Ash's Evolution Problem

[@PLATEZERO_]

Ass Ketchup

[@f.dud4]

1:52 I don't think that "Ash chooses" to not evolve his Pokémon. It's more of "Ash's Pokémon chooses" not to evolve (into an account). Take Ash's Pikachu, Ash has has held the Thunderstone from Vermilion City throughout his Sinnoh journey (about 526 episodes) in case Pikachu ever changed his mind (which he didn't, in the end). Another is Ash's Bulbasaur, it could have evolved into an Ivysaur but didn't want to. I believe that it was this episode where Ash starts to understands his Pokémon's feeling about evolution, making it more as a option than force. To Ash's mind, if his Pokémon evolve then they evolve but if they don't want to evolve, then they don't need to evolve unless they want to.

[@PLATEZERO_]

I agree! I was pointing out what I've seen other people say when trying to discredit ash when saying that line

[@FinkipGirl]

He needs to see a doctor about that. 🤔

[@okeanos317]

it's funny cause elite 4 drake in the emerald version of pokemon says that the elite 4 are a superior challenge to the battle frontier,and would make more sense in the anime cause the only time ash beat an elite 4 member was when he finally defeated drasna when going on to become the world champion,I mean professor kukui could have also been considered since his he had tapu koko on his team or even the pyramid king brandon cause of regice

[@darkdragon7210]

The Battle Frontier was in Kanto Not Hoenn! In the anime.

[@YaGurlSunshine]

I think Ash's Totodile should have fully evolved to a Feraligatr, primarily because I think it should have the exact same personality and still act like a complete goober and dance even while being 200 pounds of pure muscle. I just think they missed the comedic potential of Ash finally realising he has to train this thing to not bite his head anymore.

[@jetguy128]

the problem was that johto team was just supplement to Kanto team. Ash relied more on Kanto mons for really tough battles

[@darkdragon7210]

@@jetguy128 At least they learned their lesson.

[@Galaxykuma]

Honestly the thought of Dawn looking at piplups evolutions and saying "God that's ugly as hell. You ain't turning into that."can't win contests with ugly looking Pokémon.

[@regiman222]

True, it actually makes more sense for her than for Ash, as contests are at least half aestetic, even if the 2nd round is battle, you still have to look good doing it.

[@dapinkone]

Mamoswine: 😦

[@Galaxykuma]

@@dapinkone Mamoswine is s handsome lad

[@mabmab1067]

Mamoswine is awesome tho plus a much needed team power up for her + her togekiss

[@Galaxykuma]

@@mabmab1067 yep

[@galacticglitchTV]

I just realized that it could also be that giving more spotlight to unevolved mons is prolly for marketing and helping sell stuff like cute plushies (bayleef goated btw)

[@PlaystationFreak719]

I think the Ash Switch up is just as crazy as the Dragon Ball Daima Switch up

[@saucymongoose7246]

Fax

[@santiinx737]

I’m ngl that kid idea is still trash but knowing Akira had full hands on and put passion into Daima is what made me rethink.

[@kerrygligorovic9758]

I still wished all three of Ash's Unova Starter Pokemon have evolved during Pokemon Black and White Series in the first place because all his rival have their Unova Starter Pokemon fully evolved like Trip's Serperior, Bianca's Emboar and Cameron's Samurott. I still think Ash should have two fully evolved and one middle evolve Unova Starter Pokemon on his team so there could be at least there's some balance of developement for his Unova Starter Pokemon.

[@PoisoNob]

Snivy shouldve 100% evolved

[@vitalmortier6071]

For me this is the reason why I really can’t rewatch the older seasons just bcus there is a 10 year old using Venusaur and Squirtle during the biggest tournaments

[@artemisolympian6318]

Bulbasaur is an exception tho, bud is filled with black airforce energy.

[@PokeMadness1996]

There is a switch up? The switch up is now people hate him for winning too much cuz they think it’s “plot armor” and “he didn’t earn it”

[@casper_z1259]

Let's be real. It's because the baby forms are more plu$hable.

[@saucymongoose7246]

This is sort of related, but another complaint about Ash that I hate is that he "releases all of his good Pokémon". Despite some of those Pokemon, Ash didn't even catch or bond with, and others Ash only battled with a small handful of times. People forget that Ash prioritizes his own Pokemon's happiness over his own. Lapras, Goodra, Butterfree, Naganadel, and Larvitar all wanted to be with their families, Pidgeot (who Ash later recaptured), Greninja and Haunter, all had responsibilities that Ash bestowed on them. Squirtle (who Ash lets Vermillion City Officer Jenny borrowers), Primeape, Aipom/Ambipom, had careers that they wanted to follow. And the Ultra Beast Ash caught were because Ash needed to return them to their home dimension.

