Death Analysis: Ash Ketchum, Trainer from Pallet Town, with his Ultimate Team.

Hey there, everyone! Neosonic97 here with yet another Death Analysis Blog. This time, we're doing Ash Ketchum from the Pokemon Anime, with what is arguably his ultimate team, consisting of his best Pokemon throughout the series, from the original series to details from the Sun and Moon anime, and everything in between.

JUST SO YOU KNOW...

There will be spoilers for the XY&Z and Sun & Moon animes here, so if you're watching them right now, DO NOT READ THIS BLOG! It will spoil plot points for you.

BACKSTORY AND TRAINER NOTES

You all know how the story goes: Ash Ketchum woke up late on the day he was to start his journey in the world of Pokemon, starting with getting a Pokemon from Professor Oak. Unfortunately, all three of Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle were taken, so Oak, responding to Ash's desperation to get a Pokemon, gave him a fourth option- a rebellious Pikachu which he had recently caught. The trainer and Pokemon didn't really get along at first until the fateful moment where Ash and Pikachu protected each other from a flock of Spearow, and from then on they became best friends and almost inseperable.

Ash is a very good-natured character, quick to trust others, and willing to go far to gain the trust of people or Pokemon. He has a strong sense of justice and is very determined and he often strives to learn from both his victories and defeats. He loves to battle other Pokemon trainers, but he's also very rash, often jumping head-first into danger to help someone in need, be it a person or Pokemon. Best exemplified in the second Episode of the XY series, where Ash, trying to save Pikachu, just straight-up leapt off the top of Lumiose Tower, which is basically a skyscraper.

He's also known for making completely off-the-wall strategies and actually having them work, throwing the opponent for a loop to take the upper hand.

Ash himself is cleanly superhuman, if the fact that he can pick up and run with a 1000lb log, before THROWING the damn thing is any indication. To say nothing about repeatedly being blasted by all sorts of Pokemon attacks, most notably getting roasted by Charizard or Infernape, or being electrified by Pikachu (Often when it's being mind controlled or is confused).

Ash has caught many Pokemon over the years, but we're going over six of his best, starting with, of course...

PIKACHU

Pokedex Number: 025

Type: Electric

Classification: Mouse Pokemon

...His very first Pokemon, his trusty old Pikachu. Pikachu was the very first Pokemon that Ash ever owned, and was the one he was given by Professor Oak. Their relationship started off fairly rocky as Pikachu didn't particularly like Ash until he tried to defend Pikachu from a flock of Spearow. Since then, the two have been almost inseperable, and Pikachu has been the only Pokemon that has never left Ash's team. The two have absolute trust in each other, and their personalities are almost identical- Pikachu shares many of the same traits that Ash himself does- a strong sense of justice, quick to trust others and a love for battle. 

Pikachu has used a fair few moves over the years, but right now, he has four moves currently. The first of these moves he learned, and the most used move of the entire series, plus Ash's favourite move, is the ever-so-iconic Thunderbolt, which is basically Pikachu shooting lightning at his foe. It also has a chance to paralyze the enemy. This is Pikachu's most-often used move and oft known as the signature move of Ash's Pikachu. It's powerful enough to bring down powerful Pseudo-legendary Pokemon, such as Alain's Metagross and Tyranitar. If Ash uses the Electrium Z he obtained from Hala (It was originally going to be a Fightinium Z, but Tapu Koko was having none of that), he can upgrade this into the Electric-Type Z-Move Gigavolt Havoc, which is enough to startle the guardian of Melemele Island, Tapu Koko, while leaving a giant crater in the area around where Tapu Koko was. Tapu Koko was just fine but it was clearly surprised by how much power Pikachu actually had. The second move and also amongst Pikachu's most notable is Quick Attack, a high-speed tackle which can pre-empt the opponent's attack. It's also very handy for avoiding attacks, as best demonstrated when Ash battled Hala, the Island Kahuna of Melemele Island, and had Pikachu use Quick Attack to avoid most of Hariyama's All-Out Pummeling. Using the Normalium Z he obtained from Totem Gumshoos, Ash can upgrade Pikachu's Quick Attack into the Normal-Type Z-Move, Breakneck Blitz. With this, Pikachu performs an extremely fast and extremely powerful charging tackle, enough to send Hala's Hariyama flying (Hariyama weighs 559 lbs, by the way) and tear up the ground beneath it just by moving fast enough. The third of Pikachu's moves is Iron Tail, a Steel-type move where Pikachu slams the target with its tail, which Pikachu learned in response to Ash learning that the Rustboro Gym Leader, Roxanne, used Rock-types. It can shatter boulders and clash with a Mega Lucario's Bone Rush. It also has a chance of weakening the foe's defenses, though this has yet to play into the anime. The last of Pikachu's moves is Electro Ball, where Pikachu condenses Electricity into a ball and hurls it at the foe, dealing greater damage the faster Pikachu is than the target. It can clash with an Aura Sphere from a Mega Lucario. Ash can also upgrade this move, like Thunderbolt, into Gigavolt Havoc, using the Electrium Z.

