The Best Pokemon Anime Battles

[ClockworkLad]

We all know of the anime. It's full of daring battles and emotional scenes-

But some battles are eye candy.

This, is the best Anime Battle thread.



Mew v. Mewtwo- Pokemon: The First Movie
When we saw the elusive Mew come to combat Mewtwo, but started not fighting, many were mad. They wanted to see the 2 "cat" legendaries battle. They got it.
In they're little blue and pink respectively balls, we got to see the 2 battle it out while the clones and the olds battled. It was amazing seeing the battle.

Ash v. Tobias- The Semi-Battle Frontier
"HOLY CRAIP ITZ DARKRAI" Ya, we all love this battle. Tobias swept the whole fudging Sinnoh Gym Leaders and league with a Darkrai. Everyone wanted this battle. They got Darkrai vs Ash.
Heracross the OP? Nope. Torkoal? Nope. Stupid Gible that should have evolved? Nope. Awesome Sceptile? 3RD STRONGEST OF ASH'S POKEMON BRO! This battle was flashy, intense, and showed us the Anime's math isn't off. Except that Megahorn.

 

[Calm_Mind_Latias]

To be partial, I love Paul and Ash's rivalry and I have a lot of sentimental attachment towards the Kanto episodes.

1. Paul vs Ash in the Sinnoh League

I mostly liked it because it was the denouement of Paul and Ash's rivalry and Infernape's maturity as a confident and prideful Pokemon from a timid Chimchar.

2. Gary vs. Ash in the Johto League

Charizard vs. Blastoise was the best theatrical battle, with the best use of music, and it also demonstrated Ash' ingenuity.

3. Paul vs Brandon in the Battle Pyramid

4. Ash vs Shingo Johto

This perhaps the best non-league or gym battle ever.

5. Ash vs Tad Second Match Orange Islands

Charizard just acquired faith in Ash.

6. Paul vs Ash on Lake Acuity

7. Ash vs. Blaine rematch on top of the Cinnabar Volcano

8. Ash vs. Tobias

9. Ash vs. Jeanette Fisher in the fourth round in the Kanto League

Smothered by Muk

10. Ash vs Lt Surge second time Kanto

11. Ash vs Mandy in the opening round of the Kanto League

 

[Jimmyftw]

Ash vs. Noland
The battle that pitted Ash's Charizard against the legendary Articuno. The first time in the anime that a legend was defeated by a non-legend.

 

[Ratatat]

This:

Really, though...

Ash vs. Misty (Ep. 217 - "The Perfect Match!")
Misty's Psyduck is one of the best things to happen to the show. I pretty much view the first season as "episodes before Psyduck" and "episodes after". It's pretty much the Homer Simpson of the Pokemon world; it's completely unqualified for its job, and probably isn't even aware of half the stuff happening around it, but everything still manages to work out in the end due to sheer dumb luck. The whole "let it get clobbered and get a headache" schtick was used a lot, but not quite enough to get old. At least, not to me. By the middle of Johto we hardly every saw it, but it's triumphant return during the Whirl Cup was probably its best use yet. Remember that scene from Akira where Tetsuo loses his mind and creates a psychic force field that destroys a hospital and liquifies everyone around him into pink paste? This is kinda like that, but with a duck and without all the 80's anime supergore.

Ash vs. Maylene (Ep. 534/DP68 - "A Triple Fighting Chance!")
The Sinnoh eps didn't really have the best gym matches. I'm not sure if that's because they just paled in comparison to all of Ash's rival fights or the Sinnoh League bouts, but most of them were pretty un-special. Then again, there's his fight against Maylene, which is probably one of the best gym leader skirmishes in the whole series. Things don't start to get good until the very end, where it's just Maylene's Lucario vs. Ash's Buizel, but boy is it good. Like, the match literally blows the roof off. 'Cario and Buizel were probably two of the most popular 4th gen 'mons going into this, so it's no surprise that the writers wanted to include both of them in a fan-boy brawl to end 'em all. The combination of a fight in the pouring rain, Bui's Swift Swim kicking in, and Luc-Skywalker-Cario flailing his aura bone staff around made things extra intense. It's all just really satisfying stuff.