[@skygoomysteatime3967]

Right? People say Ash is a bad trainer while they themselves are so selfish. That they would never concider what their pokemon would want. Thats also why i like these contest things. Not all pokemon want to battle. Some just exist and they are lowkey forced to battle. People are dumb af sometimes.

[@dragondudeification]

The only Pokémon I would argue proven to be good were Primape, Greninja, Naganadel and Goodra. Even then, there was more reason for most of them to stay behind then with Ash or at oak’s Greninja literally need to stay behind to assist a Pokémon that is suppose to balance out life and death to protect and clean up a region otherwise the entire world might’ve been in jeopardy. Naganadel was from a different dimension and needed to protect its family. Although I personally wanted Goodra to stay on the Kalos team, it probably wanted to stay with its friends. Primape was a bit iffy, I wish Ash came back for it but even then it’s not like he didn’t get other strong fighting types. He has way more strong Pokémon still at oak than ones he released.

[@darkdragon7210]

He could've just caught the Pink Butterfree you know! What sign was there that Goodra wanted to be Released? Haunter & Larvitar weren't caught, which is an entirely different can of worms. Lapras WISH he Never released it. Pidegot it can still be in Charge of its Flock & still be brought back for Important Battles! Primape could still be brought back for Important Battles! Oh and it wasn't Released its in Training! Ambipom was PURE character Assination! Should've stayed with Dawn for Contests! Squirtle see Primape & Pidgeot! Greninja just a Shitty way of saying, your Not going to Alola! Even though they put Ash-Greninja in those games!

[@skygoomysteatime3967]

@@darkdragon7210 Not true. First of all, the pink Butterfree is more likely to be from another trainer aswell. Not only that but the whole point was about Butterfree mating and starting a familie together in the wild. Goodra literally escaped a WAR as a Goomy, has PTSD and fixed the conflict. He has been thinking of home a lot and became its guardian. He still battles with Ash like during the Kalos league. Greninja can sense the catastrofic effects which he seemed to be destened to fight it and fix. Also note that there has been a Greninja like him before becomming a Kalos legend. Meaning every X period of time a Greninja would become a hero.

[@dragondudeification]

@@darkdragon7210 He could’ve caught it but that Butterfree probably would’ve rather died be wild and be able to have plenty of offspring. Offspring that would’ve probably would be better off in the wild. For Goodra, it was literally it’s homeland where all of its friends were. And for Greninja regardless, it needed to stay back in Kalos. And really, Ash didn’t need it to go to Alola to begin with. He didn’t need it for the league and it would’ve just outshined most of the team. It already had its moment in Kalos.

[@kerrygligorovic9758]

I still wished that Ash's Gible get a chanced to evolved into Gabite and to Garchomp back in Power Diamond and Pearl Series before Ash compete in the Sinnoh League. But Ash's Gible is his very Dragon type Pokemon that he caught and never gotten a chanced to evolved just like the rest of his other Dragon type Pokemon which really sucks.

[@bluestarsaberstarwarsfan3838]

I think it didn't evolve, because of its running gags of biting Ash and co along with it hitting piplup with draco meteor

[@BrettKolb-o9n]

I feel like if you wanted Ash to have a Garchomp, that would be valid, however unless you want it to happen in Journeys, Gible would have to join WAY ealier, like I would have Ash encounter it after the second gym badge, like where it could be found in game, and have Gible slowly master Draco Meteor throughout the series,like maybe after practice it hones in on the opponent and not Piplup but still be the sad burst, than maybe master 2 and evolve around the 6-7th gym area (around when it would stop biting peoples heads). Than master a weaker burst shot of like 4-5 meteors (You would basically have to have it replace Gliscor though, considering time, and we have a ground type already) eventually after the 8th gym (probably due to team rocket schenagins), it masters Draco Meteor, and probably just rip off Gliscor’s evolution since we already replaced it with an early Gible, by having Ash fall off a cliff, and have Gabite glow the evolutionary blue and jump after him, and have a few seconds later, after worried voices, a shot of Ash riding Garchomp straight up and launching Team Rocket basting off again. Actually now that I am typing this, it would be sick, sorry Gliscor but I kind of want this to happen now

[@Jadinite-2006]

I think it would be cool if Ash's Bulbasaur would've evolve as an Ivysaur (perhaps before the Kanto/Indigo League) and stays as and Ivysaur for some sometime, like evolving again into a Venusaur during one of the Battle Frontier Trainers. Also Squritle could've evolve as a Wartortle late in the Orange Island Arc and evolve along side Venusaur in the Battle Frontier. And the episodes between after Bulbasaur evolving and before Squrtle's evolution would be a fun reference to Smash Bros.

[@cameronarellano3858]

But bulbasaur doesn't want to Evolve and squirtle The squirtle squad

[@Jadinite-2006]

@@cameronarellano3858 What about the leak art that shows Ash having a Venusaur in his "final" Kanto Team, heck the narrator even said at the end of the Secret Garden episode that it hints Bulbasaur evolving at some point before the story got changed.