Pikachu's ability is confirmed to be Static, where foes have a chance to be paralyzed upon making contact with Pikachu. This has proven to affect the outcome of multiple battles by shutting down an otherwise dangerous threat.

Pikachu's got some pretty impressive feats under its belt, like taking down two Legendary Pokemon (Brandon's Regice and Tobias' Latios, the latter being more impressive due to type disadvantage) and three Pseudo-Legendaries (Drake's Dragonite in the Orange League, and Alain's Tyranitar and Metagross in the Kalos League) on top of numerous other foes.

However, Pikachu does have its weaknesses. Despite Pikachu being amongst the strongest of its kind and WAY stronger than an ordinary Pikachu, it is still limited by Pikachu's general frailty and it doesn't have the greatest coverage ever. Ground-types especially mess Pikachu up as it can't really do much to them, especially if they resist Iron Tail, too.

Next, let's go over his second Pokemon...

ASH-GRENINJA

Pokedex Number: 658

Type: Water/Dark

Classification: Ninja Pokemon

...His Greninja. Ash's Greninja is a bit of a strange case, as unlike other Greninja, it has a unique form that he and Ash can trigger at will, dubbed Ash-Greninja, due to the visual similarities between the form and Ash, and the fact that Ash and Greninja's thoughts synchronize. Originally a Froakie residing at Sycamore's Lab, Ash befriended Froakie during his first day in Kalos, and it joined him the following day, becoming his first catch in Kalos. Upon evolving to Greninja, he and Ash triggered something called the Bond Phenomenon, where, upon the bond between Ash and Greninja reaching its peak, the two synchronize their thoughts and Greninja transforms into this state. In this state, Greninja's speed and power skyrocket, allowing it to hold its own against Mega Evolutions and Legendary Pokemon. Impressive as, even before transforming, Greninja is capable of moving faster than the human eye can see, and taking on powerhouses like Alain's Charizard. Once Greninja transforms, though, it reaches a whole new level of power, easily taking on Pokemon like Diantha's Mega Gardevoir, slicing through Sawyer's Mega Sceptile's Frenzy Plant, and even blocking the Hyper Beam of Lysandre's Mega Gyarados.

Greninja knows four moves. His first move is the signature move of Greninja: Water Shuriken. How this move is used depends on whether Greninja is transformed or not. As regular Greninja, it condenses shuriken made out of water and throws them at the enemy, while as Ash-Greninja, it takes the Fuuma Shuriken from its back and hurls that at the enemy instead (It then regenerates). As a priority move, this move is likely to strike before the foe has a chance to react. The second move Greninja has is Double Team, with which Greninja creates a horde of illusory doppelgangers to throw off the opponent. He can also somehow combine the clones' Water Shurikens to empower his own into a Giant Water Shuriken. Don't ask. The Water Shuriken even has a third, super-powered version, where the Shuriken turns red and becomes absolutely enormous... although it completely failed to accomplish anything due to plot demanding that Ash lose the Kalos League. The third move it has is Cut, where it manifests twin Kunai blades out of Water and uses them to slash at the target. Theoretically, Ash could turn this move into Breakneck Blitz with the Normalium Z. This move is powerful enough to slash through a Mega Sceptile's Frenzy Plant with ease, and clash with a Mega Charizard X's Dragon Claw. The same Dragon Claw which could cut through Primal Groudon's Precipice Blades. The fourth and final move is Aerial Ace, a swift, highly-accurate physical blow often manifesting as a dive kick of sorts, often used to get swift hits in. It can daze a Mega Sceptile.

Greninja's ability has not been confirmed, but it is presumably Battle Bond, the ability which enables the Greninja to transform into Ash-Greninja in the games.

Aside from the typical Pokemon typing weaknesses (Those being Fighting, Grass, Fairy, Electric and Bug-types), Ash-Greninja does have one key flaw to the transformation: Any pain that Greninja feels while in the form is also felt by Ash. If Ash and Greninja over-exert themselves in the form, it can (and has, multiple times) lead to Ash and Greninja completely passing out. While Ash and Greninja have trained to minimize this, the form does still put strain on Ash.

For his third Pokemon...

