The Pokémon Anime has seen its unique hero Ash travel through the different regions of the Pokémon world over the decades. However, his travel companions often jump off his journey to pursue their own goals. However, some teams brought with them a unique, special dynamic, while others lacked an essential spark to keep the arc alive.
The following teams are the various main companions Ash has traveled with, sorted from the weakest to the greatest. These are not necessarily the individual companions, but the interaction of the team dynamics. So let’s look at how they’ve grown, their teamwork, and Ash’s growth with them – let’s see where his various companions stand.
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9. Truth and Sorrel
In the movie Pokémon: I Choose You, Ash embarks on a renewal of his original quest, but not with Misty and Brock. Instead, he meets Verity and Sorrel, two relatively underdeveloped companions who get stuck with Ash after a chance encounter with an Entei. Verity is the daughter of a competitive Sinnoh trainer, while Sorrel wants to become a Pokémon professor.
Verity and Sorrel leave Ash to continue their travels, making their relationship relatively brief. They’re a decent duo for movie characters, but when you put them next to the other companions, it’s clear that they never had the opportunity to grow like the others.
8. Misty and Tracey
The Orange Islands missed the dynamic Brock brought to the team. While Misty is a great companion for Ash, Tracey – a Pokémon sketch – couldn’t fill in the giant footsteps Brock has left. Tracey is a hollow charisma void made difficult by his lack of real ambition. Tracey was ultimately forgotten by the anime as his arc felt quite fulfilled when he decided to study Pokémon with Professor Oak.
To make matters worse, the Orange Islands didn’t develop Ash too much, especially when compared to how he later grew up in Johto. Ultimately, the team dynamic that Tracey brought with her is easily lost because she’s wedged between Misty and Brock.
May 7, Max and Brock
Brock returned for Hoenn, but luckily Pokémon had better luck filling it Loch Misty left behind with May. May managed to be her own character with unique interests to become a coordinator – with goals and rivals. While May sometimes felt like a substitute for Misty in many ways, she was plain enough to stand out, even if her relationship with Ash was similar.
The weak link in this team is Max – May’s brother – who, more than anything, proved to be an obstacle to team dynamics. He could cause problems or feel like a know-it-all for the group. He was May’s annoying younger brother, but that didn’t mean he had to annoy the audience too. His bow showed him mature, but for many, maturity came too late to redeem him as a character.
6. Clemont, Bonnie and Serena
Ash’s Kalos companions were a remarkably different trio than anyone else he’d had adventures with before. Serena’s relationship with Ash was far more openly romantic. On the other hand, Clemont is an inventor while his sister Bonnie managed to improve on everything Max tried. Bonnie supports her brother but is ready to tease him.
While they are all fun characters, something is missing here. Ash does not develop as a person with Clemont, Bonnie, and Serena as he does with the latter companions. They are good characters, but not perfect ones.
5. The Sun & Moon classmates
The various classmates Ash met Alola is a diverse group of characters which do not always leave the strongest impression individually. Of course, Ash eventually became a Pokémon champion while learning everything he needed to become a master with his classmates. However, the way Ash trained with his classmates deviated from the typical formula of seeing him become a student.
This expanded training team meant that Ash never bonded as closely with two or three characters as he did with his original traveling companions. Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon didn’t focus on those dynamic, however, which in turn resulted in an extensive cast that never achieved the perfect goal.
4. Iris and Cilan
As the first squad missing Brock since the Orange Islands, Ash’s team traveling through Unova had the deck piled up. Still, Iris and Cilan were solid and exciting characters who managed to bring a fresh twist to Ash’s team.
While Cilan brought a level of maturity that Brock had brought before, Iris’ sassy and intense presence brought life to life that animated the Pokémon saga in its later stages. She also had a good relationship with Ash and Drama, which flowed into her arch throughout her tenure. It’s also telling that fans were excited to see Iris reunited with Ash in Pokémon Journeys.
3. Goha
Goh is the newest companion Ash has traveled with, one who almost feels like a student and partner to Ash. In a way, Pokémon did journeys Ash is a second protagonist next to Goh a, which completely changed the standard dynamic Ash enjoyed with his companions.
Goh is too an interesting character. He is special, almost meticulous, but just as passionate about his goals. He makes a protagonist who is almost as convincing as Ash, and the two act like a foil for each other.
2. Dawn and Rock
In his final days as Ash’s traveling companion, Brock had become a fixture in Ash’s life, retreating to his own pasture throughout the arc. However, Dawn brought something unique to the table: real insecurities.
Most of Ash’s other companions were in some ways self-conscious or self-conscious. Dawn wasn’t, and in the course of her journey she had to grow up – and quickly. Dawn’s development proved critical to the Sinnoh Arc’s focus on personal growth. While she occasionally scratched the nerves of fans, that was part of her messy development, one is reflected in Ash when he got up challenge his rival Paul. The result is a perfect balance between maturity and immaturity.
1. Misty and Brock
The original team is the best team. Misty and Brock were there when Ash was a new coach and saw him develop from his early beginnings to his later maturity. This team led Ash through the Kanto and Johto leagues and proved so popular that Brock stayed with them years later, and Misty’s return to the franchise would cause excitement over a decade after she left.
Why do they work? Brock is both a mature role model for Ash and an immature flirt. Misty, on the flip side, is a seasoned, naughty girl who is still trying to find her way around after growing up in a household where she wasn’t valued. The team helped Ash go from an ambitious kid to one potential Pokémon master. For this reason alone, no other team has influenced Ash’s development as much as Misty and Brock.
About the author
Anthony Gramuglia
(1397 articles published)
I earned my MFA from Fairleigh Dickinson University. Written for The Mary Sue, ScreenRant, The Anime Feminist, The Gamer and Vocal. Lifelong lover of comics, anime, and weird films. Loves different types of coffee.