 

[Ratatat]

Here's one I just thought of seeing this thread again.

Ash vs. Brandon (Ep. 460/AG186 - "Overjoyed!")

In a lot of ways Battle Frontier was the season everyone always asked for, even if it didn't have the largest viewership. Kinda understandable, since a lot of people (myself included) were probably just burned out on Advanced Generation by that point, which ended up being the longest-running series yet. It had Ash returning to Kanto and using a team of (mostly) fully-evolved 'mons (including his Kanto squad) while going up against a higher caliber of trainers, which were pretty faithful to their in-game teams and even packing some legendaries. Not only that, but Ash actually won in the end. Not only was he one of the only trainers ever to trounce the entire quasi-league, but he was actually offered a position to become a Frontier Brain himself. That's, like, Gym Leader status at least. Of course he turned it down since the series had to move to Sinnoh, but it's one of the only times besides Orange Islands that he's been officially recognized as a top tier trainer. Everyone always remembers his battle against Pyramid King Brandon at the very end, but I've always been partial to the other time he fought him.

This was Torkoal's shining moment. Spoilers: he lost, but it was a lose he could be proud of. Of all Ash's Hoenn 'mons, he probably had it the worst. It doesn't help that most people remember him as the one that got OHKO'd by Darkrai in the Sinnoh League, but he'll always have this. We got about half an episode devoted to his battle with a Registeel of all things one-on-one, and it's just great stuff. I love seeing lower-tier 'mons pushed to their absolute limit, and this one gives us probably the best bout we'll ever see involving ol' soot shell, Ash's or otherwise. The ending is pretty great - there's no way Torky could have won without everyone calling shenanigans, but it came about a close as it could to a double-KO without it actually happening, with Regi dropping to one knee at the very end.

 

[LumaSoul]

I really liked that final battle with Ash vs May...I liked seeing Sceptile vs Blaziken - it looked pretty cool in my opinion. Close too.

 

[THATSAplusONE]

I remember one battle where Ash used his Snorlax against one of the frontier brains. It ended with it using a Body Slam from the heavens. The plays!

 

[Codraroll]

A couple odd ones for me.

First the match in which Gary was knocked out from the Indigo League. We only saw a couple moves, but man, that Golem really smashed Gary's Nidoking. Golem never looked cooler to me.

In a similar vein, a battle that happens in the background during the qualifying rounds of the Silver conference. My memory of this battle is a little fuzzy, but as far as I can remember, Ash and co. are walking on their way to Ash's next battle when they pass a fenced-in arena where two trainers battle to qualify. As they walk by, suddenly an Ursaring is thrown through the fence right ahead of them, dragging it with it as it falls to the ground with spirally eyes. Back in the "cage" is a Feraligatr, panting heavily with scratch marks all over its body. We only got to see the knockout, but that must have been one heck of a match.

 

[PlasmaKirby]

I really like the Ash VS Harrison battle in the Johto league. The Charizard VS Blaziken battle was really cool & interesting

 

[farranpoison]

I really like the Ash VS Harrison battle in the Johto league. The Charizard VS Blaziken battle was really cool & interesting

I remember watching this battle when I was a kid with almost religious focus. That damn battle was the coolest thing I've ever seen. I know the anime is pretty poor in general, but when it has good fights, it has damn good fights.

 

[Hulavuta]

I don't exactly watch a lot of the anime, so I sort of struggle to recall battles I really enjoyed...but one that does really stick out to me is the battle between Palmer's Rhyperior and Ash's Grotle. I really liked how...animated this fight was; there was very little (if any) stock footage (at least from what I can see), and Rhyperior is one of my favorite Pokemon too so it was cool to see him. I can't really find a video of the fight anywhere that is not an AMV...but here is a cool screenshot.

And just check out how bad ass Solid Rock is on Rhyperior, looking so cool taking no damage from a 4x super effective attack. Reminds me of all of those scenes in Dragon Ball Z, where the good guys would shoot the bad guy with so many attacks...and when the dust cleared, it turned out he wasn't even hurt at all.

Other than that, most of my favorite fights are from the movies and specials.

I really liked Rayquaza vs Deoxys in that arctic place at the beginning of Destiny Deoxys, and I also really liked Charizard vs Entei in the third movie. Keldeo vs Kyurem was cool too...there are probably more but I can't think of them all right now.