CHARIZARD

Pokedex Number: 006

Type: Fire/Flying

Classification: Flame Pokemon

...another of his most famous 'mons and perhaps his third most famous behind Greninja and Pikachu. Originally a Charmander abandoned by its trainer, Ash eventually caught the Charmander himself and raised it as his own. Charmander was a loyal and relatively powerful Pokemon of Ash's, and it put in a lot of work for Ash's progress through the Kanto Region... until it evolved, at which point, it started disobeying Ash, becoming far too prideful and sometimes even burning Ash with Flamethrower. These obedience issues were what ultimately cost Ash the Kanto League, and continued up until partway through the journey through the Orange Islands where, after being nursed back to health by Ash after it got frozen, it regained its respect for Ash and begun to obey him again... although it still occasionally roasted the poor trainer.

Charizard is a prideful, stubborn Pokemon and, despite being a runt amongst Charizards (At least according to its time in the Charicific Valley), its power is undeniable. Ash's Charizard's current moves are as follows: First off, it knows Flamethrower, as is the norm for Fire-type Pokemon. It's a stream of flame exhaled from the mouth. The Pokedex states that a Charizard's Flamethrower can melt boulders. Charizard's second move is Wing Attack, with which Charizard rams into the foe, hitting them with its wings. In the BW series, Charizard used this to stop the Thunderpunch of Iris' Dragonite. Its third move is Slash, a powerful cutting attack. Like other 'mons with Normal Moves, Ash could theoretically use Normalium Z to have Charizard use Breakneck Blitz. While Ash's Charizard has very few feats using the move, in the Pokemon Origins show, Red's Charizard, a much weaker Pokemon, was capable of harming a Mewtwo fairly heavily with the move, but only after Mega Evolving. Charizard's fourth and final move is Dragon Tail, where Charizard, well, smacks the foe with its tail.

Charizard's ability has not been confirmed.

Charizard's got some pretty crazy feats under its belt, including being the first Pokemon he owned to ever defeat a Legendary, namely Noland's Articuno. While yes, Charizard DID have Type Advantage, it was still a fairly impressive feat. Charizard can lift a Golem into the air, and Golem weighs about 660 lbs. And indeed, true to the dex entry, Charizard's Flamethrower HAS been shown to be able to melt solid rock. Charizard flew from being completely submerged in Lava to the cloud layer in less than a minute, while also carrying Blaine's Magmar for most of the trip up. It also held its own against an Entei in Movie 3.

However, Charizard does have a few notable weaknesses, the most notable being that it often gets hit by the Worf Effect or is subject to silly decisions on Ash's behalf (Seriously Ash, Seismic Toss on a GHOST-TYPE?). It also really doesn't like taking Rock, Water and Electric-type attacks and its tail flame is a weak point- if an attack is sufficiently powerful to put it out, that poses a threat to Charizard's life. However, considering Charizards have been completely submerged and their tail flame has been completely fine, it's very hard to abuse this weakness.

Next up...

SCEPTILE

Pokedex Number: 254

Type: Grass

Classification: Forest Pokemon (No, seriously)

Ash's second Pokemon from the Hoenn Region. Originally a Treecko he caught early on, it quickly grew into one of Ash's more powerful Pokemon, not in terms of raw strength (Greninja, Charizard and the next listed 'mon all beat it there), but in terms of toughness and speed. 

Sceptile's ability is Overgrow. This boosts the power of its Grass-Type Moves when it's in a pinch.

As far as Sceptile's moves go, the moves it is confirmed to know are Leaf Blade, where it uses the leaves on its arms as blades, Leaf Storm, where it fires a concentrated torrent of leaves at the enemy, and the previously mentioned Quick Attack. (And yes, Ash can turn this into Breakneck Blitz too, at least in theory) Its last remaining move is either Solar Beam, where energy from the sun is concentrated into a massive laser, or Bullet Seed, where Sceptile rapidly shoots seeds from its mouth to pelt the enemy. 

Sceptile has some pretty ridiculous feats. Amongst Ash's Pokemon, Sceptile has the best track record at dealing with Legendary Pokemon, having defeated three compared to Pikachu's two and Charizard's one. Namely Brandon's Regirock, a Deoxys, and Tobias' Darkrai. Regarding that Deoxys, it was not only able to keep pace with its Speed Forme, but when it grabbed said Deoxys, Deoxys was unable to shake Sceptile off, and eventually got forced back into its normal forme by Sceptile's Solar Beam. Against Darkrai, it took a barrage of Super-Effective Ice Beams, and was still capable of waking up almost instantly after being hit by a Dark Void. It also fought May's Blaziken evenly despite the type disadvantage, resulting in a Double KO.

Sceptile's disadvantages mostly come in the form of lacking coverage. All of its moves are Grass-type aside from Quick Attack, and of those, only Leaf Blade is reliable. Overgrow only activates in a pinch, so it won't trigger until Sceptile is already on its last legs. And there are the typing weaknesses of Bug, Poison, Flying, Fire and Ice

For his fifth Pokemon...