[@jetguy128]

I think that neither of them wanted to evolve after what it did to their friend Charmander

[@PokeMadness1996]

1:18 not to mention the leagues have over like 100-300 contestants and he consistently got in the top ten? And people want us to believe he sucks? That’s still impressive af especially for his age That’s like if a ten year old almost won the nba championships like 8 times Not to mention ash’s heroism and 100 other accomplishments

[@kerrygligorovic9758]

I still wished all of Ash's three Johto Starter Pokemon have evolved all the way into their final evolved form during the Johto arc and before Ash compete in the Silver Conferencet because if they have in the first place then Ash could have three fully evolved powerhouse Pokemon on his team while make a very first Pokemon anime history for a main character to have three fully evolved starter Pokemon just of one or two.

[@travisgames6608]

Orange Islands wasn't really a League. Aside from that, I don't think many people caught the MegaEvo Special. Alain was clapping MegaEvos and Legendaries.

[@matthewroberts198]

Plus (not discrediting Alain at all, he's still a strong trainer) Alain had an enhanced Mega Ring from Lysandre.

[@brunokingfire8662]

If I was ash, id keep my pokemon in the pc and jump the legendaries with an army of raging monsters.

[@kerrygligorovic9758]

To be honest when I first watch Pokemon Sun and Moon series with Ash caught both Rowlet and Litten I though they're going to evolved later in the series just liked Torterra and Infernape from Pokemon Diamond and Pearl series but sadly that never happen with just Torracat evolve to Incineroar. Also I originally thought that Ash's Rowlet will evolved during Pokemon Sun and Moon Series just Ash's past first Pokemon he caught during his journey to other region just like his Butterfree, Swellow, Staraptor, Unfezant and Greninja, plus when I saw the third Pokemon Sun and Moon Series poster featuring Dartrix I assume that Ash's Rowlet was going to evolved next. But unfortunely that never happened thanks to the Japanese writers of the Series because they have no intention to plan of having Ash's Rowlet to evolve in the first place for the purpose of Rowlet's cuteness popularity and for comedy. Which is why the made a episode "No stone unturned" to keep Rowlet from evolving with the Everstone which is so unfair, I mean I know Rowlet is cute but I still prefer Decidueye because it's both a Grass/ Ghost type, it can still fly and it can have some powerful moves like Leaf Blade, Leaf Storm, Spirit Shackle and Frenzy Plant. To be honest about two episode featuring Ash's Rowlet battling Hau's Decidueye in the Alola League Quarter final I still believe that Ash shouldn't have won his battle against Hau because Hau's Decidueye is well too powerful and it's a higher level while his Rowlet is a comedy and has a habit of sleeping in the battle. The only reason Ash won because the Japanese writer made that happen and wanted to prove that unevolved Pokemon can still defeat their evolved form which to me is disappointed, annoying and waste of two episodes.

[@Derbbi]

Gosh I hate this argument so much like you said, the fact that he wins like that it's more empresive then not honestly

[@27kakashi89]

Great vid I’ve always hated when people say that he sucks cause he doesn’t evolve his mons

[@anothergamer112]

Pretty sure they did this not just because they needed to keep a few curent gen Pokemon small and cute for marketing, I'm also sure some Pokemon would've been a bitch/too expensive to animate within the weekly time crunch of the series.

[@PokeMadness1996]

1:57 the entire point is that Pokémon have their own agency and their own right to consent so ash leaves the choice of evolution in their hands Ash isn’t against his Pokemon evolving it’s just not upto him

[@twidashfan]

Pikachu doesn't wanna evolve. But I never understood why he never evolved his other starters like Bulbasaur,Squirtle,rowlett,oshawott,tepig,snivy,bayleef,etc.

[@PokeMadness1996]

Because they don’t want to evolve did u not pay attention

[@afro025]

It's actually crazy finally watching a yt video about the anime where the youtuber doesn't lack media literacy, and actually likes Ash 😭 thank you so much for making this video, I'm glad there's one person out there who understands what the anime was going for with Ash's unevolved Pokémon, instead of joining the bandwagon and bashing him because "it doesn't follow the games." I can't wait to watch your next videos on the Pokémon anime! 👍

[@dragondudeification]

Glad you made this video and I agree for the most part. Ash, has little to no control over his Pokémon evolving. Most if not all of his non-fully evolved Pokémon at one point beat a powerful opponent that shows that they are at a “level” to where they can evolve if they wanted to. At that point, what else is Ash suppose to do? He’s not forcing feeding them an everstone

[@neuroairman]

This whole video is a cop out. A trainer's job is to bring out the best in his Pokémon. If your Pokémon are scared to evolve, it's a trainer's job alleviate those fears.

