Here’s How Many Times Ash Won the Pokémon League

In the early days of Pokémon, fans thought Ash would never win the Pokémon League. After all, if he won, the anime would end because there wouldn’t be anything else for Ash to aspire towards. Ash also wasn’t a good enough Pokémon trainer to win most of the leagues he’s participated in, so it wouldn’t be realistic for him to win every time. Several Pokémon Championships later, Ash has officially become a Pokémon Master. Having said that, let’s take a look at how many leagues Ash participated in and how many of them he won.

Indigo League

This is the first league Ash took part in, and it shows. Even after journeying through Kanto and learning about Pokémon, he was still incredibly new to commanding them. 

This is apparent in the way he lost. Ash ranked in the top 16 in the Indigo League and couldn’t advance further due to his Charizard not obeying his commands. We can see that Ash has a long way to go when forming a connection with his Pokémon and getting them to fight competently, but it’s still not a bad outcome for his first Pokémon League. 

Johto League

Between the Indigo and Johto League, Ash participated in another league called the Orange League. He won, but this didn’t make him a Pokémon Master because that league was unofficial. Still, his victory in the unofficial Orange League gave him some much-needed experience and motivation. Ash was fired up by the desire to defeat Gary, his rival. His hard work and ambition paid off as he defeated Gary. However, Ash lost to Harrison, another Pokémon trainer. Still, Ash ranked in the top 8, a big improvement from his ranking in the last league. 

Hoenn League

This is the most experienced and mature Ash has ever been in the series, and it’s obvious. He’s learned how to connect with his Pokémon, how to train them properly, and even experimented with teaching them new attacks. 

Ash in the Hoenn League is a formidable opponent, but he was taken down by a very strong Meowth and ranked in the top 8. He was beaten by his good friend Tyson. Despite his loss, Ash was well on his way to achieving his first victory. 

Sinnoh League

This is the league that everyone expected Ash to win. His Pokémon were very well-trained; he was bringing all the experience and expertise of past Pokémon leagues with him into this new league, and he had a new rival to beat. 

Paul became Ash’s new rival, whom Ash defeated. Ash was in the semifinals and looked to be well on his way to securing first place until he was unfairly beaten by Tobias and his team of only 2 Pokémon: Latios and Darkrai. 

Some fans saw this as the directors not wanting the anime to end, so they made Ash lose unfairly. Despite what the truth might be, Ash lost this one, though he did rank in the top 4. 

Unova League

Ash’s performance in the Unova League leaves a lot to be desired. He seems to have forgotten everything he learned up until this point, not remembering even basic things. 

A popular theory is that Ash was burnt out from overworking himself. He never took time off to be away from Pokémon training, so he took some time off right before the Unova League. This made him forget most of the things he had learned, and he had to relearn everything all over again. 

Unova was meant to be a vacation in the first place, but Ash’s love for Pokémon and championships lured him to participate in the league. In fact, he should have been resting and recuperating his strength.

A novice Pokémon trainer defeated him with only 5 Pokémon in his team. He placed top 8. This made Ash seriously reflect on his goals and recover some of his lost motivation in preparation for the next league. 

Kalos League

After reflecting and contemplating his goals, Ash returned to the Kalos League with fire in his eyes and ready to do his best. Ash was at the top of his game and even acquired one of the most powerful Pokémon he had ever caught, Greninja. 

Unfortunately, Greninja, a water-type Pokémon, couldn’t hold its own against Alain’s Charizard, a fire type. Ash was defeated at the last second, placing him in second place. 

Ash wasn’t upset about his loss this time. Instead, he made it into a learning opportunity. This shows that Ash is becoming a better Pokémon trainer despite his outward appearance not changing. He took this loss with dignity and maturity, only thinking about how he would improve going into his next championship.

Alola League

After numerous losses and decades of waiting, Ash finally becomes a Pokémon Master, defeating Gladion in the final show-off. He became a regional champion, the first-ever champion of the region. 

Fans were shocked and excited, as this goal had been dangled over our heads for decades. We never expected to get here. But now that Ash has achieved his goal, what will happen to the series?

World Coronation Series

The World Coronation Series may not be a Pokémon league in its most traditional sense, but it’s still worth mentioning. This competition pits the eight strongest Pokémon Trainers in the world against each other. This competition is memorable because of Ash’s final battle against Leon, the reigning Monarch of the World Coronation Series.

Leon is so confident in his victory that he allows Ash to have three battle gimmicks instead of one, which makes the entire battle fairer for Ash. After exchanging blows through the various Pokémon in their team, it came down to Ash’s Pikachu and Leon’s Charizard and Cinderace. This spells big trouble for Ash, as Charizard is Leon’s strongest Pokémon, and Cinderace is immune to electric attacks, which are Pikachu’s specialty. Leon then Gigantamaxes his Charizard, upping the odds even more.

Left with no other option, Ash tells Pikachu to use his 10,000,000 Volt Thunderbolt. As Charizard and Pikachu’s attacks clash, the ensuing explosion sends both Pokémon flying and an energy beam shooting up to the sky. During the whole competition, Leon had been trying to tire Ash’s Pokémon out until they were unable to fight but found that was exactly what was happening to his Pokémon instead.

Although he lost, Leon was reminded of the exciting battles he experienced in his younger days. He held no ill will towards Ash, even thanked him for the battle, and awarded him the trophy. This made Ash the best Pokémon trainer in the world, achieving his goal of being “the very best, like no one ever was”.

What does this mean for the Pokémon Series?

Ash tells us there’s much more to becoming a Pokémon Master than just winning a championship. Even after experiencing so many battles, Ash still feels as though he has barely scratched the surface of what it means to become a Pokémon Master. 

To truly live up to this rank, Ash feels responsible for going out and interacting with even more Pokémon, taking on new challenges, and becoming the best Pokémon Master he can be. His story may be nearing its end, but there are many new directions it could go. 

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