Pokémon: 10 Strongest Trainers Ash Battled In Hoenn, Ranked

From Gym Leaders to strangers, friends, and rivals, Ash faced some truly tough trainers in the Hoenn region.

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Gen III was something of a fresh start for Ash. Not only did he decide to leave all of his Pokémon at home apart from Pikachu, but it would be his first time traveling without Misty. Having to start from scratch, learning about a new region and all of its exclusive species of Pokémon, while meeting new people, show that Ash is always willing to take on a new challenge.

The Hoenn region boasts a lot of strong trainers and Ash was fortunate to meet several of them in battle, being able to compete at a high level and learn from any defeats or setbacks. From Gym Leaders to strangers, friends and rivals, Ash faced some truly tough trainers.

10 Clark Had Strong Pokémon But Was Undone By A Unique Strategy

At the Ever Grande Conference, there were several double battles to filter through trainers before the main battles took place, the last of which was Ash versus ‘The Conductor,’ Clark. He chose Charizard and Quilava to go up against Ash and his Glalie and Grovyle, seemingly having the type advantage.

Despite what logic would suggest, the type advantage wasn’t exploited, as Grovyle took out Quilava before being taken out by a Steel Wing from Charizard, which as not a Fire-type move. Against the odds, Ash’s Glalie was able to overcome Clark’s Charizard by creating ice pillars, bouncing around off them, and surprising Charizard with a powerful Headbutt. If not for the pillars, Ash probably would’ve been eliminated.

9 May Worked Hard To Get To A Stage Where She Could Be A Credible Threat To Ash

While Ash’s battle with May towards the end of the Battle Frontier arc was technically not in Hoenn, it was in a contest in Terracotta Town, just before Max and May were going to head back to Hoenn. The contest played a huge part in the Hoenn experience so their battle here is deserving of its place among Ash’s other tough battles in Hoenn.

Ash’s Sceptile and May’s Blaziken fought fiercely to a draw, earning them a joint victory at the Terracotta Pokémon contest, with them splitting the ribbon to symbolize this. This was a testament to May’s hard work and growth from the inexperienced trainer that was scared of Pokémon when she first met Ash, as she became an accomplished coordinator and battler.

8 Tate & Liza Frustrated Ash To The Point That He Resorted To A Desperate Strategy

The first duo of Gym Leaders in the Pokémon series, Tate and Liza of Mossdeep Gym, gave Ash a tricky challenge using their Psychic Pokémon, Solrock and Lunatone. They repel Ash’s Pikachu and Swellow for most of the bout, using Light Screen and Sandstorm to repel Thunderbolt and Aerial Ace respectively, before launching an offensive with Ice Beam and Solar Beam, nearly getting the win.

In an unexpected move, Ash has Pikachu use Thunder on itself and Swellow, which ends up giving them Thunder Armor. This allows them to charge through Solrock’s attack and Lunatone’s defense, knocking them out and picking up the win for Ash.

7 Katie Brought The Fight To Ash With Clever Switch-Ins

In their Pokémon League bout, Ash and Katie had an intense 6-on-6 battle that went down to the wire. Katie came out of the blocks quickly, stunning Ash with constant recalls and switch-ins in order to give her type advantages and ultimately the control of the battle.

When she knocked out Pikachu, Ash called in Glalie to turn the tide, but after it was starting to get Ash back in contention, Katie had the wherewithal to have her Misdreavus use Destiny Bond, causing Glalie to faint at the same time as Misdreavus. This intense match continued until finally, it was Walrein versus Grovyle. Ash’s Grovyle got the win after forcing Walrein to freeze the water, preventing it from hiding, eventually leading to the win.

6 Morrison Started Slow But Gave Ash A Close Battle

Throughout the Hoenn adventures, Ash and Morrison became good friends mainly due to their competitive personalities, and developed a good-natured rivalry. However, when they faced each other in the last round of 16 of the Ever Grande Conference, Morrison froze and refused to fight Ash, seemingly conflicted about fighting his friend. Easily losing his Girafarig and Growlithe to Ash, Morrison is finally berated by Ash, getting him to snap out of it and give Ash a proper challenge.

When Morrison starts competing properly, his Steelix especially turns the tide of the battle and it eventually comes down to a one-on-one between Metang and Ash’s Glalie. Glalie triumphs, but Morrison’s comeback once he realized what he was doing was truly impressive.

5 Brawly’s Training Helped Him Get An Initial Win Over Ash

When Ash first challenged the Dewford Gym Leader Brawly, he was impatient and naïve, ignoring Brock’s advice and continuing to use physical attacks on Brawly’s Machop and Makuhita, who were clearly conditioned to have a strong physical defense. With just Treecko remaining, Ash continued to have it attack Brawly’s newly evolved Hariyama, and it lost decisively.

By the time the rematch came around, Ash was ready and careful to not underestimate Brawly this time. Using Corphish and Treecko on this occasion, he eventually managed to get the badge, despite losing Corphish to Hariyama’s sheer power.

4 Norman Reminded Ash That Normal Types Are Not To Be Taken Lightly

Ash meets Norman towards the beginning of his Hoenn journey, but can only have an exhibition match due to not having enough Pokémon yet. His Vigoroth defeated Ash’s Pikachu, but this only helped set up things before their inevitable rematch.

Norman, the father of May and Max, takes Ash to his limit in their 3-on-3 rematch, with Slakoth and Vigoroth taking down Pikachu and Torkoal with them, meaning that it was just Slaking versus Grovyle, and Grovyle eventually wins.

3 Winona Brought The Best Out Of Ash’s Swellow In Time For The Tough Battles To Come

As the Flying-type Gym Leader of the Hoenn region, Winona presented a serious threat for Ash when he challenged her. In stark contrast to the games, Winona’s Altaria is not her biggest threat, as it is taken out by Ash’s Grovyle early on after it lands a direct hit on a Leaf Blade.

Winona’s Pelipper defies all odds and eliminates Ash’s Pikachu, despite logic dictating that it should have been a cinch for the Electric-type against a dual Water-Flying type. Ultimately, it comes down to Swellow versus Swellow, and after a hard-fought contest, Ash emerges victorious, with his Pokémon battle-hardened and ready for the next challenge.

2 Juan’s Gym Battle Was Unique & Forced Ash To Plan Ahead

Juan’s Sootopolis Gym challenge is unique, due to the fact that it isn’t a classic battle format but instead, it is made up of two rounds, the first being a double battle and the second being three 1-on-1 battles. Ash adapts to the new rules, defeating Juan’s Seaking and Sealeo with Pikachu and Corphish, Luvdisc with Grovyle, Whiscash with Swellow, and Milotic with Pikachu.

While Ash only loses Snorunt throughout the whole ordeal, meaning that Pikachu has to do double duty in the double and final single bouts, this doesn’t mean that it was easy overall. Juan’s experience and unique battle format made for a tricky overall situation for Ash to overcome.

1 Tyson Was A Worthy Winner Of The Ever Grande Conference

Tyson knocked Ash out of the Ever Grande Conference in the Quarter-Finals. With his Metagross, Shiftry, Sceptile, Donphan, and Hariyama gradually taking care of Ash’s team before being eliminated, it ultimately came down to Meowth versus Pikachu, a bizarre match-up considering all of Pikachu’s encounters with Team Rocket’s very different Meowth.

Tyson’s Meowth had perfect counters for Pikachu’s Electric attacks, so when it came down to a close-quarters physical battle, Meowth just about edged it and knocked Pikachu and Ash out of the tournament. Tyson went on to win the entire tournament, getting the chance to battle the Elite Four.

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