INFERNAPE

Pokedex Number: 392

Type: Fire/Fighting

Classification: Flame Pokemon (Same as Charizard)

People can never agree whether this guy or Charizard is stronger, but regardless. Originally a Chimchar under the ownership of Ash's rival in the Sinnoh Region, Paul, but it was eventually released by the trainer for not living up to his expectations, and then joined Ash. It quickly grew into one of Ash's greatest powerhouses.

Infernape's ability is Blaze, which increases its Fire-Type moves' power in a pinch. However, Infernape's Blaze appears to be MUCH more powerful than most other Pokemon's, but in return, for a while, Infernape had trouble actually controlling its power, often running rampant and even attacking Ash on multiple occasions during its Blaze-fuelled Rampages. However, it eventually learned how to control its power, and it serves as a powerful trump card in a pinch.

Infernape's moves are as follows: Its first move is Dig. With this, Infernape burrows underground before striking the opponent from below. This also serves as a useful evasive maneuver, as most attacks will be unable to hit Infernape while it's underground. Its second move is Flamethrower. We've already covered that one with Charizard. Its third move is Mach Punch, a swift-striking move in the same vein as Quick Attack. Its fourth move is Flare Blitz, an extremely powerful flaming tackle that comes at the cost of recoil damage to Infernape itself.

One of the key arguments in favour of Charizard being stronger than Infernape is lack of feats, but it does have a few feats that stand out. It can send an Aggron, which weighs 793lbs, flying with Mach Punch, Keep pace with Ninjask, who can move faster than the eye can see, and its Flare Blitz set said Aggron on fire.

However, Infernape does have a few weaknesses. Flare Blitz, as stated before, causes self-inflicted recoil. Blaze will only trigger in a pinch, and certain attacks like Earthquake will inflict more damage on Infernape while it's using dig. There are also the obvious type weaknesses to Water, Flying, Psychic, and Ground.

And last but most certainly not least...

KROOKODILE

Pokedex Number: 553

Type: Ground/Dark

Classification: Intimidation Pokemon.

...his best Pokemon from Unova. Krookodile was originally a Sandile that kept pestering Ash and Co. throughout their adventures in Unova, and he eventually caught it as a Krokorok, with it evolving into Krookodile shortly afterwards. It quickly became Ash's Unova powerhouse and served him well throughout the remainder of his journey throughout Unova and the Decolora Islands.

We have no confirmation on Krookodile's ability.

Krookodile has one of the more well-rounded and powerful movesets of Ash's Pokemon. Its first move is Dig. We've already covered that with Infernape. Next is Stone Edge, where Krookodile creates sharp rock shards around itself before launching them at the enemy. It can also use them as daggers in a similar vein to Ash-Greninja's water kunai with Cut. Its third move is Dragon Claw, where it channels energy into its claws to slash at the target, and its final move is Aerial Ace, which we've already covered with Ash-Greninja, although in Krookodile's case it's more a flying slash than a dive kick.

Krookodile has some fairly impressive feats. It clashed with a Sawk at speeds faster than the human eyes can process, sent Iris' Dragonite (Which weighs 463 lbs) flying with Dragon Claw, tanked a Liepard's Hyper Beam, and can practically glide while using Aerial Ace.

However, Krookodile does have some fairly nasty weaknesses, namely in the form of Fighting, Bug, Water, Grass, Ice and Fairy-type moves.

OVERALL

+Well-rounded coverage and good feats overall for his entire team.

+Z-Moves, Blaze and Ash-Greninja are all excellent trump cards.

+Ash himself is quite physically adept

+Off-the-wall battle style can throw opponents for a loop.

-Ash-Greninja risks exhaustion at best, passing out at worst.

-Z-Moves can only be used once per battle.

-Individual Pokemon flaws: Pikachu's frail, Sceptile lacks coverage, Infernape is prone to damaging itself, Ash-Greninja's strain on Ash himself.

-Prone to reckless behaviour, gets him into trouble as much as (if not more than) it gets him out of trouble.

-Type Overlaps: Charizard overlaps with Infernape for the Fire-Type, Ash-Greninja overlaps with Krookodile for the Dark-Type, and his team members share type weaknesses- Infernape and Pikachu are weak to Ground. Krookodile and Sceptile are weak to Ice. Krookodile, Charizard and Infernape are weak to Water. Greninja and Krookodile are weak to Grass and Fairy. Charizard and Greninja are weak to Electricity.
-Even with Ash-Greninja's overwhelming power, was ultimately unable to win the Kalos League, to the anger of many fans, myself included.

And here we have Ash's ultimate team, including feats from Ash himself. Feedback would be appreciated, if I missed anything feel free to let me know.