel like the main 'aces' so far have been Pikachu, Charizard, Infernape, Greninja, and maybe Lucario. I say maybe Lucario because it did get a lot of focus and shown off as a powerful battler, once the M8 started, Pikachu was once again shown as Ash's 'ace' and it looks like Pikachu will likely have the defining moment versus Leon so a tougher call compared to the others I listed who always got to have the climactic battle in their respective arcs

 

[-PokemonBattleFanatic-]

His Johto pokemon were too weak to be considered Ash's main ace or MVP.He didn't have one in Hoenn or Unova either but Swellow,Grovyle,Glalie,Pikachu and Krookodile were clearly better options than what Ash had to work with in Johto excluding the reserves.

 

[Imtnt]

Also, I never really viewed Sceptile as Ash's Hoenn ace. It was very strong and proved its worth as one of Ash's best but I feel like Pikachu was showcased as Ash's ace for the first time ever.

It is true they didn't treat him as Ash's ace and it was only in the league we could say he was the ace.

IMO AG was when Pikachu started to stand as Ash's strongest. Similar situation in Alola where despite Lycanrock's work, Pikachu again got the 'ace' treatment

Same as Sceptile, I think Lycanrock ended the tournament as the ace, but in Alola we could even see Incineroar ending up as such, and Pikachu was the one to shine in the after match.. So no one will remember him as dominant as other aces.

I say maybe Lucario because it did get a lot of focus and shown off as a powerful battler, once the M8 started, Pikachu was once again shown as Ash's 'ace' and it looks like Pikachu will likely have the defining moment versus Leon so a tougher call compared to the others I listed who always got to have the climactic battle in their respective arcs

Agreed, plus Pikachu was clearly the MVP of round 1, and Sirfetch'd was the debatable MVP of round 2 (from what they were saying in the last clip-show-episode "Great Blaze thinks he is the Semis MVP" as they translated).
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Spoiler: Jn's

I think Sirfetchd got to the point he is ranked 3 in Ash's 6, and prob only Gengar's and Lucario's battles in the final would decide whats realy the case here.

BUT in my opinion there are 2 ways to look at it, and I think it is better to claim aces without the need for them to outshine Pikachu.

So in that way Sceptile and Lycanrock and Lucario will be seasonal aces but Pikachu will be remembered to be the absolute ace along the way - even though sometimes there is a ace with more or less importance and then we could compare the aces for what they did overall and Pikachu would win for being always there and win matches.

 

[Daren]

Personally I prefer to consider Pikachu something separate from the whole "ace" phenomenon for a couple reasons. One is that even though he gets some very good wins at times he's also prone to slapstick mishaps and defeats to make the plot work or build tension--getting quickly and easily defeated to show someone is a threat, and being endangered by Team Rocket or a villain of the day. To some extent I think "ace" isn't just power but also where they want the "ace Pokémon" to be viewed as cool and strong.

The other is that he has so much more screentime than any of Ash's other Pokémon that it's sort of natural his record would ultimately have some of the best wins, especially as the series sometimes switched between how good a trainer Ash is meant to be so that Pikachu would be there for both the high and low points.

 

[DarkPro64]

According to me Ash's all aces are like this:-
Main: Pikachu
Kanto: Charizard
Johto: Heracross
Hoenn: Sceptile
Sinnoh: Infernape
Unova: Krookodile
Kalos: Greninja
Alola: Lycanroc
Galar: Lucario

 

[-PokemonBattleFanatic-]

Grovyle/Swellow were both Ash's Ace for most of Hoenn, when the Hoenn League came around Glalie made a big impact.
Ash's Ace for Unova is debatable, outside of Pikachu none of his other pokemon stood out up until Krokorok evolved into Krookodile. Both Krookodile and Pikachu had good performances at the Unova League.