[@PLATEZERO_]

If a Pokemon doesn't want to evolve then they don't want to evolve, Ash has shown that he can bring out the best in those base forms so in your own words he's doing the trainer's job and even exceeding it in plenty of cases.

[@PokeMadness1996]

A Pokémon doesn’t need to evolve to bring out the best in it It’s not about fear it’s about wanting to prove themselves

[@PokeMadness1996]

@@PLATEZERO_this

[@cheshirecat882]

I remember specifically in gen 1 there was Lt Surge, who's ace pokemon in the games was a raichu, so there had to be a pikachu vs raichu stand off. Rather then saying Ash's pickachu was just trained better, used the power of friendship, or some other hogwash. They started with the idea of Surge evolving his pokemon as fast as possible, which in raichu's case meant speed was traded or raw power. Ash then used this fact to beat Surge's raichu, so in anime there are some very real trade offs to evolving or not evolving pokemon.

[@jacelockwood7005]

His gible should have evolved in an early episode of Journeys. It would have given Ash motivation to train his gabite for world championship tournament and that would have been awesome 💙

[@jdgjordan]

Ash progression is actually really smooth(Minus one hick up coughBWcough)

[@RedBoy747]

I don't mind if ash's pokemon don't evolve but keeping them in certain evolutionary stages like their first form for prolong periods feels a little insane.

[@BoyFromBelgium99]

