From one-hit knockouts to legendary sweeps, the Pokemon world is full of jaw-dropping displays of power! Join us as we count down the most dominant and disrespectful moments that left trainers and Pokemon alike utterly humiliated. These battles weren't just wins - they were statements of absolute superiority!
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Welcome to WatchMojo and today we're counting down our picks for the coolest moments in
00:15Pokemon that showed us who's actually the very best.
00:2320 Dueling Dragons Given that they both go on to become bonafide
00:27Pokemon champions, you'd think a full-throttle match between Ash and Iris would be pretty
00:32even, right?
00:33Well, it might have been if Ash hadn't brought out the one, the only, Charizard.
00:39The Kanto Fire-type emerges from every attack thrown at it without so much as a scratch.
00:49The same cannot be said for Iris' Dragonite, who nearly goes down after a single, supercharged
00:55Dragon Tail.
01:00Then calls off the battle before it reaches a natural conclusion, but anyone with eyes
01:04can tell there's only one way this would have ended, full embarrassment for Dragonite.
01:1419 Crash Awake Crashes Out Ash has struggled in a lot of gym battles over
01:20the years.
01:21This, however, is not one of those times.
01:23Pikachu starts off the three-on-three by one-hit KO'ing Wakes Gyarados.
01:32Nice!
01:33Great shot!
01:34What?
01:35But that full tackle hit it mid-air!
01:41Weasel and Titwig knock Quasire down after that, forcing the gym leader's ace to enter
01:46the fray at a major numbers disadvantage.
01:49But forget taking out all three, Floatzel couldn't even down a single one of Ash's Pokemon.
01:55To rub sea salt in the wound, it's Floatzel's own pre-evolved form, Buizel, who deals the
02:00final blow, scoring Ash one of the easiest badges ever.
02:06Who knew gym leaders could be such pushovers?
02:2018 Rowlet Can Do This In His Sleep A good night's sleep can do wonders for a
02:25trainer.
02:26As it turns out, the same applies to Pokemon.
02:33Even though Ash's Rowlet is facing its fully-evolved form in the high-stakes Alolan League, it's
02:39not actually knocked out here, it's just taking a quick power nap.
02:43The disrespect is simply off the charts, and probably stings more than a razor-leaf to
02:48the face, especially since it's warranted.
02:55Rowlet took a snooze, woke up groggy, and still managed to knock out Howe's Decidueye to
03:00clinch the win.
03:01It'll take more than a stop to nurse Joy to patch up a wound like that.
03:1717 Kanto Starter Rumble Like every scientist, Mewtwo likes to show off
03:22his creations.
03:23At first, it seems like a fair enough experiment.
03:26It's three Kanto Starters paired up against each of their clones.
03:30Only in this case, the knockoffs surpass the originals, and then some.
03:46Minasaur and Blastoise can't even take a single hit before waving the white flag.
03:51Charizard fares slightly better, but even he ends up in a crater on the ground before
03:56too long.
04:02All three starters lose in a matter of minutes, and all the while, the clones aren't even
04:07winded.
04:08If Mewtwo's goal was to assert dominance, he definitely succeeded.
04:1816 Infernape's blazing victory Let's be honest, we were all counting the
04:23days until Ash could finally wipe that smug luck off Paul's arrogant face.
04:32There were a lot of losses along the way, but the payoff made it all even.
04:36To set the stage, it's the quarter-finals of the Sinnoh League, both trainers are down
04:41to their last mon, and Ash is using the very same Infernape Paul disregarded as a wee
04:46chimcha.
04:55Suffice it to say, Ash's partner had something to prove, and it used a blazing power-up to
05:01do it.
05:02Besting Paul isn't good enough on its own, beating him with a Pokemon he once abandoned?
05:07That's pure poetry.
05:1215 A Contest of Champions Sorry Mae, not every rival battle can end
05:17in a win.
05:18Hot off the heels of her fiery bout with Drew, she advanced to the semi-finals of the Grand
05:23Festival, bursting with newfound confidence.
05:26Only for Soledad to promptly wipe the floor with her.
05:34This being a contest battle too, Soledad didn't just destroy Mae's team, she looked good while
05:40doing it.
05:41We only get to see the tail end of the match, and even that's enough to know, this was
05:44a total wash on Mae's end.
05:54This is the kind of one-sided domination you'd expect to see in the first round, not in the
05:59semi-finals.
06:00No wonder Mae was so upset.
06:0714 Miltank keeps on rolling.
06:10The only thing worse than losing to a single Pokemon is losing to a single move.
06:15Ash simply had no counterplay to Whitney's Miltank, especially when it started using roll-outs.
06:30One by one, all of Ash's Pokemon fall to Miltank's unstoppable roll until Ash has no choice but
06:36to run off with his tail between his legs.
06:45As you can imagine, this was an extremely humbling point for the Pellet Town native.
06:50After all, this was supposed to be a three-on-three, but he didn't even see Miltank's other moves,
06:55let alone the final member of Whitney's team.
07:1413 No standing ovation for Primarina.
07:18Is this a Pokemon battle or a horror film?
