Pokemon has catered to many audiences over the years through both the video games and long-running anime series. The series has managed to take Ash Ketchum and friends through all of the regions introduced in each new generation of video games and has captured the hearts of many children and children at heart.
Ash wasn’t a perfect trainer in the show and often made some obvious mistakes along his journey. Here’s a look at 10 Pokemon Ash should have evolved, through his time in Pokemon Sword & Shield’s Galar region.
10 Haunter
One of the anime’s most memorable and iconic episodes revolved around a Haunter who loved to prank people. It’s idea of pranking happened to be killing them from fear and having them roam in the spiritual realm, a thing Ash actually experienced. Haunter ultimately ends up under the training of the Gym Leader Sabrina, though many people had hoped Ash would have kept a hold of it. Gengar is a formidable battler and Ash’s lack of skill could have used all of the help it good get in those early days.
9 Corphish
Crawdaunt may not be the world’s greatest Water-type Pokemon, but that doesn’t mean Ash’s Corphish didn’t deserve to evolve. Like most of the other Pokemon on this list, Corphish’s lack of evolution wasn’t due to Ash ignoring the creature or not using them in battle. They were simply left with Professor Oak when he headed to another region, meaning they likely lacked the necessary experience points to evolve. It was never one of Ash’s smartest Pokemon partners, but it did leave a mark on the young trainer’s heart.
8 Totodile
The first of numerous starter Pokemon on this list, Totodile is a complete missed opportunity on Ash’s behalf. Ash’s main reason for not evolving it is likely due to him leaving it and the rest of his Johto region Pokemon with Professor Oak at his lab when Ash departed for the Hoenn region.
This would be the second straight Water-type starter that Ash not only never evolved past its base form but departed from during his long and arduous journey of trying to become the greatest Pokemon trainer who ever lived.
7 Larvitar
This specific Larvitar is often referred to as Ash’s Larviatar, but considering he never caught it, that means it’s not officially his. The Pokemon was first acquired as an egg that Ash and his gang carried around and ultimately hatched to reveal the baby Larvitar inside. Ash did the right thing by reuniting it with its mother, but little did he know that adorable thing could become the powerhouse known as Tyranitar. As powerful as that Pokemon is, choosing strategy over kindness was never something Ash aimed to do.
6 Luxio
In an episode in the anime, Ash helped a wild Luxio help rescue a lost Wailmer who was stuck in the sewers. Ash may have never technically caught this Pokemon, so he never owned him, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a missed opportunity for him. Luxray is the final form of Luxio and fans often refer to it as the Electric-type Arcanine. It’s a large canine and feline hybrid that sports a cool design that most people enjoy. It’s safe to say though that the last thing Ash needed was another Electric-type Pokemon.
5 Bulbasaur
Bulbasaur is in this weird place where there’s a large contingent of fans who consider it to be the best Kanto starter, but it still gets dunked on by fans of Squirtle and Charmander fans. The truth of the matter is that Squirtle and Bulbasaur fans should unite together considering Charmander is the only starter Ash evolved in the anime. Bulbasaur had a long journey with Ash as it stayed by his side through the time the trainer spent in the Hoenn region, before it ultimately returned to Professor Oak’s laboratory.
4 Gible
Gible is a perfect example of a wild Pokemon Ash tries to help that he ultimately learns to love. That care goes both ways as Gible began to follow Ash after the trainer tried helping it learn the move Draco Meteor.
It has an adorable personality and a connection to chaos that ultimately results in Ash’s Piplup getting hit in the head. Garchomp is its final form and if Ash had obtained it would have rivaled his infamous Charizard in terms of raw power and attitude. It may have been in Ash’s best interest that Gible never evolved.
3 Palpitoad
Palpitoad is a Ground and Water-type from the 5th generation of games and made its debut in Pokemon Black & White. In terms of the anime Palpitoad was the 40th Pokemon he had ever caught and the 7th one he captured specifically in the Unova region. Like Squirtle, Ash’s Palpitoad was once a leader of a group and chose to join Ash. Its final form is called Seismitoad and shares the same dual-typing as its base form, but like most final forms it rocks a nice collection of base stats across the board.
2 Squirtle
Though Squirtle was one of the first Pokemon Ash ever caught, he never evolved it into a Wartortle. As previously discussed with the Bulbasaur entry, this is a pattern Ash seemed to stick to when it came to starter Pokemon. With Squirtle in particular, though it enjoyed being alongside Ash for his journey, it ultimately yearned for a spot back with its Squirtle Squad. Blastoise is a fan favorite and it’s a shame fans never had the chance to see Ash train his Squirtle into becoming a war machine of a turtle.
1 Pikachu
The biggest question that has occupied the minds of fans who watched the anime is why Ash never evolved his Pikachu. Obviously, this was because the Pokemon itself didn’t want to evolve and Ash was kind enough to never force this on it, despite the show focusing on this dilemma several times throughout the course of Ash’s journey. Raichu is clearly more powerful than Pikachu and Ash would have likely been much more successful with it over Pikachu, but their friendship was clearly more important than success to him.
NEXT: 10 Anime Episodes To0 Sad For Kids