*My Ideal Ash pokémon:* Kanto + Orange Islands: On hand: Pikachu, Charizard, Bulbasaur, Wartortle, Primeape & Rhydon - Pikachu (Ash's Pikachu's backstory is given in Goodbye Pikachu & it's on-screen confirmed that Oak caught it in a Poké Ball) - Butterfree (sent to Professor Oak after 4th Gym where it defeats Erika to raise it's family there and train, comes back in Leagues) - Pidgeot (sent to Professor Oak after the 6th Gym to train with Butterfree and comes back in Leagues) - Bulbasaur (no changes except for Whirlwind not being used but Razor Leaf instead) - Charizard (no changes except for not falling asleep against Sparky and giving Ash the win proudly but losing in the Top 8) - Wartortle (first change, it's never implied why it didn't evolve, not entirely neccessairy but would give it even more wins) - Kingler (no change except for being used more in Johto next to Wartortle) - Haunter (not given to Sabrina but battles valiantly although giggling against Sabrina and gives Ash the win, later used in Journeys) - Primeape (Team Rocket doesn't kick Mankey but instead keeps battling with Ash until it's caught, evolves later while training) - Muk (no changes, it's also used more throughout Johto for training & more in later leagues) - 29x Tauros (1 Tauros isn't caught but it's Safari Ball is instead used against a Rhyhorn, is also used in Indigo League) - Snorlax (no change required except for being used more in later leagues) - Lapras (caught on-screen and not a member of a Lapras family, it's caught and used for the Orange Islands & sent to Oak's. - Eevee is caught on the Orange Islands & is brought to Johto as a reference to Espeon/Umbreon & Gary's Eevee. Johto: On hand: Pikachu, Espeon, Meganium, Quilava, Shiny Noctowl & Pupitar - Pikachu - Espeon (Eevee evolves into Espeon in the 4th Gym against Morty to give Ash an early win but loses to Gengar) - Heracross (no changes except for being brought back more often to get some wins against Whitney & Jasmine) - Meganium (Bayleef evolves after taking down Chuck for Ash's 5th badge. She gives some nice needed love to this line) - Quilava (evolves earlier within Johto after Jasmine for Ash's 6th badge and is a little brother of Charizard) - Shiny Noctowl (gets more screentime and also helps against Whitney, Jasmine & Clair, it's stronger now) - Phanpy (is still bred but is afterwards sent to Oak's to help out Bulbasaur and Butterfree. Big brother of Larvitar) - Pupitar (Larvitar is sad to see Ash returning it to it's mom & it decides to stay witb Ash, evolving in the Johto League) Hoenn + Kanto Battle Frontier: On hand: Pikachu, Sceptile, Swellow, Crawdaunt, Torkoal & Aggron - Pikachu - Sceptile (same like in the original but Sceptile evolves earlier in the Hoenn League, after winning against Katie) - Swellow (same like in the original, solid) - Crawdaunt (evolves around the 7th badge and is stronger in the league and is more helpful in later leagues) - Torkoal (not a crybaby but a defensive pokémon that is quiet & defends it's friends, wins Ash a Hoenn League match) - Aggron (caught right next to Corphish and is close friends with it, not shy of water and helps train Phanpy & Pupitar) - Snorunt (female is caught but not evolved and it's place is used for Aggron but is given more love in Sinnoh) - Aipom (male is caught and is a fierce one, constantly wanting to fight a battle, and loves stealing items of interesting foes) - Phanpy like in the original also evolves into Donphan in Kanto. Sinnoh: On hand: Pikachu, Staraptor, Froslass, Infernape, Floatzel & Gabite - Pikachu - Ambipom (Aipom evolves througout the series but is sent to Oak's as he wants more variety and it can help Oak) - Staraptor (no changes but is given more screentime and a win against one of Paul's pokémon at Lake Aquity for revenge) - Torterra isn't caught but instead Brock catches it, like Hoenn where all main 3 heroes catch the starters & evolving them - Froslass (evolves after mastering Ice Beam, defeats Gardenia with it and is shortly sent to Oak's to train with Haunter) - Infernape (no changes needed really, maybe that Blaze is being trained more) - Floatzel (evolves during the 3rd Gym and hands Ash the win instead of a draw and helps Ash with Paul's Drapion & Ninjask) - Gliscor (Gligar isn't a crybaby but is instead a master of hide & seek, which when evolved later is great in the 6th Gym & League) - Gabite (Gible evolves after mastering Draco Meteor and defeating Conway, it's later on used in Unova & Journeys) - Rhydon is brought back and evolves into Rhyperior after the win against Candice. It's sent back to Oak with Gliscor. Unova: On hand: Pikachu, Unfezant (Male), Samurott, Leavanny, Darmanitan & Krookodile - Pikachu (no reboot so it doesn't lose to Snivy, also defeats Cameron's Lucario) - Unfezant (male unlike the real one being female, giving it more fierce nature & wins, also more helpful and isn't benched) - Samurott (although Oshawott is cute, it lacked strength and wins, I would give Oshawott way more moments to shine) - Leavanny (no Snivy, Tepig, Roggenrola & Scraggy means it helps Ash more with Unfezant & Samurott) - Darmanitan (Tepig wasn't neccessairy in my opinion and this pokémon would given Ash maybe more power & wins) - Krookodile (no changes really needed except for being caught earlier, before 5th badge instead of 6th. - After the league Gabite & Krookodile train and Gabite evolves into Garchomp. Kalos: On hand: Pikachu, Greninja, Talonflame, Hawlucha, Tyranitar & Goodra - Pikachu - Greninja (no changes needed except for Ash-Greninja defeating Alain's Charizard, handing Ash's first League win) - Talonflame (sent back to Oak's for a short time, trains with Unfezant and uses this against Alain's Unfezant to win) - Hawlucha (no changes needed except for being Goodra's older brother and defeating Sawyer's Slaking) - Goodra (it's evolved way slower like in the games and also gets more wins in the league, against Slurpuff & Bisharp) - Noibat isn't caught as his screentime is used for Goodra and the searching for mega stones) - Pupitar is sent to Ash for coverage and evolves into Tyranitar after the 5th Badge, helping out Goodra & Pikachu. - After the 5th badge all previous pokémon come back. They're trained, given screentime & used to gather mega stones. - Haunter evolves into Haunter while training. - During this gathering of stones a Riolu Egg is found, with the help of Korrina bred & trained a bit. - Pidgeot, Charizard, Gengar, Heracross, Tyranitar, Sceptile, Aggron, Garchomp & Greninja are capable of mega evolution. - With seeing Alain's Mega Charizard X, Charizard begins to dislike it and Ash decides to not mega evolve it. Alola: On hand: Pikachu, Rowlet, Lycanroc-Dusk, Incineroar, Melmetal & Naganadel - Pikachu (after 10 million Thunderbolt is used against Team Rocket it stays instead of disappearing) - Rowlet (no change except for the win against Decidueye being won more fairly with mastering Feather Dance faster) - Lycanroc-Dusk (no changes except for defeating Kukui's Braviary too) - Incineroar (no changes except for not fainting after evolving in the league, burning Tapu Koko too) - Melmetal (no changes except defeating Gladion's Silvally, showing it's strength more) - Naganadel (isn't released as a Poipole and is kept & evolves during Ash's Grand Trial with Hapu) - Ash's Alola pokémon are rotated with his other pokémon in Alola and Kanto so he can ask both Kukui & Oak for assistance - Naganadel isn't sent back and stays with Ash with Ash being the first ever trainer to use Ultra Beasts competitively. - Nebby is also caught on-screen, giving Ash his first official legendary and can call it with a Sun Flute. Journeys: On hand: Pikachu (other pokémon are being rotated) - Pikachu - Lucario (Riolu is brought back & evolves into Lucario like in the original one, isn't jealous of Pikachu & obtains mega as well) - Ash-Greninja and all other megas are brought back and are shown in a World Coronation Series match. - All older pokémon are brought back and are also used for matches. - Charizard, Butterfree, Kingler, Snorlax, Lapras & Melmetal also obtain Gigantamax. Masters 8 Tournament Teams: Steven Stone: Pikachu (Z-move) Gengar & Garchomp Cynthia: Pikachu, Staraptor, Froslass, Floatzel, Garchomp (mega for the first time alongside Cynthia) & Infernape Leon: Pikachu (Z-Move), Ash-Greninja (Mega), Charizard (Gigantamax), Tyranitar, Sceptile & Garchomp The ending will show Ash riding on Solgaleo & Pikachu to new horizons, eventually being seen by Roy & Liko in the sky. There will be some episodes focussing on Ash revisiting old companions and helping them out.