And...you're all probably sick of hearing it, but the battle between Mewtwo and Charizard X in Pokemon Origins is awesome as well!

 

[Meowstic]

Here are some of my favorite individual pokemon battles:
- Bulbasaur VS Meganium (EP268)
- Charizard VS Blastoise (EP270)
- Combusken VS Absol (AG182)
- Monferno VS Electabuzz (DP132)
- Buizel VS Mr. Mime (DP159)

 

[I2edShift]

Easy...

Ash vs Drake (Orange League)

Ash vs Gary

Charizard vs Magmar

Lt. Surge, Raichu's thunderbolt looks more powerful than any electric attack in the history of the series.

Harisson gets an honerable mention, but it just wasn't as good as these others. Charizard vs Magmar's music was soo perfectly chosen & synced that I still watch it every once in a while. I watched a lot of the other 'memorable' matches, but none of them really seem to live up to these.

 

[Calm_Mind_Latias]

Ash and Drake seems to be filler, although it was the first full battle we were treated to in the series. Cool, a Dragonite! It really sucks when Paul defeated a Dragonite in PokeRinger.

 

[I2edShift]

Ash and Drake seems to be filler, although it was the first full battle we were treated to in the series. Cool, a Dragonite! It really sucks when Paul defeated a Dragonite in PokeRinger.

How is Ash vs Drake filler? That was the climax to an entire season.

 

[Calm_Mind_Latias]

How is Ash vs Drake filler? That was the climax to an entire season.

Some consider the Orange Islands to be a filler arc. At least it wasn't nearly as BS as the GS ball.

 

[I2edShift]

Some consider the Orange Islands to be a filler arc. At least it wasn't nearly as BS as the GS ball.

I saw that coming, but Just because it's not playable in a game doesn't make it filler. But if catching a Snorlax, Charizard finally listening, and having one of the best 6v6 battles in the series is filler, then give me more of that.

 

[Calm_Mind_Latias]

I saw that coming, but Just because it's not playable in a game doesn't make it filler. But if catching a Snorlax and having one of the best 6v6 battles in the series is filler, then give me more of that.

I still contend that there is much more to a great battle than just the battling. There was no drama or background when Ash was battling Drake unlike his rivalry with Paul or Gary. Drake was just a strong Pokemon trainer with a powerful Dragonite whom Ash bested through his strength and ingenuity.

It was not entirely filler since Ash's Charizard obeyed Ash, and I did like the episode about the Mayor's Bulbasaur.

 

[DHR-107]

This thread is really great, some of you guys have picked some awesome "lesser" matches which are just as good as some of the other big matches.

Could I just ask (for reference) that we put down the episode numbers for each of the battles so other people can find them if they want to watch? The posts by Ratatat above are perfect examples of this.

BW 061 - Ash vs Clay (Battling the King of the Mines) is probably one of my favourite episodes. Not only does it end up with Roggenrola winning the match, but the animations are super cool as well.

Both Excadrill and Boldore get some crazy cool animations during this episode, even though Ash is a total moron once again, Roggenrola/Boldore totally steal the show.

 

[I2edShift]

I still contend that there is much more to a great battle than just the battling. There was no drama or background when Ash was battling Drake unlike his rivalry with Paul or Gary. Drake was just a strong Pokemon trainer with a powerful Dragonite whom Ash bested through his strength and ingenuity.

It was not entirely filler since Ash's Charizard obeyed Ash, and I did like the episode about the Mayor's Bulbasaur.

The Pokemon anime's characters and story are so paper thin & childish that any drama is almost entirely irrelevant. Go watch Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood or Cowboy Bebop if you want drama or background.

Paul was an asshole, and his methods were in questionable taste. That was one of the series better matches, but there are several that are better in the series. Gary was always a snobby (but really good) trainer who knew his shit, so seeing Ash best him was a great moment and a great battle. That was the height of the drama & background of the series. There will never be a rival as good as Gary/Blue was. Ever. Paul is garbage in comparison, he just got more screen time than Gary.

