Summary
As the main protagonist of thePokemonanime, Ash Ketchum has caught and used many Pokemon over the years. However, most fans are aware of his most popular team members, like Pikachu, Charizard, and Greninja. All these Pokemon have become iconic in the franchise, and that is mainly due to their exposure and how they were used on Ash’s team.
Unfortunately, the overabundance of these great characters has meant that some of Ash’s team members have been wasted over the years. Now, Ash had access to some Pokemon for an episode, like the Raticate he traded for on the S.S. Anne. However, this does not count as a team member, and a Pokemon must have been part of Ash’s actual team of six to be considered one of his wasted options.
Updated Jul 28, 2025, by Hamza Haq:With Ash’s journey officially over, fans can look back on the anime that defined their childhoods and decide which of Ash’s Pokemon got the short end of the stick and didn’t or couldn’t realize their full potential. Whether it’s because of Ash’s negligence, bad type match-ups, no chances to prove themselves, or simply because they didn’t get enough screen time, there are a lot of Pokemon Ash has caught over the years who could’ve been something more.
Type
Flying
The middle evolution ofthe regional bird in Kanto, Pideotto, was thethird Pokemon that Ash caught in the anime, and so it became a staple of his team moving forward. Sadly, this iconic bird was rarely seen in battle, and took a backseat to the three cute starter Pokemon Ash received and the franchise mascot, Pikachu. If anything, the loyal Pidgeotto was mainly used as a quick way to dispatch Team Rocket when used on Ash’s team.
However, anyone who has used Pidgeotto during a playthrough knows just how reliable this Flying type can be. This becomes even more applicable when it finallyevolves into the mighty Pidgeot.Unfortunately, Ash foolishly released one of his most powerful team members when it evolved, leaving it a completely wasted option.
Water
Buizel is a Water-type that many people forget Ash had in theDiamond and Pearlanime. Like Pidgeotto, Buizel was aloyal Pokemon and a great fighterwho joined Ash’s team in a trade with Dawn when it wanted to be trained for battle instead of competitions.
With its great speed and large pool of moves, Buizel was used often by Ash. He rarely lost when using the Pokemon and had great success using Buizel against his rival Paul. However, Buizel never got a chance to further himself in the anime. As a traded Pokemon, Buizel had the chance to level up much faster than other members of Ash’s team tobecome a powerful Floatzel.Sadly, Buizel remained wasted asone of Ash’s many unevolved team members.
‘EP035’
Fighting, Fire, Water
The episode where Ash catches 30 Tauros was banned outside of Japandue to its use of guns. Therefore, not many viewers of the anime got to see Ash catching the herd in the Safari Zone. As such, it would make sense for the writer to not include the Pokemon much further in the show.
However, Tauros has appeared many times in battle during the Pokemon League in both Kanto and Johto. What’s more, it proves to be areliable team member.Unfortunately, Ash does not take this strong Pokemon with him on his journeys, and his herd of great Tauros mainly exists to make acameo appearancewhenever the trainer visits Oak’s Lab. What a waste of such a great Pokemon.
Fire
Catching Torkoal seemed like a great idea in theRuby and Sapphireanime, and the Pokemon quickly made a name for itself when it joined Ash’s main team. Sadly, the writers of the show decided to focus more on Torkoal’s penchant for billowing smoke and being slow rather than its ability in battle. In its second appearance, it waseasily captured by Team Rocket, and Torkoal has an abysmal win/ loss ratio,having lost six battles in the Hoenn series alone.
This depiction is a far cry from the Torkoal that players are used to seeing in the games. This Pokemon can set up a Sunny Day and wipe out a team with the use of Flamethrower or Overheat. As such,Ash wasted his Torkoal by not using it properly.
‘I Caught a Pokemon!’
Bug/Flying
Ash caught Butterfree as a Caterpie right at the start of his journey, and he was thevery first Pokemon he obtained after Pikachu. Caterpie evolved very quickly into Metapod and later into Butterfree and became Ash’s first fully evolved Pokemon overall. While Ash did use Butterfree in a few key battles during the early periods, like against Misty in the Cerulean Gym Battle and against A.J. later on, he never really got a chance to truly shine before he was released during theinfamousBye Bye Butterfreeepisode.
During the battles that Butterfree did have, Ash’s own inexperience prevented him from really showcasing the Pokemon’s abilities. Viewers never got anything resembling a training montage for Butterfree, andin every major battle he was a part of, he lost. Even after he reunited with Ash much later down the road, he wasn’t recaught or used in any battles.
Bug/Fighting
Herracross could easily be considered in a line-up ofAsh’s potentially most powerful Pokemon, as evidenced by the battles he was a part of. Heracross was already a beast when Ash caught him, and he only grew in power as time went on. He defeated Rochelle’s Donphan with ease, came out on top against Shingo’s Scizor, and even put Gary’s Magmar into the ground despite a massive type disadvantage. In a straight 1v1, Heracross only has one true defeat to his name, which was during the Battle Frontier against Spenser’s Venasaur. But even during that fight, Heracross gave as much as he got and was only taken out after an all-out brawl with Venasaur.
Despite his unmistakable power, however, Heracross was not part of Ash’s main team and was constantly swapped out for other Pokemon, once for a Tauros from the herd and once (mistakenly) for Cyndaquil. He served as a benched trump card for Ash andspent most of his time at Oak’s Ranch. Not only that, but what power he did get was mostly due to his own efforts and natural growth; Ash had very little involvement in making him stronger.
Fighting
When Ash first meets the Pokemon Mankey, it is in a largely comedic episode that sees his hat being stolen by the angry Pokemon. In an attempt to get it back, Ash loses battle with Mankey multiple times before it evolves into Primeape and is caught. This addition to the team seemed like a good move, asa fully evolved Fighting typewould add a lot of diversity to Ash’s team. However, the young trainergave the Pokemon away in one of the next episodes to have it train in a fighting competition.
Giving away a strong Pokemon like Primeape was a very foolish move on Ash’s part, as there are many times in the later seasons where it would have come in useful in the anime. Perhaps Ash would have done better in the Indigo League if he hadn’t wasted one of his better team members.
Water, Ice
Lapras was used cleverly in the anime to solve a problem of how the main characters would get around The Orange Islands. After rescuing the Lapras from a gang of thugs, Ash adds the Ice type to his team, andLapras acts as a ferryfor him and his friends during this arc of the anime. As a result, Lapras is seen in almost every episode that Ash has one on his team. Sadly, it isn’t used much in battle.
Lapras is an Ice type from Kanto that is one of the strongest Pokemon from that region. It has abase stat total of 535, which makes its repeated losses in battle all the more strange. Ash clearly does not know how to use the Pokemon well in battle, and he once again releases Lapras after winning the Orange Island League. Lapras would have been a great addition to his team in Johto but was instead wasted as soon as Ash no longer had the need for a ferry.
