Few trainers are as strong as Ash Ketchum was in the original series. Even as a fresh trainer who was learning on the fly, he was quick on the uptick and had a bond with his Pokémon that no one could hope to match. Aside from Charizard, Ash was best friends with his Pokemon, doing anything for them.
That helped him defeat some powerful trainers, many of which were more skilled than he was. He was far from infallible at this point, Gary Oak proving to be a continual thorn in his side and long-term rival.
10 Misty Was A Smarter Trainer Than She Acted
As part of Ash's group, she rarely got to fight or show off her abilities as a trainer. It's mostly due to the fact Ash always handled everything, but there were always brief glimpses of how strong she could be. Her one battle with Ash was practically a draw thanks to the interference of Team Rocket, the two never fighting seriously again after that point. There's little doubt Ash would win if they did, but Misty became a Gym Leader for a Reason.
9 Lt. Surge Utilized A Pure Power Based Attack In Battle
Electric Shock Showdown was one of the better early episodes of the Pokémon anime, showing off the love that Ash and Pikachu have for each other. Not only that, it showed that even with the odds stacked against you, that determination is enough to overcome them. Moral of the episode and battle skew how strong a Gym Leader he was, preferring a pure power attack than something strategic as many others employed.
8 Erika Utilizes Status Effects To Overwhelm Foes
Erika is one of the few trainers Ash doesn't beat but gains a badge from anyway. Their fight is cut short by Team Rocket, as almost every gym battle is, and rather than restarting, she hands off her badge because Ash risked his life to save ger Gloom.
A Gloom that she has a very close relationship to, much like Pikachu for Ash. Before that, their fight was pretty even, Gloom's scent overwhelming Charmander and setting the stage for a final one-on-one.
7 Koga Intelligently Uses Traps To Disorient Opponents
Koga was the owner of the Soul Badge and provided a stiff test to Ash, even if their battle was interrupted in the middle by Team Rocket. His Venomoth was handling the fight fairly well until Charmander got involved, the first Pokémon capable of blocking Stun Spore, thanks to his Flamethrower. After their restart, Charmander managed to take out Golbat as well. Koga's true strength is the traps he uses to disorient foes, just as a ninja would.
6 Blaine Only Lost To Ash Because Magmar & Charizard Wanted To Battle
Ash's battle with Blaine for the Volcano badge came down to more than his talents as a trainer as he lost his first duel. What ended up gaining him his badge is the interest that Magmar and Charizard had in each other, leading to a straight-up battle between the Pokemon. Charizard managed to score the win thanks to his ability to fly, sealing him as Ash's strongest Pokemon. It's hard to say if Ash would have beaten Blaine in a straight-up rematch or not.
5 Sabrina Was Beaten By Haunter Rather Than Ash
Sabrina is one of the most well-designed and interesting characters from the original series and posed a massive threat to anyone that challenged her. Her knowledge, latent physic ability, and Kadabra dominated Ash, beating him multiple times.
His Pokémon were all too scared to stand up to Sabrina, forcing Haunter to take matters into his own hands, making the Gym Leader laugh. This small act let her personas merge as one and allotted Ash a win he never would have got otherwise.
4 Ritchie Benefitted From Charizard Napping
Ritchie was a hard character to get a gauge on strength-wise as his duel with Ash was only won because Charizard continued to disregard Ash's orders and instead took a nap in the final round. It doesn't help that Ritchie then went on to lose to Assunta, a character who never appeared again after that. Still, to finish in the top 8 of the Indigo Conference is a testament to his skills, so he deserves to be above the gym leaders.
3 Gary Oak Was Always One Step Ahead
As far as rivals go, Gary Oak is a little lacking in the later seasons of Pokemon, but in the original series, he's perfect. He's always one step ahead of Ash, not only in battling but in catching Pokemon. No matter what Ash did, he seemed to gain the upper hand, Gary even defeating him before their journey to Johto. His skills as a trainer are tough to match in the series as many of the heavier-hitting trainers have yet to be introduced.
2 Agatha Was A Member Of The Elite Four
Unlike in the games, the Elite Four aren't the end bosses of the anime and are rarely shown fighting. Agatha is the one exception to that as Ash came to challenge her at the Viridian Gym that Giovanni had vacated. Ash put up quite a bit of a fight, making Agatha work for the victory that her Gengar granted her. He was so impressive that she even complimented his skills, no easy feat from a character that used to be a rival to Professor Oak.
1 Lorelei Had Little Trouble Dealing With Ash In Brief Duel
As with Agatha, Lorelei was treated with a great deal of respect and was Misty's idol. As a member of the Elite Four, she was known as a Pokémon Master and proved just that in her brief duel with Ash. The match was lopsided from the very beginning as Ash stood no chance whatsoever, only riding on his potential at that point. She said as much but reminded him that he needed to remember to connect with his Pokemon. She's easily one of the strongest in Kanto.
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