 

[Calm_Mind_Latias]

The Pokemon anime's characters and story are so paper thin & childish that any drama is almost entirely irrelevant. Go watch Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood or Cowboy Bebop if you want drama or background.

Paul was an asshole, and his methods were in questionable taste. That was one of the series better matches, but there are several that are better in the series. Gary was always a snobby (but really good) trainer who knew his shit, so seeing Ash best him was a great moment and a great battle. That was the height of the drama & background of the series. There will never be a rival as good as Gary/Blue was. Ever. Paul is garbage in comparison, he just got more screen time than Gary.

Paul seemed much more complex since there was at least some depth to his personality (for instance, witnessing his loss against Brandon made him obsessed with his Pokemon's power). I think the appeal of Paul was that he was a mostly static, unsympathetic, and predictable character in the series (Infernape was actually the dynamic character who actually matured being under the influence of Ash and his determination) who never completely resolved his differences with Ash. He was a nice foil for Ash who is similarly just as static. I was actually quite pleased with the conclusion when he acknowledged, not only his own defeat at the hands of his rival but Infernape's growth as a Pokemon. He accepted Ash's strength as a trainer since he was able to cultivate the potential of the Chimchar he had abandoned. In defeat, he seemed quite relieved, not disappointed at his loss against a rather puerile trainer or experiencing any bitterness, and happy for Ash's Infernape and not ashamed that he lost to it. After the defeat, he moved on and wanted to test his strength against Brandon.

"And so, with the Sinnoh League battle against his greatest rival behind him, Paul continues on towards his next challenge." -- the narrator in "Battling a Thaw in Relations".

Despite Ash's childish demeanor, he always had an aura of friendship, innocence, determination, and passion that I find rather admirable and almost of a saintly quality. Paul's rivalry brought some nice conflict with that aura.

But my only experience with the anime are the Kanto episodes, some Johto episodes, and the Sinnoh episodes featuring Paul and Infernape.

I caught a few episodes of D&P on YouTube as I remember watching Top-Down Training in December 2009 and Paul's Battle against Brandon, but I became interested in June 2013 after watching the conclusion of Ash and Paul's Sinnoh battle. It was quite enjoyable to watch every D&P episode featuring Paul.

 

[Mekkah]

[22:12:14] <&Mekkah> lol DHr likes the battle of ash vs clay
[22:12:54] <&Mekkah> i saw that episode
[22:12:59] <&Mekkah> it was the most boring generic thing i have ever seen
[22:13:06] <&Mekkah> and thats saying a lot considering this is the mons anime we're tlaking about
[22:13:10] <&Mekkah> man i sound like ck
[22:13:16] <billymills> how did pikachu defeat this ground type gym?
[22:13:42] <&Mekkah> it didnt
[22:13:47] <&Mekkah> it just followed the "plot" of
[22:13:50] <&Mekkah> omg this mon is in trouble
[22:13:57] <&Mekkah> I WONDER WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN
[22:13:58] <&Mekkah> OH WOW
[22:13:59] <&Mekkah> IT EVOLVED
[22:14:11] <&Mekkah> every single character exclaims [name of pokemon], completely dumbfounded
[22:14:17] <&Mekkah> [pokedex is whipped out]
[22:14:25] <&Mekkah> [gym leader continues trash talk]
[22:14:31] <&Mekkah> [togi togi prrrrri / axew axew]
[22:14:40] <&Mekkah> [ash is such a kid]

 

[Stale FIsh]

My favorite battle(and probably the most hyped at the time) was the battle between Ash and Blaine: Charizard vs Magmar. I missed it when it aired so my friends really hyped it for me. I was not disappointed. Seeing Charizard seismic toss Magmar was just about the most epic moment I had seen till that point. Mew vs. Mewtwo is my second favorite. Still the best movie imo till this day.

 

[xtracross]

I liked the Blue vs Red battle in Pokemon Origins. Thought it was really epic.

 

[goomy pls]

Black White Rival Destinies Ep. 25: Commanding the Clubsplosion Crown.

There's two reasons why I love this episode.

The first is Bianca's fight, where she complains about the opponent "Dodging" every attack. I always hated that part of the anime because of how unfaithful it is to the video games.

The second... well, see for yourself.

Edit: reuploaded in glorious HD.