Ash has used a wide variety of Pokémon over the years, spanning multiple typings, giving him plenty of options when it comes to battles and making his way to the top. For whatever reason, Ash appeared to favor Ground-types more than he usually would during his Sinnoh and Unova adventures, catching three in Sinnoh and using a fourth at the Sinnoh League, then catching two more while in Unova.
Ground-type Pokémon often have a secondary typing, which is the case for all but one of Ash's Ground captures over the course of the anime. With the exception of Ash's sole Ground-type starter Pokémon with the Turtwig line, Ash normally ends up obtaining these Pokémon late on in his journeys, meaning that they never seem to reach their full potential.
6 Palpitoad Could Have Easily Surpassed Oshawott As The Main Unova Water-Type If Caught Earlier
Palpitoad is often overlooked or disregarded due to Ash's Unova team being rather disappointing, but the reality is that in just a few battles, it actually made a name for itself. Defeating a Zebstrika belonging to Gym Leader Elesa and forcing a draw out of one belonging to Stephan at the Unova League, Palpitoad showed its potential, suggesting that more training could have made it one of Ash's better options in the region.
Palpitoad was another example of a Pokémon that could have been a huge asset to Ash if he had caught it earlier and evolved it fully into a Seismitoad. Seismitoad would immediately have made his Unova lineup more formidable and perhaps would have convinced Ash to use it in his losing match against Cameron.
5 Gible Had So Much Untapped Potential
Ash caught Gible rather late on in his Sinnoh journey. It only had one battle before the Sinnoh League -- a loss to Barry's Empoleon as soon as Ash had caught it. In the Lily of the Valley Conference itself, Gible carried Ash through his battle against the tricky and strategic Conway, with it defeating his Shuckle and Dusknoir before being one of three Pokémon to fall to Tobias's Darkrai in a later round. While Gible would often prioritize Dragon-type moves like Draco Meteor and Dragon Pulse, it did still showcase its Ground-type side on occasion with Dig.
Ash catching Gible so late was frustrating to many fans, given the possibility of Ash owning a Garchomp. Garchomp was shown to be a monster in the anime under the ownership of Cynthia, with Mega Garchomp also being showcased later in X & Y with Remo and Professor Sycamore.
4 Turtwig Picked Up Impressive Wins For Ash But Struggled As A Torterra Due To Lack Of Pace
Ash's Turtwig was one of his best Pokémon during the first half of his Sinnoh adventure, able to utilize its surprising speed and deadly moveset. It picked up impressive victories against the likes of Gardenia's own Turtwig and Roark's Rampardos, among many others. When it evolved into Grotle however, it lost its speed, an issue that was addressed in the anime, but it ultimately led to it struggling in most of its subsequent battles.
Despite being a bulky Pokémon able to utilize both Ground and Grass-type moves, as a Torterra it would often fall shortly after showing just a few glimpses of its power. This is perhaps more of a testament to the powerful trainers that Ash was facing later on in his campaign.
3 A Late Addition To The Johto Team, Donphan Was Given Time To Shine At The Battle Frontier & Sinnoh League
Despite arguably being one of the strongest pure-Ground types in the entire franchise, Ash's Donphan never really got to show its true potential. Ash got Phanpy towards the end of his Johto campaign but would later call on it for the Battle Frontier and even for a match in the Lily of the Valley Conference in Sinnoh.
In its evolved form of Donphan, most of its offense relied on it rolling at high speeds, which despite being capable of dealing plenty of damage, was often countered with relative ease.
2 Gliscor Had A True Underdog Story But Was Barely Showcased At Its Strongest
Gliscor grew considerably over the course of the Diamond & Pearl anime, beyond simply evolving from a Gligar. It learned how to battle and how to control its flying, all while showing off its personality and its affection towards Ash.
However, this doesn't change the fact that Gliscor was one of Ash's worst Pokémon in terms of wins and losses. Ash and Paul fought several times over the course of Ash's time in Sinnoh, and Gliscor lost on three occasions to Paul's Pokémon with his own Gliscor, Torterra and Electivire. Gliscor still managed to pick up huge wins against Byron's Bastiodon at the Canalave Gym and Paul's Drapion which had been decimating Ash's team. No matter its wins and losses, Gliscor made its way into the hearts of fans due to its lovable personality and underdog mentality.
1 Krookodile Not Being In Ash's Team To Face Cameron Was A Travesty
Ash's loss to Cameron in the Unova League was not only frustrating for fans due to it being a 6-on-5 loss, but also because it arguably could have been avoided if Ash had added the likes of Krookodile, Leavanny, Palpitoad or any other Pokémon from previous regions to his team.
Not only did Ash's Krookodile have a unique personality with it often choosing to wear sunglasses, but it was shown to be a strong and powerful battler on the few occasions that it was actually utilized. As a Krokorok, it defeated Brycen's huge Beartic and lost to Skyla's Swoobat, but as a Krookodile it beat Iris's aggressive Dragonite and dragged Ash through his Unova League battle against Stephan by defeating both his Liepard and Sawk. Despite being a dual Dark and Ground-type Pokémon, Krookodile, including its previous forms of Sandile and Krokorok, had a diverse move-pool including the likes of Aerial Ace, Stone Edge, Dragon Claw, Crunch, and Dig.
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