07:20At certain points, it's hard to tell.
07:23It's all because of Primarina, who apparently never learned the rule that you don't speak
07:27unless spoken to.
07:29No worries though, Guzma's Golisopod was happy to teach her the lesson with a quick
07:33and clean throat chop.
07:41From there, all poor, defenseless Primarina can do is slide around the field, trying desperately
07:46to escape Golisopod's attack.
07:50We know Guzma's part of Team Skull and all, but this isn't petty crime, it's total
07:54dominance.
07:55Lana really should have just forfeited from the start, her Primarina never stood a chance.
08:02Number 12, Gary's 10 Badges.
08:12Throughout the original series, we followed Ash as he struggled, fought, and persevered
08:17to get enough gym badges to qualify for the Indigo League, and hopefully take Gary Oak down
08:22a few pegs.
08:30Come to find out, Gary beat him to the punch, and he doesn't just have 8 measly badges,
08:35he has 10.
08:40Kanto only has 8 official badges, and this is before he challenged Giovanni's.
08:45So where did the other three even come from, who cares?
08:48The fact of the matter is, even though Gary and Ash began their journey on the same day,
08:53the Oak Prodigy is running laps around his so-called rival.
08:57If I don't do something fast, Gary's going to get way ahead of me.
09:04A reality check, Ash.
09:06Gary's been ahead of you from the start.
09:08Awww!
09:09Number 11, Mewtwo Strikes.
09:10Hubrit is a tricky thing.
09:11One minute you're top of the world, and the next, you're facing down a legendary.
09:15See, right after Gary flexed his double-digit badge case to Ash, he discovered that earning
09:20his 11th emblem wouldn't be so easy.
09:23To be fair though, Giovanni totally cheated.
09:26Gary did great against average Pokemon, but the Team Rocket boss brought out Armored Mewtwo.
09:35Even two-on-one, Gary's teammates couldn't get within striking distance of the Psychic
09:42type.
09:49Since Oak's grandson has 10 badges, it's not like he was a weakling either.
09:54Afterwards, Giovanni claims that Mewtwo is invincible, and based on his debut here, we're
09:59inclined to agree with him.
10:02I need to get in.
10:03Don't waste your time.
10:04This is the ultimate Pokemon.
10:05It can never be defeated.
10:09Number 10, a Wooloo one-shot.
10:11Curtain up, fight the fights.
10:13Power scaling hasn't always been kind to Pikachu, so it's refreshing when Pokemon remembers that
10:19Ash's partner has been training for over a thousand episodes.
10:23I'm challenging you to a battle, right here and now.
10:28With all that in mind, it makes sense why a newbie like Hop had no chance of victory, especially
10:33with an unevolved Wooloo.
10:35That doesn't stop him from challenging Ash though.
10:38Double kick!
10:39Iron tail!
10:41Thankfully, Pikachu wastes no time proving who's the very best, and Kaos hops Wooloo with
10:48a single strike.
10:51Plus, based on Pikachu's surprised reaction, it didn't even mean to win so quickly.
10:56That just goes to show that by the Masters 8 tournament, Ash and his starter was simply
11:01in a different league.
11:03Number 9, Articuno's Cold Front, battling in the freezing raid.
11:08On sheer numbers alone, this raid battle should have been a breeze.
11:12After all, it's Ash, Gary, Goh and Horus all teamed up against a single Articuno.
11:22And well, it definitely ends in bitter defeat, just not for the side you'd expect.
11:27Articuno's very first Blizzard attack completely destroys the team's first line of defense,
11:32and things only get chillier from there.
11:39Despite them using teamwork, type advantages, and even Pikachu, Articuno's overwhelming strength
11:46turned this raid battle into a glorified snowball fight.
11:53In the end, Ash and the others had to lean the hard way that they don't call Articuno a
11:58legendary bird for nothing.
12:14Number 8, Krabby's Time to Shine, Round 1 begin.
12:19In Ash's quest to catch em all, a few partners, like Krabby, were sadly relegated to warming
12:24a spot on the bench.
12:26So Misty was understandably concerned when Ash decided to bust out this forgotten crab in
12:31the very first round of the Indigo League.
12:34But Krabby soon proved that her hesitation was totally unwarranted.
12:38Despite having zero real combat experience, the Benchwarmer stomped through every one of
12:47Mandy's Pokemon on its way to a clean 3-0 sweep.
12:51And just to rub some sea salt in the wound, it even evolved into a Kingler in the middle
13:00of the fight too.
13:01And some fishy timing.
13:13Number 7, A Shocking Outcome, What's With Watson?
13:17Ash has had some extremely tough gym battles over the years.
13:21Unfortunately his bout with Watson is not one of them.
13:24While it starts out normal enough, once Pikachu hits the field, it lights out for all of Watson's
13:30team.
13:31There's no back and forth, no counter attack, and no time for the gym leader to scrounge up
13:41his dignity.
13:42First of all, Ash's partner had already been supercharged by one of Watson's own traps,
13:47meaning he had no one to blame but himself.
13:50Either way, the results are still pretty unanimous.