[@Tyler-q3k]

The main issue is how they make us care about his team, only for Ash to keep switching them out every region, the excuse of being an " underdog " or " not the best trainer " doesn't make it ok to be THAT PATHETIC.

[@PokeMadness1996]

Everytime you play a new pokemon game you do the samething That’s clearly what they’re emulating So it’s not pathetic it’s called symbiosis 😂😂 Touch grass

[@mmayes237]

1:35 Yeah, we don't talk about unova 😂. I honestly think bayleef didn't evolve because she doesn't want Ash to yell at her again.

[@Nightwalker065]

Nah if she evolved she wouldn't be small enough to cuddle with him. She just wanted to stay small and cute.

[@AC34D]

To be fair Bulbasaur had type advantage against Brandon’s Dusclops

[@JoeMavro1]

Pikachu--not Raichu--will always be the face of Pokemon...and Ash's Pikachu is *the* Pikachu. What more needs to be said?

[@shellder_gaming]

Ash’s Quilava should NEVER evolve

[@TheManManoel]

I remember praying for Ash not to evolve his Oshawott when i first watched the BW anime because he's my favorite pokemon ever ;-;

[@sodium285]

Great video!! It's not Ash's fault. Pokémon like Pikachu and Bulbasaur CHOSE not to evolve. Admittedly, I would've still liked to have seen Ash have a Raichu, but how about the Sinnoh Summer Academy, where he was loaned a Raichu? Who's to say he can't have BOTH a Pikachu AND a Raichu at the same time? Also, I wouldn't want to have seen his Bayleef or Corphish evolve because I LOVE Bayleef's lovable personality and Corphish's attitude. I do think more of his Water Types could've evolved though (That was my complaint more than anything else. It was ALWAYS his Water Types that NEVER evolved once). I would've personally picked Oshawott into Dewott and Totadile into Croconaw. Buizel, I think I'll leave as it is, though. The reason I'd have his Bulbasaur evolve into Venusaur would be that it saw that May's Bulbasaur had evolved into Venusaur, and would've wanted to evolve to catch up with it since they (Ash's and May's Bulbasaurs) had fallen in love with each other.

[@hiddenfan-37]

I'd say for Water mons, I do love Squirtle the way he is. For the others (barring Kingler, Dracovish), yeah they needed more work. Totodile should have been a Feraligatr, due to having zero gym wins, lack of development, a below average 45% win ratio, and an overemphasis on his happy dancing (which I'll admit is funny from time to time), which proved to viewers that Totodile wasn't handled correctly, no longer fits Ash, and is not a legit powerhouse. While Corphish was reliable in Hoenn and Battle Frontier, he didn't change his moveset until AFTER Battle Frontier, which caused him to lose to Misty's Politoed. Buizel- While he was reliable in Maylene, Crasher Wake and Fantina's Gym, Buizel suffered from a lack of focus after failing to beat one of Byron's Pokemon (you can thank Infernape for making Buizel look bad). I know he learned Ice Punch and people say that "Buizel is a strong cute unevolved Pokemon who does not need to evolve". I think that while having learned only one move and calling it a day allowed Buizel to defeat a couple enemies such as Paul's Gastrodon, it was also proof that he couldn't beat Kenny's Empoleon and Paul's Drapion because it wasn't trained enough and I feel like Buizel no longer suits Ash. Oshawott- He's the main reason why Water starters have to fully evolve, given that Oshawott contributed to Ash's loss against Cameron along with being a lazy reskin of Dawn's Piplup (I know Oshawott and Piplup's dynamics are funny, but you can tell just how lazy the writers handled Ash's Oshawott). Oshawott is no longer a fitting Pokemon for Ash. Palpitoad- Low screentime and lack of focus, should have been a Seismitoad.

[@sodium285]

@@hiddenfan-37 Tbh, I don't judge a Pokémon based on their "winrate" but rather on their determination matching their trainer's and their personality. I just think it would've been cool to see Totadile evolve to set itself apart from Squirtle. Same with Oshawott to set itself apart from Dawn Piplup. (Ntm, Croconaw and Dewott are two of my favourite Middle-Stages of Water Starters. I still think Corphish is the one Water Type Ash owns that I'm fine it does not evolves, as its personality. If it evolves, fine, but it's the one I'm not CRAVING for it to evolve. Ntm, Corphish is my favourite of Ash's Water Types. Buizel's an interesting one. I'd actually argue that after the trade between Ash and Dawn, for the first half of DP Season 2, they focused SO MUCH on Buizel that it felt like Buizel was overshadowing the rest of Ash's Sinnoh Team. From winning Ash TWO Gym Battles in a Row, to the Wallace Cup and Buizel being the only one of Ash's Sinnoh catches that May met. However, then both Gligar and Turtwig evolved into Gliscor and Grotle respectively, and I feel they started toning the whole "Buizel's the Ace" schtick that I felt the first half of DP Season 2 felt like. Add in the inclusion of Gible and its Dracometeor problem, and I feel they did most of what they had wanted to do with Buizel in DP Season 2. The main reason why I had expected Buizel to have eventually evolved into Floatzel eventually was because a few episodes after the trade, Aipom had evolved into Ambipom, so I had expected the DP writers to have eventually given Buizel the same treatment. Palpitoad I felt was the Kingler of Ash's Unova Team but never evolved.

[@hiddenfan-37]

@@sodium285 I do respect your thoughts, but for me, while Dewott and Croconaw may look cool for Ash, again, people got sick of the "Water starter not allowed to fully evolve" (Squirtle, Totodile, Marshtomp, Piplup, Wartortle, Oshawott) and "Ash's Water mons don't need to fully evolve" cliches (Squirtle, Totodile, Corphish, Buizel, Oshawott and Palpitoad) which both were reasons why Greninja, Primarina and Inteleon all fully evolved, so far. For me, I still think the writers do need to redeem and fully evolve some of Ash's reserves (e.g., Floatzel, Garchomp, Seismitoad).

[@sodium285]

@@hiddenfan-37 Thanks for respecting my thoughts. I will say, I'm currently writing my own fanfic Pokémon Series, keeping in cannon the events of the OS-Alola League Finals, that leads to a World Championship held in the Galar Region for all those Trainers who have participated in Leagues in Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, Kalos, Alola and Galar, hosted by Galar Champion Leon. And I'm evolving four of Ash's Pokémon: Bulbasuar into Ivysaur and then into Venusaur (It'll see May's Venusaur, which it had previously fallen in love with, and want to catch up) Totadile into Croconaw Gible into Gabite and Oshawott into Dewott. Those are the ones I've selected.

[@hiddenfan-37]

@@sodium285 No problem! Not bad choices.

[@Animeedaddy]

Aye why prinplup and empoleon don't get more screen time Pokemon:they ugly next question 😂😂😂😂😂

[@Ciastek721]

Corpish my goat

[@EverestRolls08]

I agree, but I still think Ash should’ve had a Dewott

[@TotalAnalyst2]

Great video I'm against Ash evolving all his Pokemon as it would make things too easy for him it's much more fun for him to get creative with Pokemon 5:39 Bulbsaur isn't better than Charizard just some pokemon have better match ups. Bulbsaur despite being resistant to electricity lost to Electabuzz where Charizard won

[@PLATEZERO_]

@@TotalAnalyst2 yeah I know about Charizard beating Electabuzz that's why I said "obviously I'm joking" afterwards I don't actually think Bulbasaur is 100% better than Charizard

[@TotalAnalyst2]

@@PLATEZERO_ I didn't read that part sorry

[@PLATEZERO_]

@@TotalAnalyst2 nah you good 💯

[@benridge8185]

I do Personally ash Shiism have evolved most of his Pokémon. However Bulbasaur, Squirtle, buizel and the god rowlet didn’t need to.

[@lilmercy1580]

They just had to let Charizard get dusclapped

[@jetguy128]

that was important because Ash losing his ace so early in the battle just made it more challenging for Ash to beat Brandon. It was good development for Ash to still win.

[@endergeo116]

Not even 2 minutes and needless Unova slander...

[@i_s_u-c_l_o_n_e637]

As if Ash has a choice

[@DRTTTT]

Ashy is R

[@chasetanner4822]

Despite the anime saying otherwise, ash not evolving his pokemon did screw him over. Sure the anime had his unevolved pokemon do some pretty impressive stuff but at the end of the day, a unevolved pokemon can only do so much even with the added leeway of it not following the games. Ash HAS NOT won a single league that involved gym badges. He won every other type of tournament EXCEPT that one. Up until the very end, ash didn't become a REAL pokemon champion. Ash didn't become a pokemon champion, he became the world's strongest pokemon trainer.

[@ghostguy325]

Ash won the Alola League and became its champion. Just because you didn't need badges to enter it doesn't make it not an official League

[@chasetanner4822]

@@ghostguy325 Okay fine that is fair, let me correct what I said. Up until the very end, ash never become a NORMAL pokemon champion. He has become champion of leagues that are unique. But he NEVER became a champion when gym badges where involved. Ash won all the side leagues but he NEVER won a main league. Ash was given a total of 48 gym badges during his journey of the first 6 regions and they never mattered because he never won a league involving gym badges.

[@PokeMadness1996]

You missed the point

[@chasetanner4822]

@@PokeMadness1996 What point? I went into detail to explain to how bad ash as a trainer is. Unless the point of "the power of ash's friendship with his pokemon can solve any problem and win any battle regardless of how impossible the battle it actually is."

[@NatashaWinland]

No you don't pay attention to the anime. Like you say these "losers" dont pay attention. 😂 the idea is Ash lets the Pokemon decide if they want to evolve or not. He doesn't force them to. Its up to the Pokemon to evolve. Like the episode Bulbasaur Forever Bulbasaur clearly STOPS himself from evolving doesnt he? When Pikachi kept losing to Richu, Ash gave Pikachu the Thunder Stone telling him its completly up to Pikachu if he wanted to evolve or not. Pikachu chose not to for he felt he had to prove that he could beat Richu. You got all these stats and stuff but didnt pay attention to the true meaning of those Key episodes. Ash treats his Pokemon as an Equal a partner not a tool or servant as he feels other trainers often do by giving his Pokemon total freedom of their own lives. Like Letting his Gredninja help Mewtwo. Letting his Pokemon chose to stay out of their balls to keep him from freezing to death. You're looking at the end goal and not seeing the journey. Thats the real story, if you actuly pay attention to the anime you'll have the answers you were wanting. The Pokemon didnt want to evolve and Ash wont force them to.

[@PLATEZERO_]

Yeah I know it's up to the Pokemon if they want to evolve or not maybe I should've pointed that out better but that's not really the focus of the video it's why I personally don't have a problem with them not evolving which is why I bring up battle records and the sort to prove that certain Pokemon in the anime can be strong in their base forms. Also Greninja didn't help Mewtwo he helped the funny Z pokemon pay attention buddy 🧑‍🦯🧑‍🦯🧑‍🦯

[@NatashaWinland]

@@PLATEZERO_ no. Mewtwo requested help from Pokemon hunters that wanted him. I'm positive of it. Ash forgets most of his Pokemon anyway and only uses a select few. Like he had a Glalie that no one else remembers, was insanly weak. Completely ditched his shiny Noctowl as that think it was a Pokemon care place so he could train and be better. Gave away his Squirtle and Bulbasaur. Gave up Primeape and Lapras. Im positive about my Greninja helping Mewtwo. Cant change my mind im sticking to it.

[@PLATEZERO_]

Unless I missed something in aim to be a Pokemon master I don't think Ash's Greninja ever had a plot point with Mewtwo

[@ГригорийКраснов-п7у]

Charizard is my favourite pokemon

[@lancehowelllagunay1943]

Am I the only one here who prefers Ash's Gible not evolving?

[@pn2294]

I don’t see a problem.

[@louisjefferies2733]

0:05 still 10 though

[@Damian-oe6mg]

never liked ash in the first place, and still dont

[@H24a3wla]

I didnt swich up on him. Journeys was trash!

[@usuario15965]

But come on you cant tell me that form all the samples of the species he only catches the ones that dont want to evolve almost everytime Also people hate on that because its not relatable at all with the game experience

[@Taydar]

I agree

[@TotalAnalyst2]

Your underrated

[@FuadFarah-s4k]

i hope Ash ketchum returns in Gen 9 animated series pokemon horizon series i hope Ash ketchum Young alola brother lei become a pokemon trainer and chosen water type pokemon starter primarina female gender pokemon

[@JSTNok]

I agree🙂

[@СеменГоловатенко]

Oshawott is my favorite

[@nonplayercharacter12333]

Ash's Turtwig was shaping up to be really strong with a lot of personality. I DIDN'T want it to evolve to be close to Bulbasaur. He fully evolved and only got worse. It broke my heart. If Turtwig didn't evolve, Ash's Sinnoh team was peak.

[@PokeMadness1996]

Torterra didn’t get worse his matchups just got better there’s a difference

[@SpectreSarah]

Omg big fan

[@merlijnbal221]

But his pokemon should be able to learn new moves and most di except for his snivy he had vine whip leaf storm leaf tornado anr atract how usefull is that awnser not that usefull

[@iluvyurbles]

Ash’s Rowlett will never evolve because it swallowed an everstone, plus his personality is just too funny

[@markshaw3711]

1:53 & 3:39 *chooses

[@PLATEZERO_]

@@markshaw3711 banned

[@Spinnling]

Arsh kitchim

[@PokeMadness1996]

There is a switch up? The switch up is now people hate him for winning too much cuz they think it’s “plot armor” and “he didn’t earn it”