5 Pokemon anime moments that showed Ash's brilliance

The original run of the Pokemon anime is long over, but this has not stopped the franchise from being one of the most beloved series in history. Despite only being 10 years of age, the show's main protagonist, Ash Ketchum, has shown a steel will and a head for strategy on many occasions during his journey.

Though Ash may never be seen in the Pokemon anime again, it can still be nostalgic to look back on the history of the series. Here are five moments where Ash showed technical knowledge and strategy in his many battles throughout the show's run time.

Note: This list is subjective and solely reflects the opinions of the writer

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5 of Ash Ketchum's smartest moments from the Pokemon anime

1) Enter the Dragonite

Drake's Dragonite is one of the most notorious creatures from the anime (Image via The Pokemon Company)

During his tour of the Orange Islands in the Pokemon anime, Ash encountered Drake, one of the many Gym Leaders of the area. Drake's main creature of concern was his Dragonite, which uses a total of nine moves during its battle with Ash. Even worse, Drake used Dragonite last, meaning Ash's team would be tired from the hard-fought battle before facing it.

Nevertheless, the dramatic 1v1 between Drake's Dragonite and Ash's Pikachu ended up in the young protagonist's favor. This was thanks to Pikachu’s decision to dodge an attack from Dragonite by springing itself into the air with its tail before landing on its opponent's face. Ash then commanded Pikachu to use Thunder, winning them the battle.

2) Counter Shields

Counter Shields were a strategy invented by Ash during his journey in the Sinnoh region, and it has returned several times in heated battles (Image via The Pokemon Company)

A strategy developed during Ash's Gym Battle against Fantina in the Sinnoh region, Counter Shields work as a way to protect the protagonist's team from projectiles and head-on rush attacks by using offensive moves in a defensive manner. This strategy has also been used by many of Ash's friends in later seasons of the anime.

The strategy made a triumphant return in the later seasons of the Journeys series. Ash used the technique against Cynthia and Leon, making for a charming callback to the earlier seasons for older fans.

While Pikachu is the primary user of this technique, Ash's Infernape and Buizel have also used Counter Shields before.

3) Ash's battle against Brock

Ash's battle against Brock had to include some generous assistance due to his entire team being weak against Rock-types (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Ash's first-ever Gym Battle against Brock seemed like a bit of a struggle for him, considering his team at the time only included two Pocket Monsters that were weak to Rock-type attacks, and Pikachu, who cannot hit his opponent's team with its Electric-type attacks.

Ash had to get creative to overcome his first Gym Leader. Thanks to the smoke from a missed attack by Pikachu, the fire alarm in the gym went off, resulting in the sprinkler systems activating.

Since Brock's Onix is a Rock- and Ground-type critter, it is incredibly weak to water. This made it take massive damage from Pikachu's new Thunderbolt attack. While Ash tried to forfeit the battle afterwards, feeling like he cheated, Brock gave him the badge regardless.

4) Pikachu vs. Blaine's Rhydon

Once again, Pikachu sees a bit of special attention, being able to take down a Rhydon with Thunderbolt (Image via The Pokemon Company)

In the anime, Ash and Pikachu once found themselves against Blaine's Rhydon, another Ground- and Rock-type critter that is normally immune to Electric-type attacks. After Squirtle was knocked out in a single blow by Blaine's Ninetales, and Charizard flew away out of defiance, Pikachu was the only remaining member of Ash's party.

While Ash would go on to lose the match against Blaine the first time, for some reason, he thought to use Rhydon's horn as a lightning rod, targeting the specific appendage with a Thunderbolt attack. Somehow, this worked, and Pikachu defeated Rhydon.

5) Ash vs. Jeanette

During the Kanto League, Ash was faced against a very brutal Bellsprout who he had to subdue with strategic choices (Image via The Pokemon Company)

For the fourth round of the Kanto League, Ash was paired against a trainer named Jeanette on the Grass Field. While her Beedrill and Scyther were taken down by Ash's Bulbasaur with ease, it turned out that her final Pokemon, Bellsprout, was her ace all along. This creature singlehandedly took down Bulbasaur and Pikachu.

Thankfully, remembering that Poison-type Pokemon have the advantage against Grass-type critters, Ash sent out his Muk. Funnily enough, the type advantage mattered very little, as Muk's sheer size compared to Bellsprout allowed it to easily shrug off its opponent's attacks. The Pocket Monster later smothered Bellsprout with its body weight using a Body Slam attack, knocking it out in one blow.

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Edited by Rachel Syiemlieh