10 Strong Pokémon That Started Out Weak In The Anime
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These Pokémon grew and evolved with help from trainers to become incredibly strong, but at first, they could hardly hold their own.
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In the world of Pokémon, the natural progression of events is that a trainer catches or receives a Pokémon and then trains it to become stronger, potentially even evolving it in the process. Therefore, in the anime there are several instances of Pokémon that are weak when they are introduced, but gradually improve, before eventually being a formidable battler.
In the anime, such an observation can mainly be made for Pokémon belonging to Ash and his friends, consistent rivals, Team Rocket, or generally any character that makes more than a couple of appearances. This can include their general offensive power improving or them not being defeated as easily as before.
10 James’s “Useless” Magikarp Quickly Turned The Tide On Ash, His Friends And Team Rocket
The Magikarp that Team Rocket are conned into purchasing during the Kanto adventures of the original series of the anime is a perfect example of a Pokémon that quickly went from being useless and weak to being incredibly powerful and destructive.
It evolved into a Gyarados after being discarded and mocked by James for being useless, and ultimately unleashed its rage, more specifically Dragon Rage, on Ash, his friends, and Team Rocket, destroying their raft and sending everyone flying. Evolving a Magikarp is also often seen as an arduous and frustrating task in the games, but the end result is worth it.
9 Goh’s Enthusiastic Scorbunny Transformed Into The Fiery Powerhouse, Cinderace
Scorbunny was responsible for Goh changing his priorities in Pokémon Journeys, from making Mew the first Pokémon he would catch, to catching every single Pokémon before eventually catching Mew. Scorbunny was spirited and eager to impress, but would often come up short, an example being when it lost easily to Hodge’s Mightyena at the Flute Cup.
It would eventually evolve into a powerful Cinderace however, with it being capable of inflicting serious damage with the likes of Blaze Kick and Pyro Ball. While Goh continues his journey to catching every Pokémon, Cinderace remains his main ace, to be called upon whenever he has to battle.
8 Serena’s Shy Eevee Evolved And Excelled As A Sylveon
Serena’s Eevee was a naturally shy Pokémon, with it only really trusting and being comfortable around Serena and Clemont’s Bunnelby. Eevee loved watching Serena’s Contest performances but would often be nervous watching in the crowd around so many people. Eevee eventually learned to use Protect, Swift and Double Team, but didn’t pose much of an offensive threat, ultimately leading it to evolve into Sylveon.
Sylveon’s first act in its newly evolved form was to wipe out Miette’s Slurpuff and James’s Inkay with one blast of Fairy Wind, instantly showing off its new power. Sylveon helped and was recognized for its heroic efforts in fighting Team Flare, exploits that Eevee would have shied away from.
7 Ash Had To Train Up A Newly-Hatched Riolu Before Finally Getting His Lucario
When a Riolu hatched from an egg and aligned itself with Ash in Pokémon Journeys, fans were overjoyed at the prospect of Ash finally having a Lucario after facing the Fighting-Steel type on several previous occasions. Riolu was initially weak, which is to be expected as it was newly-hatched, with it struggling against a wild Onix and then losing to a Team Rocket Grunt’s Purugly.
Riolu slowly began to improve, and it meeting and learning from Korrina’s Lucario certainly helped to expedite the process. It would finally evolve into Lucario when struggling against Chairman Rose’s Pokémon, and it has since thrived in its new and more powerful form.
6 The Weak And Abandoned Charmander Eventually Became The Almighty Charizard
Ash and friends find an injured Charmander on the brink of death near the beginning of their journey, discovering that it had been abandoned by its despicable trainer, Damian, due to it supposedly being weak. They nurse it back to health and then encourage it to leave Damian, with it joining Ash’s team.
It isn’t all smooth sailing from then on however, as it begins to disobey Ash, first when evolving into Charmeleon, and then most notably as its fully-evolved form of Charizard. Charizard’s disobedience and lazy nature costs Ash some important battles, but when he finally gains Charizard’s respect and trust, he is able to get the most out of this powerful Fire and Flying-type Pokémon.
5 Ash’s Originally-Weak Gligar Helped To Defeat Paul As An Improved Gliscor
When Ash captured his Gligar, it was mainly because it was clumsy and too weak to keep up with its friends, meaning that it often got left behind. Ash and co. quickly befriended it due to its lovable nature, but it struggled in battle until it eventually evolved into Gliscor.
Even as a Gliscor, it wasn’t especially proficient in battle, with it being easily defeated by Candice’s Snover and Paul’s Torterra, despite helping Ash defeat Byron and his Bastiodon. After another defeat to a trainer named McCann, Ash decided to leave Gliscor with him, in order to get it trained up to become stronger. A rejuvenated Gliscor re-joined Ash for his Lily of the Valley Conference battle with Paul, and it eliminated Paul’s Drapion, which had wreaked havoc among Ash’s team. This was a vital elimination, with it finally proving its worth and showing its drastic improvement compared to the Gligar that Ash had caught.
4 Iris’s Axew Eventually Became The Formidable Haxorus
In Pokémon Black & White, Axew is Iris’s equivalent of Pikachu to Ash. The two spend a lot of time together and have great compatibility, but it is quickly established that Axew is weak in terms of battling, especially when it faces off against Cilan’s Pansage and cries.
Axew would gradually grow and learn from the group, slowly but surely becoming stronger and notching some wins along the way. When Iris reappears in Pokémon Journeys and challenges Ash to a battle, it is revealed that Axew has evolved fully into a Haxorus, with it defeating Ash’s Dracovish before falling to his Dragonite.
3 The Adorable Nebby Eventually Evolved Into The Legendary Solgaleo
During Ash’s Alolan adventures, he finds and cares for a baby Pokémon that they call Nebby, though its real name is Cosmog. It has to be looked after with care and appears to be rather weak, so they all try to understand more about it.
Later, it not only evolves into a Cosmoem, but then again into a Solgaleo, the Legendary Pokémon representing the titular sun from the Sun & Moon series. This is one of the most drastic shifts from weak baby Pokémon to a strong Legendary with extraordinary powers. Naturally, Ash can’t own such a Pokémon, but they still combine to save the day.
2 Chimchar Was Outcast By Paul For Being Weak But Ultimately Defeated Him As A Powerful Infernape
In Pokémon Diamond & Pearl, Chimchar has a rough time of it under the ownership of Ash’s fierce rival, Paul. Paul witnessed Chimchar’s Blaze ability once and now treats it poorly and harshly in a bid to get Chimchar to activate its dangerous and unpredictable fiery frenzy.
Paul eventually has enough and releases Chimchar, with an appalled Ash happily adopting it as his own. Chimchar takes a while to grow into life with Ash, having been scarred for life by its strict treatment under Paul. However, under Ash’s tutorship, it experiences love, kindness and even activates its Blaze ability. Fast-forward to the end of the series and Ash’s fully evolved Fire and Fighting-type Infernape defeats Paul’s Electivire to knock him out of the Lily of the Valley Conference.
1 Ash’s Pikachu Has Come A Long Way Since The Embarrassingly Quick Loss To Brock’s Onix
At the start of the Pokémon anime, Ash is forced to partner up with a Pikachu due to him oversleeping and missing out on the other species that were available. Pikachu takes a while to warm up to Ash and really trust him, with the whole situation highlighting how inexperienced Ash is.
Disregarding their journey to Pewter City, Pikachu’s first battle sees it get demolished and humiliated by Brock’s Onix. While it was a totally understandable loss due to both the Pokémon and trainer’s inexperience going up against a Gym Leader, it is incredible to think about considering how strong Ash’s Pikachu is now, and what it has since been through.
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