14:00Ash has literally been handed gym badges before, and yet, this might still be his easiest victory
14:06yet.
14:11Number 6, Ash can't beat the heat.
14:15Flint sparks the fire.
14:17No matter how you cut it, losing 3-0 in a Pokemon battle has got to hurt.
14:22But it feels especially disrespectful that Flint used his own Infernape to thrash ashes.
14:28Along with his Buizel, oh, and his Pikachu too.
14:32Yeah, Volkner putts it best.
14:42This fight was pretty much pointless.
14:44At least as far as determining a victor was concerned.
14:47From the very start up until the last blow, it was all too obvious that Flint was simply
15:02better than Ash.
15:04But thankfully, Infernape's red-hot power ignited Volkner's passion for battling again.
15:11It doesn't make Ash's loss any less embarrassing, but at least it was for a good cause.
15:18The double-trouble header.
15:27By the time Ash ventured to Johto, he was already a pretty respectable trainer.
15:32Enough so that, when the rookie Casey challenged him to a battle, it wasn't going to be much
15:37of a contest.
15:38But instead of going easy on here by choosing one of his newer teammates, he led with Charizard.
15:44Even Brock and Misty agreed it was a pretty cruel move.
15:47Charizard!
15:49Who?
15:51Ash is gonna battle her with Charizard!
15:54I think this game is gonna be a shutout!
15:56As expected, the fire-type completely burned through Casey's team in record time.
16:01A victory over a Pidgey, a Rattata and a Chikorita isn't anything to marvel at, but the real damage
16:11was to Casey's pride.
16:15In fact, Charizard's flames were so hot that the poor trainer ended up leaving in tears.
16:26It takes a certain kind of hubris to think you can challenge a regional champ on a whim.
16:43Although, given how prideful Paul can be, it is pretty vindicating to see Cynthia utterly
16:49humiliate him on the battlefield.
16:51Or rather, Garchomp does, since that's the only Pokemon she needs to wipe out his entire
17:03team.
17:04No matter the moves, no matter the strategy, Garchomp easily sent each of Paul's partners
17:09back to the Pokemon Center.
17:18Only does Cynthia win with just one Pokemon, but she doesn't even look particularly concerned
17:23either.
17:25So, when someone as cocky as Paul forfeits a match, you know things must have been pretty
17:38bleak.
17:45Number 3.
17:48Charred Paris
17:49The problem with Paris.
17:51Cassandra's lonely bug-type Pokemon was in dire need of an evolution.
17:56To help, Ash decided to throw a match in order to give Paris some much-needed confidence in
18:01battle.
18:02It was a good plan, but unfortunately, Ash's newly evolved Charmeleon didn't get the memo.
18:11Instead of taking it easy, the fire-type burned the poor Paris into an utter crisp, seemingly
18:17for no other reason than to assert dominance.
18:21It's hard to blame the downtrodden bug, since not even Ash himself could quell Charmeleon.
18:33In fact, when he did try to reason with his Pokemon, all he got was a flamethrower to the
18:38face.
18:39Clearly, Charmeleon's the one who holds the badges in this relationship.
18:47Number 2.
18:48Top of the Pyramid
18:49A Pyramiding Rage
18:52Apparently, losing to Brandon is a family tradition.
18:55The frontier brain had already bested Paul's older brother in the past, and during this ill-advised
19:01rematch, Paul couldn't save himself from a similar 6-0 defeat.
19:06Actually, Ash's Sinnoh rival couldn't even maintain his composure.
19:14As Brandon's lead continued to widen, Paul only devolved into a pouting child, eventually
19:20refusing to give orders at all.
19:26Brandon didn't let Paul's attitude slide, though, and offered the kids some serious tough
19:31love.
19:32It's not a pretty fight by any means, but it's hard to tell who got the worst of it,
19:36Paul's Pokemon or their trainer.
19:39The Semi-Final Frontier
19:40Against the very best the Sinnoh League had to offer, Tobias made it all the way to the
19:44past.
19:45the penultimate round with just a single Pokemon.
19:46And even when Ash used one of his most impressive teams to do it, it was the most impressive
19:51team.
19:52The Semi-Final Frontier
19:55The Semi-Final Frontier
19:56Against the very best the Sinnoh League had to offer, Tobias made it all the way to the
20:08penultimate round with just a single Pokemon.
20:10And even when Ash used one of his most impressive teams to date, he couldn't beat Tobias either.
20:25In his defense, the Pallet Town hopeful did eventually fail the almighty Darkrai.
20:38But Tobias still had a Latios waiting in the wings to wrap things up.
20:52In the end, Tobias would go on to win the whole Lily of the Valley conference without even
20:57revealing two-thirds of his team.
20:59With that kind of feat, he didn't just preen on Ash, he boasted on the entire Sinnoh region
21:05altogether.
21:06What do you think is the most embarrassing performance in a Pokemon League to date?
21:11Let us know in those comments below.
21:22Let us know in the comments below.
21:23Let us know in the comments below.
21:24Let us know in the comments below.
21:25Did you enjoy this video?
21:26Check out these other clips from WatchMojo.
21:27And be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos.